Fairer weather in store for the Premierships

After last weekend`s deluge and cancellations, it seems that there is better weather in store for this Saturday`s Premiership card.

At the start of any Premiership campaign there are always one or two sides that perhaps step up a notch and catch the eye with some big results.

Grange women are one of those sides, presently sitting in third spot… and perhaps the same could be said of Uddingston men and women also in the top six.

We caught up with Grange captain Kirsten Turnbull to find out what she thought. She said: “We are really pleased with our start to the season – particularly Friday`s draw with a strong Edinburgh University side.”

After four games Grange have seven points alongside Edinburgh University, but with a better goal difference. Two wins, a draw and narrow defeat by Clydesdale Western is a solid foundation.

So what is the secret? Kirsten explained: “We lost a good few of last season`s players to universities but had a good recruitment drive, which has meant that there has been a lot of competition in our training squad. We had a great pre-season and have all become good friends off the pitch, which has meant we have connected well despite being a fairly new team. Our coach, Sean Hadfield, also puts in a lot of hard work tactically behind the scenes to prepare us for each game.”

It`s one thing to have a good start to the Premiership campaign, it`s quite another to sustain it. But the Grange captain is keeping her feet firmly on the ground.

“Our ultimate aim for the season is to make the top six at the split. We are confident that we can achieve this but I think at the moment we are just focussing on each game as it comes, and enjoying playing good hockey.”

However, third in the table is a big step in the right direction after finishing eighth at the end of last season.

On Saturday Grange travel to newly promoted St Andrews University to continue the momentum and Kirsten will be hoping that top scorers Heather Croll and Hanna McKie can continue to find the net.

And the Grange renaissance certainly does not look like a flash in the pan, on Sunday they again drew 2-2 with Edinburgh University in the Scottish Cup, Croll and McKie were the scorers – and then they proceeded to win the shoot-out 3-2

So what about the rest of the women`s Premiership?

Even at this early stage there seems no stopping Watsonians with four wins in a row. This weekend they are away to a Glasgow University side that still feeling their way with one win out of three.

Then in Aberdeen Wildcats are the visitors to bottom side Gordonians. Wildcats are on the same points as Watsonians but with an inferior goal difference – Kaz Cuthbert`s charges may hope to make up some of that leeway in the north-east, though the home side will have other ideas.

It has been a disappointing few weeks for Edinburgh University – a loss to Watsonians and draw with Grange, and five points adrift at the top. However, GHK come calling at Peffermill on Saturday, a time for the students to kick-start their campaign. GHK have only played two games so far, so it’s too early to evaluate their form, but they will hope to carry on from last season’s impressive efforts.

It has been a frustrating start for Clydesdale Western`s new coach Mark Ralph playing in-form sides Watsonians and Wildcats in their first three games, but on Saturday they are at home to Inverleith – a chance to start putting some results together.

In a Thursday evening game at Uddingston the home side moved up to third in the table with a 1-0 win over Hillhead. In a hard fought encounter it fell to a direct strike by D`Arcey Campbell at a late penalty corner to finally divide the sides. But the result leaves Hillhead at the foot of the table, just above Gordonians on goal difference.

And so to the men.

It has been a traumatic last couple of weeks for the Wildcats – firstly they lost 2-1 to Grange at Auchenhowie, they did well to see off the Czech champions Plzen-Litice 3-1 in the EHL, but then suffered an 11-0 defeat at the hands of Dutch side Kampong.

Wildcats have the chance to bring back normal service to Auchenhowie when they take on a Dundee Wanderers side that have recorded only one victory in five outings. It is difficult to see beyond a home win here.

Premiership leaders Grange are away to Grove Menzieshill in search of another three points to retain pole position won last weekend against Kelburne. Grange are in form and five wins out of five is title winning stuff. The Taysiders on Tayside could be a handful under the coaching aegis of Gav Byers, but they have only picked up two points since their first day win over Kelburne. It’s early days though, with lots of hockey to play.

Last weekend`s postponement interrupted Edinburgh University`s winning sequence but the students have the chance to keep up the pressure on Grange by seeing off ESM at Peffermill. While ESM have made a steadier start to this season compared to last with five points from as many games, they face a challenge to stem the free-scoring students led by Keir Robb and followed by Johnny Bradley, Sam Hunt, Alex Wilson and Andrew Lobb.

FSEG Clydesdale have the chance to move further up the table if they can go to Inverleith and come back up the M8 with the three points. Ciaran Crawford`s charges have only played three games, starting off with wins over Uddingston and Watsonians, but then blotted their copybook with a 4-3 loss to Kelburne. The Dale have a young squad with plenty of talent, but it`s all about turning that into points on a consistent basis.

But Inverleith on their own patch might not be easy pickings, they have five points from five games, but captain Kyle Taylor maintains that his side have yet to turn all their pressure and chances into winning results.

Uddingston are currently fourth in the table – a much better start than in previous years – but an away fixture at Watsonians could test their resolve. The danger is that the Edinburgh side has plenty of talent and experience in the ranks, but the match outcomes are just not there yet. Although Watsonians have only four points, there has not been more than a goal in any of their five matches – it would not take much to turn that into winning results. The danger is that it might happen on Saturday and Uddingston could be on the wrong end of it.

There is a single Sunday fixture at Titwood where Clydesdale entertain Western Wildcats at Titwood – the result here will have implications for the top half of the Premiership as this is a catch-up encounter. Not an easy one to predict as both sides have only played three games, and have a similar record of two wins and a defeat – not much to go on here.

The final match on the card pairs Kelburne with Hillhead, two teams who have yet to show positive form. Both have had a moment in the sun – Kelburne beat Clydesdale 4-3 while Hillhead saw off Watsonians by the same margin, but the rest of the outings have been reversals. Consequently, the outcome here is somewhat unpredictable!

 

 

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