MacKellar added to Ali Carmichael's first half strike against a stuffy but limited Lovat side to set up a semi-final meeting with cup holders Fort William next month.

Bute started with the same team that had lost to Inveraray in the Premier League eight days previously, with captain Hector Whitelaw free from suspension but unable to take his place in the team because of injury.

Some internal reshuffling saw Graham Fisher return to half back and Brian Liddle moved up to the forward line alongside Carmichael, MacKellar and David Whitelaw, and Bute started as if they meant business, going into the attack straight from the throw-up on a very tight playing surface at Kiltarlity.

But the pitch, as well as offering very little room for manoeuvre, was also very hard, and it took both teams a while to adapt to the tricky conditions, with some bad bounces catching out players on both sides.
Bute eventually adapted rather better than their hosts, with Fisher and Iain MacDonald reaching the decision that they were far better off trying to control the ball with their bodies where possible rather than their sticks.

The first chance of the game, though, fell to Bute's Roberto Zavaroni, who unleashed a virtual carbon copy of the strike which secured a point against Fort William in May - a spectacular effort from out on the wing which was destined for the top corner all the way until the Lovat keeper's stick stopped the ball at the last moment.

Liddle hesitated at the crucial moment when found in space on the edge of the D as Bute kept probing for an opening in the Lovat defence, and the all important opening goal eventually arrived midway through the second half, Carmichael firing home after a good exchange on the edge of the Lovat D.

MacKellar's constant harrying and chasing made him a real handful for his Lovat opposite number, who was out-muscled at every opportunity as the Bute player combined his physical presence with some intelligent lay-offs for those around him.

Most of Bute's first half chances fell to Zavaroni, and though he was unable to convert any of the opportunities into further goals before the break Bute, with a rock solid defence and a dominant centre line, could be well pleased with their performance as the half time whistle blew, if not the margin of their lead.

And the game followed a similar pattern after the interval, with Bute largely dominant and keeper Kevin Queen never seriously troubled by the Lovat attack.

But the second goal just would not come - though Zavaroni was convinced he'd found the net in legal fashion midway through the second half, only to be denied by a borderline offside decision from the referee - and as time wore on the nagging feeling that one Lovat breakaway just might change the game began to creep over some of those watching from the sidelines.

The nerves were finally eased with quarter of an hour to go, though,
when MacKellar lost the ball on the edge of the D but quickly regained possession before firing home from just inside the penalty area to put one Bute foot in the semi-finals.

And as the closing minutes ticked away Lovat were left with less and less of the time they needed to have any chance of saving the game - until, with five minutes left, Fisher was penalised for playing the ball with his foot inside the area and Lovat were awarded a penalty, James Matheson making no mistake to throw the tie right back into the melting pot.

But Lovat's frustration at not being able to get past a resolute Bute defence finally boiled over when their captain Lorne MacKay, who had spent much of the game making his frustration known to referee Ronald Campbell, took his protests a step too far and earned himself a red card - and two minutes into stoppage time, with eyes on stopwatches all around the field, Bute broke upfield and a quick ball into the forward line saw MacKellar - not Zavaroni, as the national press reported - thump home his second to secure Bute's small but significant place in history.

The draw for the semi-finals was made later that afternoon and saw Bute paired with Fort William, while the other last four tie is a Badenoch derby between Kingussie and Newtonmore - venues for both ties have still to be announced as we go to press.

Coach Barry Martin said: "Obviously it's a big achievement for the club - we might have preferred to draw Newtonmore in the semis, because our games with them have generally been closer, but as long as you don't draw Kingussie you feel you've got a chance."

* Bute are back on league business this Saturday, July 19 - but the venue is exactly the same, with the team travelling back to Kiltarlity to take on Lovat in a match which could have a big say in the team's top flight survival.

* Bute's second team were idle at the weekend but are back in action this Saturday with a home tie against Glenorchy in South Division Two - throw-up at the Meadows is at 2.30pm.