A mixture of bad weather and opponents' misfortunes had meant Bute had not played for a month going into Saturday's tie, with recent games against Tayforth and Newtonmore, as well as the first attempt to play their Lochcarron cup tie, being called off.

And the long lay-off looked at first to be working in Lochcarron's favour, as they seized control of the game from the opening throw-up - perhaps spurred on by their frustration at making the trip all the way to Rothesay two weeks ago, only for the game to be postponed shortly after their arrival.

Bute seemed to be on the backfoot for the first ten minutes, with most of the possession landing to the Wester Ross side, whose early pressure looked to have paid off when Angus MacKay fired a shot into the net after a great run, only for the strike to be disallowed for an offside decision.

This early break was the wake up call Bute seemed to need, and the hosts' first decent chance came after Stewart Strathie won a corner after a long clearance by keeper Kevin Queen found Hector Whitelaw; from the corner, Roberto Zavaroni scrambled for possession and returned the ball to Strathie, whose shot was narrowly saved by Lochcarron keeper Michael McMillan.

From that point on, though, Bute took a firm grip on the game and piled the pressure on. Shortly after their first chance Bute also had a goal disallowed, in similar style to Lochcarron's own 'goal' earlier on, with David Whitelaw's effort ruled offside, to the forwards' disbelief.

Bute opened the scoring on the half hour mark after a long ball up by Iain MacDonald to David Whitelaw on the wing. He quickly passed the ball to Strathie near the D who snuck the ball past a defender for Hector Whitelaw to fire past McMillan.

The home team's defence stayed solid, with Graham Fisher, Bryan Liddle and Donnie McDermid working well together and putting in some great blocks to stop Lochcarron in their tracks.

Bute won two chances early in the second half to keep the pressure on the Lochcarron defence, while Queen was called into serious action for the first time a few minutes later, palming a long shy away for a corner.

The game grew increasingly physical as time ticked away, with both sides' blocks and tackles providing entertainment for the spectators; referee Duncan Kerr flirted with controversy midway through the second period when he waved away an appeal for a Bute penalty after an apparent trip on David Whitelaw inside the D.

Not to be deterred, however, Bute doubled their lead five minutes later from a corner, Whitelaw hitting the ball straight to Robert Walker, who made up for a couple of misses in the first half by smashing it past McMillan.

With a two-goal cushion Bute could have been forgiven for taking their foot off the pedal, but the hosts' midfield stayed on the pace, with John McCallum, Zavaroni and James Craig using each other's pace and strength to counter Lochcarron's attempts to get back into the game.

Walker was replaced by young Robert Ferguson and Zavaroni, suffering from cramp, made way for David MacDonald as a heavy downpour slowed the pace of the game right down in the final 20 minutes; the game ended with Bute on top, McMillan in the Lochcarron goal pulling off a double save right on his line to stop the hosts putting the finishing touch on a game they dominated throughout.

Saturday's victory earns Bute a home tie against Inveraray in the competition's quarter-finals, with the match scheduled to be played at the Meadows on Saturday, June 6.

That match will form the second instalment of a cup double-header between the two clubs - the first, this Saturday, May 30, sees the teams lock horns at Winterton Park in Inveraray in the semi-final of the Glasgow Celtic Society Cup.

Oban Camanachd await the winners in the final, which takes place at Old Anniesland in Glasgow on June 27, after a 2-0 home win over Kyles Athletic in the first semi-final; Ian MacMillan and Scott MacMillan were the men on target.

Saturday's throw-up is scheduled for 1pm.

See also:

Bute Shinty Club website
Bute Sport photo pool on Flickr - 11 action photographs from Saturday's game, taken by David Swan
Shinty.com - the Camanachd Association's official website

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