Shinty: Kingussie complete Grand Slam with league title win
- Published
Kingussie secured their fourth trophy of the season
A 2-0 away win over Oban Camanachd landed Kingussie the Mowi Premiership title, and with it the Grand Slam of all four major shinty honours.
This was despite the only other contenders Kinlochshiel's 5-0 defeat of Kyles at Tighnabruich. Fort William have been all but relegated from the Premiership following Glasgow Mid Argyll's 2-1 victory over Lovat at Yoker.
Inveraray kept their National Division promotion hopes alive, but only in theory, with a 1-0 win over Glenurquhart at Drumnadrochit.
Roddy Young, who has played such a huge part in Kingussie's season where they have lost just one of 28 competitive games so far, produced a double in the first quarter of their game at Oban.
This clinched the league title, which Kingussie won the last time it was contested in 2019, and they add this to earlier knockout successes in the Camanachd, MacTavish and MacAulay Cups.
Kinlochshiel, the only side to defeat Kingussie back in August, made short work of Kyles and confirmed second place. Shiel's formidable MacRae clan again proved decisive when Keith scored four, including a first-half hat-trick in 18 minutes, with one more from John halfway through that spree.
Hamish Anderson and Calum McLay gave Glasgow Mid Argyll an early 2-0 lead, with Lovat's reply coming early in the second half.
This makes Mid Argyll safe and relegates Fort William unless the Glasgow side's 21-goal advantage were to be overturned in Fort's last game and their own three.
It therefore looks likely that the shinty heartland of Lochaber will have no Premiership representation next season, since Kilmallie are already relegated and Lochaber are destined to remain in the second tier.
Graeme Irvine's goal in Drumnadrochit keeps Inveraray's promotion hopes only notionally alive since they require an even more improbable scenario than Fort William.
However, Inveraray still remain National Division king makers since their remaining games are against title contenders Skye and Beauly, with Skye holding a two-point advantage.
This means the National Division title, the only unresolved senior honour, will now be decided either next Saturday or on 5 November.