High School of Glasgow and Strathallan win U18 Indoor Finals

The U18 National Indoor Cup Finals provided a thrilling conclusion to this season’s youth indoor competitions. The Finals, held at Bells Sports Centre in Perth on Saturday 29 January, brought together many of the best young players in the country.

The teams, most of whom qualified from their District tournaments, showcased indoor hockey at its best, with every match providing fast and exciting encounters. Six girls’ teams and five boys’ teams took part in the finals of the competition, which is open to all clubs and schools in Scotland.

U18 Girls

Strathallan and Granite City Wanderers set the tone for the day with a dramatic 2-2 draw in the Arena in Pool A. Heather Hunter put the Aberdonians ahead twice in the match, only for the resilient Strath girls to fight back. Erin McGregor’s equaliser came when her team won a penalty corner with two seconds left on the clock. In the coaching hall, Gordonians got off to a flyer with a 3-0 win against Mary Erskine’s. Gracie Gray-Giles, Grace Wilkinson and Ailsa Phimister scored the goals.

An impressive performance by High School of Glasgow gave them a 3-1 win against Granite City. Aimee Anderson (2) and Madeleine Bower scored, with Eleanor Barr getting the consolation.  In Pool B, a superb effort by Peebles wasn’t enough to thwart Gordonians, who marched to the final with a 3-2 win. Freya McNeil scored the decisive third goal for Gordonians, with Esme Minto and Nairne Wells scoring for the Borderers.

The final pool matches both finished 4-0.  High School of Glasgow won Pool A with a strong win over Strathallan, who couldn’t find a way past goalie Jess Mitchell. And in Pool B, Mary Erskine’s sealed a hard-fought win against Peebles with two goals in the last 3 minutes from Rebecca Gordon.

That set up a 3rd place play-off between Mary Erskine’s and Granite City Wanderers. A superb match saw Olivia Morris give MES the lead until a last-minute goal from Rebecca Gordon earned the Edinburgh girls a 2-0 win. It was hard on Granite City who found MES goalie, Lucy Brown in top form.

The 5th place play-off was finely poised at half time, as Strathallan held a 1-0 lead. A tiring Peebles went down 7-0 in the end, with Orla Folan grabbing a hattrick for Strath, but the Borders girls should be proud of their performances.

The final was a cracking match between two top teams. High School of Glasgow dashed into a two-goal lead within six minutes through Iona Reid and captain Zara Kennedy.  Gordonians threw everything at their opponents for the next 24 minutes but couldn’t find a goal against an impressive HSoG defence.  Congratulations to our 2021-22 champions, High School of Glasgow and their coach, Alison Cox.

High School of Glasgow – U18 Girls Indoor Champions

U18 Boys

The boys’ tournament was a five-team round robin with every team playing each other. It started with a tense 1-1 draw between the holders, Perthshire and Clydesdale. Hayden Thomson put the yellows ahead after 11 minutes, but Jamie Green equalised for the ‘Dale early in the second half. There were three goals in the first six minutes in the coaching hall, with Kelburne’s Andrew McGrane scoring before Drew Lobb equalised for ‘Sonians. A minute later, captain Sam Hunt scored what proved to be the winner for Kelburne.

The very tight matches continued in Round 2, with Clydesdale and Kelburne sharing a fiercely competitive 2-2 draw. Andrew McGrane and Sam Hunt notched their second goals of the day, with Johnny Bradley and Robin Ferguson scoring for Clydesdale. Meanwhile, Strathallan edged neighbours Perthshire 3-2 in a superb match. Samuel Gardiner and Ollie Wilson gave Perthshire a 2-goal lead before Strath came roaring back with goals from Ross Telfer and a double from Alex Douglas.

The action continued with Watsonians looking set for a superb win over Strathallan thanks to Ally Paul’s goal. But once again Strath came back to grab a 2-1 win with goals from Michel Brockhaus and a penalty corner on the buzzer from Joe Townshend. A double from captain Ollie Wilson gave Perthshire a 2-0 lead against Kelburne, and this time they held on to win in spite of Sam Hunt’s consolation goal.

Going into round 4, any of the teams could win it. Perthshire thought they’d go top with another goal from Ollie Wilson before Fraser Thomson’s cool finish grabbed a late equaliser for the Edinburgh boys.  Clydesdale inflicted a first defeat of the day over Strathallan with a 3-1 win thanks to goals from Owen Gould, Jack Nairn and Johnny Bradley.

The last match in the Arena saw an end-to-end thriller between Strathallan and Kelburne. 13-year-old Ewan MacLaren opened the scoring for Strath, but it was Robert Birse-Stewart who was their hero with a hattrick, the last coming six minutes from time, in a 4-2 win. Kelburne’s goals came from Tommy Austin and Sam Hunt, which meant he scored in every match.  In the final match, Clydesdale beat a tiring Watsonians team 6-1 to finish runners-up. Owen Gould scored five penalty corners for the ‘Dale, along with a field goal from Jamie Green, before Hamish Fisken scored for ‘Sonians.

Strathallan finished with 9 points to be crowned champions in a thrilling, high-quality tournament. Congratulations to the team and their coach, Rhett Halkett. Clydesdale were one point behind, and Perthshire were third with 5 points.

Strathallan – U18 Boys Indoor Champions

Thank you to all our appointed umpires: Kevan Tate, Tahirah Yousaf, Kristie Burnett and Matthew Deighan; and all the club umpires who did a fantastic job. We were also indebted to our technical team led by Iain Mckay, Katie Joss and Richard Freeland, and all those who helped them, including Jamie Carnegie (Scottish Hockey Board member) who also presented the medals.  Aiden Wren from the Lead the Way programme assisted with the Girls’ presentations.

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