Kinlochshiel manager Willie MacRae has no doubts his team are capable of defeating defending grand slam champions Kingussie to book place in Camanachd Cup final
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Kinlochshiel manager Willie MacRae believes his side can be confident of beating defending grand slam champions Kingussie in the Camanachd Cup semi final.
The two sides will meet at Bught Park in Inverness tomorrow afternoon with a place in shinty’s showcase match on the line.
Just two weeks ago, though, they faced off at Balmacara in league action, where Kingussie came from behind to win 2-1.
That, according to MacRae, will fuel ‘Shiel’s belief and determination to come out on the right side of the result this weekend.
“The boys know what they’re up against,” he said.
“We had them two weeks ago, and we should have had the game beyond them in the first half before they started their comeback.
“We lost a dodgy goal at a bad time, but we know we can beat them. Afterwards, we all said we didn’t want to be in that position again.
“Being so downhearted, it’s not a nice feeling for anyone involved, and we felt like we let everyone else down that day as well. We’ll definitely turn up on Saturday.”
While Kinlochshiel lifted the trophy in 2021, should they win this weekend it will be a first appearance in the final for manager MacRae.
He is conscious, too, that the Camanachd Cup represents one last chance at success for the club in 2023.
“It would be amazing for me,” he added.
“The players have been there before, so hopefully they will do the job for me.
“If we beat Kingussie, we won’t mind what comes our way next – Lovat and Oban are two very good sides. I think it’s the four best teams in the league at the moment.
“To be honest, with the way we started the season losing three out of our first four games in the league, most of us thought that was gone already.
“We had to look to the cups for success. If we’re going to have any success this season, we have to win the Camanachd Cup.”
