A dramatic extra time strike from Ross MacMillan meant Oban Camanachd lifted their 7th MKM Oban Macaulay Cup against record holders Kingussie after a high octane 120 minutes at Mossfield.

The match was a rematch of a close battle between the two sides the year previous, and the 6th time in the past 7 years both teams had faced off in the final. Oban Camanachd kicked off their Macaulay Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Inveraray, before a 3-0 win against Bute set up a semi final clash with Kyles Athletic which they duly won in comprehensive fashion to reach the final for another year. For Kingussie, they had to come from behind to see off Lochaber 6-2, before a 4-1 derby win over Newtonmore sent them through to a semi final against Skye which ended 4-0 to Ronald Ross’s men.

Leading up to the final there was a number of notable players who were ruled out of selection for both sides, but Camanachd would surely have been quietly confident with a point to prove, having narrowly tasted defeat in both the 2025 final and the prior week’s Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup semi final, and would no doubt have been bolstered by the knowledge Kingussie were facing a significant shortage in the front line. The Badenoch side nevertheless a strong side with their experience speaking for itself, and were boosted by the return of 2024 winning captain Calum Grant.

A healthy crowd gathered at a new look Mossfield, with the refurbishment of the stand being completed in time for the showpiece final, and with that it was down to referee Calum Girvan to get proceedings underway, and Calum McLay wasted no time in testing Cammy Sutherland inside the first 10 seconds with Lee Bain forcing an extra two saves from the rebound before Jack Nelson fired wide from the corner.

The chances would continue to fall for Kingussie, with a good tackle from Daniel MacCuish on Ruaridh Anderson hitting the ball into the path of Dylan Borthwick who was unable to generate enough lift on the resulting shot to trouble Cammy Sutherland.

Camanachd would work their way into the game after this, as Ross Campbell fired the ball into the box which required Bob McGregor to come off his line to get the clearance out which was re-won by Malcolm Clark, laying it off to Ross Campbell whose shot from range caught the Kingussie goalie off guard, and with that it was 1-0 to the south side after 17 minutes.

Cammy Sutherland would again be called into action soon after, with Dylan Borthwick hitting a hard low driven shot from a free hit followed up by a shot from captain Daniel MacVicar which was flashed wide. A stoppage was forced after, with Calum McLay sustaining an injury which saw youngster MacLeod Dawson take his place. The shots would continue to come for both teams, none of which truly challenged either keeper, before an injury to Dylan Borthwick saw the forward taken off for Savio Genini on 40 minutes. Soon after Ruaridh Anderson worked his way into open space to fire off a shot, but he was unable to keep it down. Likewise, Robert Campbell fired off a shot from the resulting goal hit which didn’t trouble the keeper and thus it would be Daniel Cameron’s side which went in at the break in the lead.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first, with Lee Bain once again unleashing a shot inside of 10 seconds! This time Sutherland’s services weren’t called into action, and it would be McGregor in the Kings net who would make the first save of the half, Scott Campbell firing a well hit shot into the bottom right which was put out wide by the Scotland keeper.

Kingussie would respond as the ever impressive Ruaridh Anderson showed Daniel MacCuish that you can never drop your guard against him, but his lay off to Savio Genini was well cleared by Andy MacDonald. The next shot would this time reach the Camanachd goal who was called into action after a nice 1-2 between Thomas Borthwick and Bain allowed him to let off a long range shot which was duly saved by Sutherland. The pressure continued from the holders, with Anderson rescuing a chance and running into space, his shot however flashed wide of the goal.

The momentum was well and truly in Kingussie’s favour, with a good chance going begging for Dylan Borthwick on the half volley. Oban Camanachd continued to rally however, breaking and continuing to land shots in the path of McGregor’s net in the face of sustained pressure.

The breakthrough finally came on 76 minutes, and it was from an unlikely source as young defender MacLeod Dawson ghosted into the back post after Rory MacKeachan’s shy eluded several players on both sides to knock the ball Cammy Sutherland. Just like that, it was game on with 15 to go as both sides roared into life to try and nick a winner.

The introduction of Ross MacMillan almost instantly paid off, as he played a cross into the box which nearly caught McGregor out as Lorne Dickie charged in on goal, however the ball was cleared to safety to deny a quick reply. A free hit from Dylan Borthwick fell kindly for Lee Bain on 83 minutes, his shot looked to have been going on but generated too much spin and went agonisingly wide.

On 85 minutes it was none other than manager Daniel Cameron who entered the pitch to try and change the game. Despite having not seen much action over the last two seasons, his experience and fitness was a big boost to a forward line which was giving their all to try and bring the cup back to Oban, and his introduction nearly paid off as his side enjoyed a spell of possession which resulted in two attempts at goal.

The shots and fouls were raining in as both teams tried their hardest to prevent one another from nicking it and with seconds left on the clock Anderson nicked the ball off MacDonald, however he failed to generate the required power behind his shot and it was easily cleared by Sutherland. Just like that Calum Girvan would blow the full time whistle to send the game to extra time.

On 97 minutes Oban were awarded a free hit as Kieran MacPherson was judged to have caught Ross MacMillan on the hand. Lewis Cameron’s shot fell kindly into the path of MacMillan and he made no mistake as he rattled his shot into the back of the net giving McGregor no chance of saving it. Straight away Camanachd tried to kill off the game with Lewis Cameron hitting one from range which was saved and cleared by Bob McGregor, before a follow up shot was blocked by his marker. A third shot from Cameron would go over soon after, an impressive display from Camanachd who continued to go on the attack in a scenario where many teams would sit back.

Kingussie’s hopes were dashed as their engine in the middle of the park Thomas Borthwick suffered an unfortunate injury which ended his afternoon. On the stroke of half time Ross Campbell nearly hit a strike similar to his first, this time wide and as half time in extra time came it was advantage Oban Camanachd.

A ball in from Dylan Borthwick landed at the feet of Sutherland, the curve nearly deceiving the keeper but he held firm as Kingussie threw everything they had at them in the final 10 minutes. Oban Camanachd broke and nearly killed off the game soon after, with Malcom Clark’s  cross stopped by the feet of McGregor with Lewis Cameron caught off guard when the ball fell to him, his brother Daniel was straight on it though which required a second save from the Kings keeper.

The crowd was right behind both sides by this stage, celebrating every strong hit and block celebrated to spur their team on. Kingussie continued to push, Anderson winning the ball deep in his own half and playing a long ball forward which fell into the path of Savio Genini who nearly found young Rory Munro, Sutherland keeping his cool and seeing the ball safely out of play with 3 minutes left which would surely have felt like 30 for those in red and black.

The south side continued to wind down the clock, with Lorne Dickie being wiped out by Dylan Borthwick to allow them to take the momentum away from Kingussie and tick the seconds down. The close control of Lewis Cameron allowed the ball to spend those final precious seconds in the corner of the pitch and as Calum Girvan blew his whistle it was euphoria for an Oban Camanachd side who had grafted for 120 minutes for the second straight Saturday to grab a well earned triumph.

The sun was now poking out of the Oban sky as the celebrations begun. Daniel MacCuish was swiftly named Man of the Match by the BBC for his part in an impressive performance at the back which kept the opposition at bay over a long afternoon. With that it was the turn of Daniel MacVicar to lift the trophy in front of the Camanachd faithful!

Images courtesy of Stewart Inglis.