Stewart Strathie and captain Hector Whitelaw both hit a double as the island side gained ample revenge for their 5-3 Celtic Cup defeat by the Argyll side seven days ago with a fine team performance, punctuated by several fantastic individual displays.

The match, as with the Bute second team's Bullough Cup quarter-final against Lochside Rovers earlier in the day (click here for report), was preceded by a minute's silence for Mary Burke, whose grandson Roberto Zavaroni took his usual place in the Bute midfield.

Both sides made two changes to the starting line-ups from that Celtic Cup game, with Strathie and David MacDonald returning to the Bute team and Grant Griffin and keeper Graham MacPherson restored to the Inveraray ranks.

And it was the visitors, clearly seeking to build on their reputation as a good cup team, who drew first blood after only five minutes, David Robertson firing a powerful shot into the bottom corner of the net from a short free hit by Garry MacPherson.

Even at that early stage, the question on the lips of the home supporters was whether Bute might allow their heads to drop - but it was a question emphatically answered in the tenth minute when James Craig set off on a powerful run down the right wing and cut the ball back for John McCallum, who held it up well before laying off for Strathie to thump the ball past MacPherson and into the net.

Whitelaw saw his own first effort on goal whistle just wide of MacPherson's right-hand post after a long ball forward by Donnie McDermid, while Walker fired wide from a Strathie lay-off on 19 minutes as Bute began to find their rhythm.

And the home side took the lead three minutes later when Whitelaw scored a carbon copy of his second goal against Inveraray at Winterton Park seven days previously, holding off his marker from a short corner before turning and hammering a shot into the far corner of the net from a difficult angle.

But there was more to come from a Bute side who were really beginning to tie their opponents in knots, and when Strathie won a free hit 20 yards from goal, Whitelaw played the ball short for Walker to drill a sweet strike into the net.

However, any thoughts that Bute might run away with the game at that point were dispelled five minutes later when MacPherson was given all the room he needed after an untidy scramble in the Bute D to shoot past keeper Kevin Queen and reduce the leeway.

MacPherson wasted a good opportunity to level the scores five minutes before the break when he fired wildly over the bar after goading David MacDonald into two fouls in dangerous positions around the edge of the D.

And Bute made the most of that let-off, striking a hammer blow to Inveraray's hopes in the final minute of the half when Walker turned on a sixpence on the penalty spot before finding the corner of the net with another sweet strike.

Coach David McVey warned the Bute players at half time not to rest on their laurels - and it was a message which had an impact within a minute of the restart, when the home side attacked down the right wing and keeper MacPherson collided with Whitelaw as both men went for the cross, the Bute skipper coming off best as he was able to flick the loose ball into the open goal.

With a 5-2 cushion, Bute could have been forgiven for sitting back and trying to protect their advantage - but with the bit between their teeth the hosts showed they had no intention of letting Inveraray back into the game.

Strathie saw a powerful drive from wide on the right sting the palms of keeper MacPherson, and the same man was only inches away from connecting with a Walker effort which whistled across the face of goal, before an excellent one-touch passing move set up David Whitelaw in space, only for the younger of the two Whitelaw brothers to scoop his shot high over the crossbar.

But the sixth Bute goal wasn't delayed for long, Walker completing his hat-trick with a nice flick into the net after Iain MacDonald's corner was allowed to trundle all the way across the face of the Inveraray goal.

And that sixth goal was to come in handy for Bute as the game entered its final quarter and Inveraray briefly threatened a comeback; first Ruairidh Graham bundled the ball home from close range after the Bute defence hesitated, and then, six minutes later, Neil Campbell reduced the deficit to two goals with a well-struck shot from a short Garry MacPherson free hit.

But any hopes among the visitors' ranks that a famous comeback might be on the cards were well and truly shattered with 12 minutes left when Walker's shot was blocked after a Hector Whitelaw free hit and Strathie followed up to convert the rebound.

Inveraray kept plugging away in the last few minutes, but Bute slowed the pace of the game right down and saw out the closing stages without ever being put in serious danger - and referee Billy Wotherspoon's final whistle was met with huge cheers from the sizeable home support.

* Bute are back on home soil this coming Saturday, June 13, when Fort William visit the Meadows for what will be Bute's first Marine Harvest Premier League fixture since April 11 - and only their fourth league game of the campaign.

See also:

www.shinty.com - official website of the Camanachd Association
Bute Sport Flickr group - featuring 9 action photographs and 2 videos from Saturday's match, courtesy of 'UFOPilot'