Indoor season gets underway this weekend

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With the onset of winter, hockey turns from the outdoor to the indoor version of the game, and in this year’s men’s competition Dundee Wanderers will be out to get back into the top flight.

For so long one of the giants of the indoor game, along with city rivals Grove Menzieshill, they dominated the competition for almost two decades. Wanderers went on to win the championship four times between 1999 and 2003, but last season they finished bottom of division one and were relegated for the first time.

The Taysiders start their campaign to make an immediate return to the top tier with opening games against Falkirk GHG and Alpha-Data Carnegie in division two at the Bell`s Sports Centre on Saturday.

Coach Kevin Farnan, who played in Wanderers’ halcyon indoor days, said: “I want to build a squad with players working together and for each other with good habits.

“Do the correct things well as was the case in the late 80s and 90s by building a team of players and not individuals. Obviously, a return to division one is the target.”

But Farnan certainly has players who can score goals in Ross Glashan, Bobby Ralph and the Sandison brothers Fergus and Eliot.

Wanderers` main challenge for promotion may come from Carnegie, the Fifers just missed out at the end of last season when they went down 5-1 to Western Wildcats in the final play-off match.

Grove Menzieshill`s second string are strong favourites to win the second division as they did last season by seeing off Hillhead 5-2 in the ultimate play-off for the title, but as a reserve side they are ineligible for promotion. The Taysiders are scheduled to claim their customary pole position if they can take the nine points from their games against Perthshire Coupar Cabs, Edinburgh University and Granite City Wanderers.

Edinburgh`s interest in the second division rests with a University side that won promotion from division three last season and also Watsonians.

The women`s second division is a curious mixture of second strings from Milne Craig Clydesdale Western, Grove Menzieshill and Dundee Wanderers along with four first teams in a seven team league.

As reserve teams are not eligible for the top flight the contest for promotion will likely be between Bromac Kelburne, Watsonians and Hillhead, all of whom are in the outdoor first division, along with Aberdeen Ladies.

Hillhead almost made it up last season, but they lost out 1-0 on a penalty shoot-out to Aberdeen Bon-Accord after the sides finished at 1-1 in normal time in the promotion play-off.

 

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