Wildcats at EHL and Premiership action at home

Western Wildcats men hit the road to Surbiton to participate in the early rounds of this season`s EuroHockey League (EHL) with high hopes.

On Saturday they take on English Premier League side Wimbledon in the opening round – and win or lose they will face either host club Surbiton or Belgian side Waterloo Ducks the following day. A win on Saturday would put Western Wildcats into the next round of the EHL while a loss would see them face a ranking match.

Coach Vishal Marwaha is well aware of the task ahead. “Wimbledon will be a tough game as will Surbiton or Waterloo. They are all quality teams who will represent a real challenge for us. The boys know they will have to raise their level to be competitive. However the team is really excited by that and are looking forward to the games.”

Then Vishal also confirmed the squad.  “We had a couple of last minute fitness tests but everyone passed and we have a full squad going.”

Western Wildcats have a strong squad bristling with international players and this season`s signing of 22-year-old Jamie Golden has added extra firepower – the Dundonian has considerable international and EHL experience and has scored six goals already in the Premiership.

So how has the preparation gone? Vishal explained, “I think the preparation is as good as we could have hoped. Getting four wins helps your confidence and we were able to progress the group structurally and tactically.” And the four wins have been quite impressive with 19 goals and none against.

Wildcats lead the men`s Premiership by three points and have played a game more, with Watsonians and Grange in catch-up mode.

Watsonians, under the coaching aegis of Dan Coultas, have continued to impress with three wins out of three – the latest victim being Clydesdale at a conclusive 4-0 score line.

On Saturday the Edinburgh side visit a Hillhead outfit that are solidly in the middle of the table with a win, draw and defeat. So what`s next? Current form would favour Watsonians but Yan Adams` side can often pull off the unexpected, so this could be a test of Watsonians’ resolve.

So what of Grange? They travel to Tayside to confront a Dundee Wanderers side that was elevated from bottom to eleventh in the table despite losing 5-0 on Saturday. But the Dundonians have had a tough start to their campaign and now face the visit of the Premiership champions. Last weekend`s 5-1 win over Grove Menzieshill was fairly conclusive and David Nairn along with the Aussie pair Ola Marshall and Dylan Bean are regulars on the scoresheet.

Fourth placed Edinburgh University are also beginning to show a bit of early form and they are away to Inverleith. Kyle Taylor admitted, “We have a young squad with a few key injuries, so it was always going to be tough.”

ESM Lions have finally put some points on the board, whether they can add to their tally on Tayside against Grove Menzieshill is another matter. Another three points here would certainly confirm their progress further up the table, but Gav Byers` charges on their own patch could be a difficult hurdle. Further, Grove Menzieshill`s present position after only three games could be a misleading one, after all they have played the three top teams from last season – a tough opening.

Finally, Uddingston have made a promising start to the season with fifth place, and they travel to Dunfermline Carnegie on Saturday in search of their third win of the campaign. The Lanarkshire side have popped in twelve goals so far, and that includes a blank against Clydesdale, with Amirul Hanif, Ben Young, Fahmi Khalid and Finn Halliday leading the charge. Dunfermline may still be pointless after three games, but in their favour they have only lost their games by relatively small margins.

In the women`s Premiership the top five teams are away from home on Saturday – this could be impactful. Possibly not, but then again let`s recall Maddie Lumsden`s winning goal for Glasgow University at Auchenhowie two weeks ago.

The students may fancy another prominent scalp as they entertain Clydesdale Western. That may be a tall order; Mark Ralph`s charges have won all three games so far and have yet to concede a goal while scoring 17.

So what about Wildcats who lie in fourth spot? On Saturday they travel to Inverleith. They will be anxious to get back on to the scoring trail after huffing and puffing at the Glasgow students’ goal but coming away with nothing. So the Inverleith defence may have to cope with Wildcats proven goal scorers Kate Holmes, Lexi Macmillan, Alex Stuart, and Rachel Bain who will undoubtedly respond positively to their frustration of two weeks ago.

However, Inverleith have got off the mark already with a 5-2 win over Hillhead and are one of five sides sitting on three points.

League leaders Watsonians travel to Hillhead and the side from Edinburgh has already fired in 32 goals in their three games so far.

GHK, third in the table, travel south to take on newcomers Fjordhus Reivers and coach Susan McGilveray will be looking to continue their unbeaten early run. The Glasgow club have scored eight in three games, and Lucy Williamson has got half of them. The Borderers will need time to adjust to the pace of the top flight but they did earn a good point in a 3-3 draw with Grange

The battle of the universities sees Edinburgh take the road to St Andrews. The visitors, under new coach Henry Langton, are fifth but have played a game less.  However, they opened with a 3-1 loss at GHK and 5-0 win over Uddingston – so a mixed start. The Fife students have had a slow start to the season, a 3-3 draw with Grange was followed by reversals against Wildcats and Clydesdale, so there’s work to do here for coach Jamie Carnegie.

The final game on the card is between Uddingston and Grange. The Edinburgh side have drawn all their games so far, while the Lanarkshire side have had a slow start to the campaign with losses against GHK, Clydesdale, and Edinburgh University, losing twelve goals in the process and not scoring themselves.

Sunday sees the start of the Scottish Cup campaign with first round fixtures.

What is certain is that some Premiership sides are bound to falter. In the men`s competition Inverleith are drawn against Edinburgh University while Hillhead entertain Uddingston.

There are many more women`s ties but the only all-Premiership match sends third placed GHK to St Andrews University. Uddingston are already through with a 4-2 win over Glasgow University.

 

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