Duncan MacPherson, the 18-year-old Boleskine attacker, has signed for Newtonmore and will make his debut this evening against Fort William at The Eilean as the new season finally gets under way.
Because of Covid-19 restrictions, this will be the first fixture in seven months, since Fort William blazed a trail with three friendlies.
MacPherson is the cousin of Ewen Fraser, another former Boleskine player, who gained a Camanachd Cup winners’ medal with Newtonmore in 2019 but who moved to Glasgow on qualifying as a doctor and has joined Mid Argyll.
Manager Orston Gardner said: “Duncan is young and very fit and looks a pretty useful addition who can play up front or midfield.
“Along with our other new signing, Max Campbell from Lochaber, he will be involved against Fort.”
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Meanwhile, sawmill workers Patrick MacNeil and Ryan Boyle are unavailable for the visitors but 17-year-olds Hamish Shaw, in the centre line, and Johnny Foster in defence, will figure as they have been promoted to the first team squad.
“Hamish and Johnny are excellent prospects,” said Fort co-manager Victor Smith.
“We’ve held a team meeting about adhering to restrictions and the fact that we played games last autumn is benefiting us in the lads accepting what’s involved.
“We go to Kingussie on Saturday and then we’re at home to Newtonmore next Wednesday, so it’s a challenging start, but everyone’s really looking forward to it.
“We want to be as fit as possible for the regional leagues starting on June 5.
With Evan Menzies not training and Glen Mackintosh still plagued by a knee problem, Newtonmore hope the new faces can make an impact.
Gardner said: “We’ve a big squad so I’m trying to give most lads 45 minutes to tune them up before we host Glen Urquhart on Saturday.
“We’ll be using the local league setup to prepare fully for the cup competitions, which are our priority this year.”