A draw was the least Bute deserved after a game in which they saw far more of the ball than their far-travelled visitors, but were unable to make the most of their possession, either through poor finishing or a disappointing final ball into the danger zone.

A scrappy early goal from Strathglass player-coach Robert Geddes got Bute off on the worst possible foot, and though the visitors rarely came close to adding a second their tenacity in closing down the Bute players and refusing to allow them time on the ball so nearly paid dividends for a team defeated 10-1 at home by Kingussie only seven days before.

Having lost that early goal Bute quickly went in search of an equaliser, and despite being hit by injury and illness the re-jigged home team, with Duncan Simpson at full forward, gave Strathglass plenty to think about, Simpson firing wide on 25 minutes after a smart move involving John McCallum and Robert Walker.

Just a minute later Bute came agonisingly close to levelling the match when Iain MacDonald's free hit found Whitelaw on the edge of the D, and the skipper was denied only by a fantastic stop from the Strathglass keeper, who reacted instantly to tip the ball over the bar.

Simpson saw his tricky looping shot palmed away by a busy Strathglass keeper as Bute turned up the heat, but in a rare foray upfield the visitors showed they were far from a spent force, a shot whistling narrowly over Kevin Queen's crossbar after a good ball in from the left wing.

Queen was forced into a good goal-line save five minutes from the break after a Strathglass cross was allowed to creep across the front of the D, and Bute's rhythm was interrupted just before the break when Graham Fisher came off injured to be replaced by Brian Liddle.

Nonetheless, as the half time whistle blew Bute, with the prospect of playing with a strong wind at their backs in the second half, could still remain confident of getting the better of their visitors after the break.

But it was a while before either side could find any kind of rhythm on a surface which was far trickier and bumpier than it looked at first glance, and though Bute were still seeing more of the ball it was a good quarter of an hour before either side could muster a decent attempt on goal, Whitelaw eventually seeing his shot blocked by the Strathglass keeper on 61 minutes after a quick free hit caught the visitors' defence slightly unawares.

Two minutes later the hosts had a narrow escape when Queen had trouble clearing his lines, only some last-ditch Bute defending kept Strathglass's lead at a single goal, but three minutes later the keeper came to Bute's rescue with a fantastic diving save to push a net-bound shot round the post.

That, though, was the last the game saw of Strathglass as an attacking force, with Bute growing ever more desperate in their search for an equaliser in the last 25 minutes.

Among the more notable efforts on goal were a decent Walker effort which was blocked by the keeper, a snapshot from distance by James Craig and a shot from Whitelaw which flew inches wide after a free hit some 20 yards from goal.

But all too often Bute's attempts were thwarted, either by some dogged Strathglass defending or by a poor ball in the final third, and as the clock crept towards the 90-minute mark it seemed certain that the visitors would hold on and take full points on a ground where they lost 5-0 in 2007.

But with almost the last attacking move of the game John McCallum fired a shy into the danger zone from the left, and with substitute Leighton Reid on hand to make worse the uncertainty in the Strathglass defence, Whitelaw struck from 15 yards out to salvage a point on a day when the hosts might have expected a good deal more.

* Bute's seniors are on home soil again this Saturday, April 26, when Lovat are the visitors to the Meadows in the Premier League.

The Inverness-shire side are in a similar position to that enjoyed by Bute 12 months ago, having won the North Division One championship last season to win promotion to the sport's top flight for the first time, though they've had a difficult time of it so far, losing their first four games, at home to Kingussie, Inveraray and Lochaber and away to Oban Camanachd.

Throw-up at the Meadows on Saturday is at 2.30pm.

Bute's second team were idle at the weekend but return to action this Saturday with away match in South Division Two against Kyles Athletic, with a throw-up at Tighnabruaich at the earlier-than-usual time of 12 noon.