Parish Cup defending champions handed tricky Westray test

The Orcadian Parish Cup champions Stromness will begin their quest for a fourth title-in-a-row in Westray as the countdown to the 2018 competition begins.

The first-round and quarter-final draws were made on Thursday, with the reigning holders of the famed trophy handed a tricky test as they begin their title defence.

Rendall — finalists in the past two years — and St Andrews received first-round byes and were then drawn to face other at the quarter-final stage, while Holm, St Ola and Sandwick will all be heavy favourites against Deerness, Stenness and Hoy, Flotta and Walls respectively.

Two intriguing clashes between Sanday and South Ronaldsay, and Birsay and Firth will also take place.

A clash between two of the competition’s most successful sides, Sandwick and St Ola, could occur in the last eight, while the winners of Westray and Stromness could set up a fixture against Holm.

First-round draw: Hoy, Flotta and Walls v Sandwick; Stenness v St Ola; Sanday v South Ronaldsay; Deerness v Holm; Birsay v Firth; Westray v Stromness; Rendall and St Andrews receive byes.

Quarter-finals: Rendall v St Andrews; Stenness/St Ola v Flotta, Hoy and Walls/Sandwick; Sanday/South Ronaldsay v Birsay/Firth; Deerness/Holm v Westray/Stromness.