Grove Menzieshill and Edinburgh University take the European spoils in Grand Finals
Grove Menzieshill men and Edinburgh University women took Scotland’s top European spots with tremendous victories in the Grand Finals at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre.
Men’s Grand Final | Grange 1-3 Grove Menzieshill
Grove Menzieshill took Scotland’s EHL spot with a sensational 3-1 win over Grange in the Men’s Grand Final.
It was an even start to the contest with Grove Menzieshill creating the game’s only half chance in the early stages.
As the game grew older it was the Taysiders who took control of the match and again Grove Menzieshill came close after some good play by Gavin Tomlinson created a half chance with a slick pass from the left.
Next it was Aiden McQuade to test the Grange keeper with a flick from the top of the D but it was well dealt with by Nathan Doherty.
Against the run of play it was Grange who opened the scoring. A penalty corner saw Frank Ryan slam the ball low into the left corner to give the League and Cup champions a 1-0 lead.
Todd Mills had a chance for Grange to double the advantage but he couldn’t connect with the ball in the middle of the D.
Then Grove Menzieshill scored a screamer. Some great running by Cameron Golden was more than matched by his finish, which flew like a rocket into the left corner of the net. 1-1.
The second half continued in the vein of the first and it was Grove Menzieshill who took the lead through a well-worked penalty corner. The ball was slipped to the right for Ollie James who slid in to finish from close range. 2-1.
Grange went on the attack and a penalty corner by Ryan was well saved by Steven McIlravey.
It went to 3-1 with a few minutes remaining and it was James again sliding in from a penalty corner for the goal.
Women’s Grand Final | Edinburgh University 1-1 (3-1) Clydesdale Western
Edinburgh University won the Women’s Grand Final in dramatic fashion, the game going to running penalties after finishing 1-1.
Sam Judge opened the scoring for the Edinburgh side 25 minutes into the first half, before Lexi Sabatelli struck back after the final. Edinburgh University secured a magnificent treble though, winning 3-1 when it came to running penalties.
The game started evenly, both sides struggling to gain a firm foothold or create any decisive opportunities.
Nevertheless, as the half wore on the students began to look stronger than their opponents, and they were rewarded when Judge opened the scoring, courtesy of a penalty corner.
While Clydesdale did demonstrate the danger they posed towards the end of the first half, Sabatelli coming close, their Edinburgh opponents headed into the interval more content with how they had performed.
Their dominance started to become more noticeable in the second half. Captain Zara Malseed was heavily involved, and managed to carve out a number of dangerous chances for herself.
Nevertheless, she was unable to convert, and despite having full control of the match, the Edinburgh side were soon punished for being wasteful.
Sabatelli equalised for Clydesdale, finishing off a wonderful solo effort to leave the game poised at 1-1.
While they had spent most of the afternoon on the defensive, the goal buoyed Clydesdale, and they started to look the more dangerous of the two sides.
With under a minute remaining Millie Brown missed a guilt-edge chance for them, and the game went to running penalties.
Edinburgh University soon regained their stride. Laura Swanson and Sophie Newton sent them into a 2-0 lead, and while Millie Brown’s valiant effort brought it back to 2-1, Clydesdale were unable to recover fully, succumbing to a 3-1 defeat against a dominant Edinburgh University outfit.
Men’s Promotion/Relegation match | Dundee Wanderers 1-6 Uddingston
Uddingston secured their top flight survival with a comprehensive 6-1 win against Dundee Wanderers.
Bradley Hughes was their star man, finding the net four times, with Paul Counsell and Steven Percy scoring the others.
The game started evenly, both teams threatening and finding their way forward.
After ten minutes had been played, Hughes opened the scoring for the eventual winners, finishing off an impressive move started by captain Percy.
Their Dundee opponents struck back almost immediately though, Bobby Ralph making it 1-1 just a minute after the first goal had been scored.
Uddingston, however, refused to let that setback deter them. Hughes scored again after 15 minutes had been played, this time from a penalty corner.
His side then started to take complete control of the match, playing with increasing flair and confidence. Their efforts were soon rewarded, Hughes securing his hat-trick just before the interval.
Little changed in the second half. Any hopes of a Wanderers comeback fell flat, Hughes again converting to find a fourth minutes after play had resumed.
The Uddingston talisman was on fire, and came close to scoring again on more than one occasion.
Dundee were sloppy on the ball and struggled to mount any consistent attacks. They were soon punished by their relentless opponents, Counsell scoring to kill off any doubts as to who was going to emerge victorious.
Insult was added to injury in the final minutes. Having been crucial to some of his sides attacking moves, captain Steven Percy added a sixth to their tally.
Uddingston will be delighted with their survival. Having finished ninth this season, their goal will be to build on that next year and utilise their strong attack to full effect.
For a disappointed Dundee side, the hope will be to bounce back at the first attempt.
Women’s Promotion/Relegation match | Inverleith 1-2 Grange
Grange women avoided relegation with a 2-1 victory over Inverleith at the Grand Finals.
It was a tight opening to the match with Grange slightly edging the play. Both sides enjoyed little waves of attacking possession without creating any clear chances for a strike at goal.
The first chance of the match went the way of Grange. Courtney Doherty sent a drag flick toward the bottom left corner but it was well saved to keep the score level.
As the half progressed Grange huffed and puffed but found the Inverleith defence a tough nut to crack.
The second half began as the first ended – a Grange penalty corner zipped just wide of the left post.
It was the third penalty corner of the match that counted. Again it went to Grange and in a variation from previous efforts Beth Dodds swept the ball home to make it 1-0.
Dodds scored her, and Grange’s, second goal of the match and it was a carbon copy of the first. A penalty corner to the left of the D and Dodds fired it past the goalkeeper and into the goal. 2-0.
Grange began to battle back into the match and were denied by a double save from a penalty corner routine.
Inverleith pulled one back with two minutes remaining. The ball was smashed into the D and deflected home by Stephanie Bain to make it 2-1.
Right at the death Inverleith was awarded a penalty corner to try and find an equaliser but a top save by Chantal Guillot kept Grange in front and took the victory to seal their place in National League 1 next season.
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