Ali Carmichael, James Craig and Hector Whitelaw hit the target on a see-saw afternoon which saw the islanders fall behind, battle back to take the lead, lose it again and fight back once to level the game, but Whitelaw blotted his copybook when he was sent off 15 minutes from time, with the score at 4-3 to Kyles, for expressing his frustration once too often at the decisions of referee Colin MacDonald.

With the Bute squad pared down to the bare bones - Robert Ferguson was their only substitute - and coach Barry Martin in Glasgow providing expert analysis for Radio Scotland's coverage of the Glasgow Celtic Society Cup final, the visitors were immediately put on the back foot by a Kyles side determined to make an early impression.

And the game was only three minutes old when the hosts took the lead, Roddy MacColl gobbling up the rebound after Kevin Queen could only parry a powerful drive from Duncan Kerr.

But Bute, out for revenge after Kyles' Celtic Cup victory in Rothesay in April, soon weathered the hosts' early storm - and in the visitors' very first attack Gordon McMillan earned a corner from which Roberto Zavaroni found Carmichael unmarked eight yards from goal, and the full forward gave Kyles keeper Kenny MacDonald no chance with his finish.

The visitors took heart from their equaliser and began to put some serious pressure on the Kyles goal, and MacDonald was a relieved man when a frantic scramble inside the hosts' D eventually ended with the ball trickling wide of the target.

But with David McVey orchestrating matters from the sidelines Bute were now in the ascendancy, and the visitors took the lead on 14 minutes when David Whitelaw's intelligent lay-off set up Craig for a shot at goal, and though the Bute player appeared to have missed his opportunity with a fresh air swing at the ball, he was given enough time and space for a second attempt from a tighter angle - and this time the ball flew past the helpless MacDonald and into the corner of the net.

Craig almost made it 3-1 when a good, flowing move ended with his shot being deflected wide for a corner, but Kyles hit back on 23 minutes when Donald Irvine's shy into the danger area was sliced horribly into his own net by the unfortunate Donnie McDermid to level the score once again.

Some of referee MacDonald's decisions were already beginning to frustrate the Bute players, and captain Whitelaw left himself teetering on the edge when one protest too many earned him a yellow card which would come back to haunt him after the break.

But Bute ended the first half much the better side, and Carmichael was inches away from putting Bute back in front after he controlled a John McCallum shy and turned his defender before shooting just over MacDonald's crossbar.

Kyles, though, started the second half the same way they had started the first, putting Bute on the back foot and before long re-taking the lead, Thomas Whyte getting in a shot from distance which appeared to either catch Queen unsighted or to take an unkind bounce before nestling somewhat apologetically in the bottom corner.

Hector Whitelaw earned himself a final warning after protesting a bit too vociferously at another example of what he saw as the referee's inconsistent decision-making - but urged by his team-mates and the visiting supporters to let his shinty do the talking, the Bute captain obliged in style on 58 minutes when he rewarded a fine run down the right and tempting cross from younger brother David with an unstoppable shot low into the net.

Bute had a narrow escape four minutes later when Donald Irvine scooped a shot high over the bar after an untidy goalmouth scramble, but the respite was short-lived and Kyles regained the advantage on 70 minutes when, in a carbon copy of the hosts' opening strike, Grant Irvine was quickest to the rebound after Queen could only parry Whyte's attempt on goal.

Ferguson came on for McMillan two minutes later as coach McVey tried a fresh approach, but Bute's hopes of bringing the game level for a fourth time suffered a terminal blow when captain Whitelaw - who had been warned that one more word of protest would have dire consequences - couldn't contain his frustration at another refereeing decision and found himself on the wrong end of a red card.

Iain MacDonald was unlucky to see a speculative long range effort drop a foot or so wide of the Kyles goal with ten minutes left, but with only 11 men it was always going to be a tough task for the visitors - and an uphill struggle became an impossible job seven minutes from time when Whyte and Robbie MacLeod combined well to set up MacColl for a smart turn and shot which gave Queen no chance, sealing a win which does the Tighnabruaich side's Premier League survival hopes no harm at all.

* This weekend sees a new departure for Bute in the form of Friday night shinty, due to a wedding on Saturday at which several senior squad members will be present.

The team travels to Winterton Park for a Premier League fixture away to Inveraray - crowned Celtic Cup winners for the eighth time in nine years after a 4-1 final win over Glenorchy - in a match which has a throw-up time of 7.15pm.