A new dawn for the Premiership this weekend

Last season saw Western Wildcats take the men`s Premiership title and Watsonians the women`s, along with the top European places – yet the Scottish Cup eluded them, that went to both Edinburgh University sides. So the question is, will these two talented sides continue to dominate proceedings this coming season?

There have been some shifts in the pecking order.

For example, in the women`s scene GHK have continued their rise by finishing in third place and claiming a spot in the European play-offs. And there is also Glasgow University who achieved a top six place.

Watsonians, under coach Dan Coultas, continued their development by finishing third in the men`s table and claiming their first European spot with a 2-0 win over Grange in the play-off semi-final. Another rising star from Edinburgh is ESM Lions who roared into the top six competition for the first time.

So will these challenges continue to blossom this season?

GHK seems to be a progressive success story, but to find out the mood in the camp we caught up with Lucy Williamson, their top striker last season. In the first instance she reflected on the progress made to date:

“We had our most successful season ever last year, so we absolutely achieved our targets. We were delighted to be second at the split and finished third overall. GHK has worked so hard to climb the table and for us to be in a position to be challenging for a top four finish and European places is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved over the last number of years.”

And so to the coming conflict, Lucy laid out the plan ahead:

“This year we will continue to push forward as a club, aiming always to build on the progress we made last season.  It was a different mind-set to adjust to, going from being in the chasing pack, to being second in the league at Christmas, and therefore chased by the top six on the restart.  We want to replicate our excellent first half performances this season, and work hard to go one better in the play-offs in May.”

GHK have a testing start to their campaign – at Titwood on Saturday to face Clydesdale Western, followed immediately by Watsonians and Edinburgh University. That will challenge their resolve.

Watsonians men can boast of a similar success story in recent years, although they are arguably a step ahead having won the Scottish Cup over a year ago and recently gained their first European engagement.

Luke Campbell, Watsonians captain, gave his assessment of last season`s campaign: “We were really happy with our progression last season and qualifying for Europe felt like a great reward for that, so that certainly brings a special excitement for the season ahead.”

So what about the season ahead? Luke gave his take on that: “We have seen some changes to the squad over the summer, with potential to bring in another one or two still, so I think we are in a strong position to aim to make further progress. We`ll look to take it game-by-game for now and see where we are in the second half of the season.

“We want to put ourselves in a position where we can contest important games in April and May, like we did last season. If we can get to those games, we hope the experience we have gained in recent years will help us to get over the line.”

From that rhetoric it would appear that Watsonians will aim to be in the mix for honours at the denouement of the season – so look out Western Wildcats, Grange, Edinburgh University and other aspirants.

Another interesting development is the rise of University hockey. Their numbers have swollen from four to six in this season`s Premiership with the promotion of St Andrews men and Aberdeen women.  However, the students are not in action this weekend – they have a week`s sabbatical.

In the men`s league Western Wildcats face their first hurdle at home to Uddingston. The Auchenhowie side have lost some influential players – striker Jamie Golden has gone to rivals Edinburgh University, fellow Scotland internationalist Tommy Austin goes to English side Surbiton, while Simon Wells returns to Australia. To balance, set piece expert Iain McFadden re-joins after a year at Edinburgh University along with youngsters Julius Bosman and Julius van Maanen from the Netherlands, both at Stirling University.

Uddingston seem to be negotiated a substantial influx of Aussie support over the close season – it will be interesting to see how that impacts on performance and results.

However, the immediate challengers may have a bit of work to do on Saturday – Watsonians and Grange are away to Grove Menzieshill and Clydesdale respectively. Certainly both home sides finished in the bottom six last season, but a home fixture with the freshness of the opening game in their nostrils – then who knows?

Grange have also lost some key players from the last campaign – Dylan Bean returns to Oz, Alan Johnston goes to London and Jamie Green to An der Alster in Germany. Further Aidan McQuade takes the role of player/coach at Dunfermline Carnegie. However, Ritchie McCluskey returns from Edinburg Uni and manager Martin Shepherdson stated that they had a “good crop of youngsters pushing for places in the squad.” The proof of the pudding will be evident at Titwood on Saturday.

There have been a few changes at Clydesdale, firstly Harry Dunlop takes over as coach from long-standing Ciaran Crawford. On the playing front they have attracted youngsters Lewis McGuiness, Thomas McInroy and Andrew McGrane, all in the Scotland under-18 squad at the recent Euros, along with Charlie Feeney from Kelburne.

Both Clydesdale and Grove Menzieshill will be anxious to show that they have the playing resources to challenge for a top six place come the end of the year – Saturday could provide an early indication.

ESM Lions have developed into a solid Premiership side with some promise after finishing in the top six, but a trip to Hillhead could be a banana skin experience.

The final fixture on the card brings Dundee Wanderers to Inverleith – a bottom six encounter last season but both sides will be anxious to take the pressure off with an early three points. The good news for Inverleith captain Kyle Taylor is that it is rumoured that free-scoring Bobby Ralph has retired from the Wanderers` set-up.

Photo by Donald Amour

The clash of the day in the women`s card is GHK`s visit to Clydesdale Western – a re-run of last season`s final fixture which ended in a 1-1 draw and effectively ended the latter`s Premiership title aspirations. However, Clydesdale did get their revenge in the semi-finals of the play-offs with a 2-0 win, Millie Steiger and Ava Graham on target.

Clydesdale have a new coach in Fiona Bruce who takes over from Mark Ralph. Also returning to the fold are Fran Lonergan from Wildcats and Bronwyn Shields from Wimbledon – they should add fire to the striking department. Although last year`s captain Laura Paul and Ali Howie will not feature, the Titwood side have attracted Jika Nyirenda, Sophie Hinds and Neave Halliday from Edinburgh University along with keepers Becky Hague and Morven Begg from Wildcats and Gordonians respectively.

On the season ahead Fiona Bruce remarked: “There’s quite a significant change in the group so we`d like to ensure we connect as a team as quickly as possible. We’re focused on winning as many games as possible and enjoying our hockey together.”

Now Clydesdale have named Millie Steiger as captain, Fiona`s charges are ready for the off on Saturday.

Wildcats had a bit of an up and down time last term, finishing outside the top four. The Auchenhowie side have the chance to start this campaign with three points at home to Inverleith.

Hillhead struggled with relegation last season, only surviving with a play-off win over Dundee Wanderers, however they could start this season on a positive note with three points at home to Grange. Last season`s finishing positions will probably be of little value as both sides have remarked on several squad changes. Hillhead have lost Alex Burdon and Oria Parsons to Glasgow Uni along with Emma Blackstock and Rachel Osborne to Wildcats allowing youngsters to step into the shoes.

Grange captain Heather Croll reported the loss of around five players to Edinburgh University but also mentioned the return of Annie Steingold and Imogen Aitken along with the addition of several new recruits and promising youngsters.

It will be interesting who comes out on top here.

 

Recent posts:

Back to all news
Back to top