Indoor Championship and a place in Europe at stake on Saturday

The indoor season has reached its ultimate stage – the Grand Finals at DISC – and the top sides are there to battle it out for the championship and Europe.

It is a familiar ring about the women`s final between holders Watsonians and Clydesdale Western…a repeat of last season`s final, and Inverleith are there again for the men but this year they face Grove Menzieshill.

Inverleith are seasoned campaigners in the recent men`s competition having won the title seven times since their first success in 2011. Meanwhile Grove Menzieshill has claimed twenty titles since 1985.   Having said that, the Taysiders last title was in 2017. But that is history, so what about current form and expectation?

Grove Menzieshill have been close recently to a place in the final but always fell just short of the mark.   The Taysiders claimed their place in the ultimate stage by storm last weekend with a stirring 5-2 taming of Western Wildcats.  On target that day were Connor Chapman and Findlay Duncan with a couple each and Harry Mowatt.

We caught up with former Scotland international and Menzieshill coach Gav Byers who briefly summed up the occasion.  “The boys performed brilliantly in the semi-final.”

So what has been the recipe for the Menzieshill renaissance? Gav explained: “We have been steadily improving as a team this year throughout the season and our team is a nice mixture of youth and experience.  The difference maker this season has been how well our young guys have developed and improved week on week, they have stepped up and become match winners for us.

“Our steady improvement as a squad has also been down to the excellent coaching staff across the 1st and 2nd team squads.  Chris Bonnar, Bruce Cuthill and Kenny Watson have been instrumental in getting us to this point over the course of this season.”

On this weekend`s clash with Inverleith, Gav set out the stall.  “We have played Inverleith twice this season losing the first game and winning the second so we have proved to ourselves that we can beat them but Inverleith will be thinking the exact same.  Its shaping up to be a classic.  We are all really looking forward to the final having missed out consistently over the past few years.”

The first outing was a bit of a disaster for the Dundonians, they went down 5-0 – no more to be said.   However, the second clash was a substantial turn-a-round with a 4-2 victory, the scorers being Alfie Bonnar, Theo Wood, Findlay Duncan and captain Mike Ross.

So could Saturday be a return to the halcyon days of Menzieshill`s hegemony of the indoor scene in Scotland and Europe?

That`s not a thought that Inverleith`s long term coach Stuart Neave will be contemplating.  And they have had a good season with several impressive victories and the odd hiccup along the way.   But the champions finished second in the league, top of their pool and crushed Grange 10-1 in the semi-finals.   Inverleith`s credentials are there for all to view.

And Inverleith have a wealth of players who can put the ball in the net, but especially Charlie Jack who notched a hat-trick against Clydesdale and a double against Grange last weekend.    The Edinburgh side have a strong squad and will not surrender their crown easily on Saturday.

The women`s final between Clydesdale and Watsonians is anyone`s guess – the matches between these sides have traditionally been close.    The difference this year is that both sides` international players will not be involved.    So far that has meant that in several instances the results have been much closer than usual.

The only meeting between the sides resulted in a 6-3 win for Clydesdale – Jen Eadie scored twice for the latter and she will not be playing on Saturday.

Last weekend showed up some frailties in both finalists. Clydesdale lost 2-1 to Dundee Wanderers in the final pool match and only overcame Wildcats 5-4 courtesy of a last gasp winner from Kayleigh Justice. Perhaps Watsonians fared a little better but their 2-1 win over GHK came with a belated strike by Caitlin Hart but the champions did see off Inverleith 4-0 in the semis.

Even with truncated squads both sides have influential players in their ranks.   For Watsonians there is the ever-present threat of Emily Dark particularly from penalty corners and also Ailsa Small, Millie Berndes-Cade, Ellie Wilson and Tabitha Peck.    Prominent in the Clydesdale ranks recently have been Anna Hoolaghan, Ava Graham, Sophie Hinds along with Lucy Williamson.

So the spectators should be treated to a game of skill and excitement with a few goals along the way.

And so to the opening games of the day – the relegation/promotion play-offs.  Hillhead from the women`s division 1 open the day against East Lothian who came second to Uddingston in the second tier.  After a fairly difficult campaign Hillhead finished last weekend with a 2-2 draw against Inverleith and a 3-2 win over Grange to earn their spot in the play-off.

The men`s play-off pairs Watsonians against second tier Hillhead, runners-up to Dunfermline Carnegie for a place in the top flight.   The Edinburgh side earned their second chance to maintain their top flight status after seeing off Uddingston 3-1 in last weekend`s play-off.

 

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