KYLES GO BACK HOME

Work under way in late March...

After months of work on their home pitch at Kames playing field, during which they have been forced to use alternative pitches for home ties, Kyles Athletic are coming home this weekend.

The famous shinty arena - used by famous Kyles teams for more than half a century - has been suffering in recent years with drainage problems as rainfall in Argyll has seemed to exceed all historic levels.


Major drainage and re-turfing work over the winter and spring to improve the playing surface should improve matters for fans and players alike.

One of the most regular and strident complaints surrounding the Scotland-wide premier league in recent seasons has been over relatively late call-offs due to unplayable pitches. Most of the unplayable fields have - unsurprisingly - been located in the western half of the country. Most of the complaints have come from teams in the rain shadow of the western hills.

...and the scene in April

But, it has to be said that these clubs had a point.

West coast clubs have a lot more wet weather to contend with than those further east. Not a doubt about that. But we are talking about a genuine amateur sport here, and we are in a financial recession. Working guys, in many cases paying their own way to matches, and amateur clubs can't afford to be travelling 150 or more miles - only to be told the game's off.

So the news that Kyles have made better arrangements to get the climate-change water away from their pitch can only be good news for the game as a whole.

But

...and here's a question Shintyfan readers will know the answer to better than me...

How much of Kyles' relative drop-off in form (and this, I must add, is relative to the last few years of fair success) is down to not playing at home in Kames?

In front of the famously-noisy Kames Gallery?

They have been forced to play at least one 'home' game  at the away team's ground. The club has borrowed pitches from neighbouring clubs ColGlen and Strachur. At ColGlen's field - itself borrowed from a local farmer because of a wet home pitch - Kyles recorded a 5-2 home win against Kingussie. The venue, at Ormidale, was a great, if temporary,  shinty setting and didn't seem to affect the tenant club too much.

A community further north in Cowal has been working hard for a decade to construct a community playing field. Strachur's new facility, at Strachurmore Farm, was finally ready for play in April, and Kyles were able to use this fantastic new facility in April and early May.

In two games played at Strachur, Kyles won 2-0 versus bottom side Kilmallie in an unimpressive match; and a week later they borrowed the pitch again and drew 2-2 with Lovat.

But - had they played Lovat at their spiritual Kames home - might they have won? Could they have scored more against a severely under-strength Kilmallie at their real home?

All questions we'll never answer, but it is great to see Kyles back home. It is a real, deep-rooted shinty community and the local folk deserve to see shinty in the Kyles.

Fort William will be this weekend's visitors - weather permitting - and here's hoping for a great pitch and an even better game.