Inverleith in pole position in men’s Indoor National League 1 with narrow win over Western

Dunfermline Carnegie beat Grange by the odd goal in seven and consequently leapfrogged Dundee Wanderers into fourth place and are now on the same points total as Grove Menzieshill.

But it was Grange who took the first half 2-1, Paul Weston opened for the Fifers but strikes from Harry Edolls and Gordon Amour gave Grange the lead at the interval. Jacob Tweedie extended Grange`s advantage to 3-1 two minutes into the second half, but thereafter it was all Dunfermline with goals from Ethan McQuade and a double by captain Andy Doyle for a narrow 4-3 victory.

Five goals from Dan Coultas was the catalyst in Watsonians 10-5 win over bottom side Uddingston. It was only 3-2 for the Edinburgh side at the break, Coultas (2) and Danny Cain were the scorers while Jedd Campbell and Louis Gardiner replied for Uddingston. The second half belonged to three players – Steven Percy scored a a hat-trick for Uddingston, but that was overtaken by three more from Coultas while Cain scored another two for his own hat-trick. Watsonians others came from captain Tom Swarbrick and Drew Lobb.

And so to the game of the day. Inverleith are still in pole position after a 5-4 win over Western and now lead by three points.

A delighted Inverleith coach Stuart Neave said, “It was a good game, best this season. It was played at a good pace and a high standard of play by both teams. I think we just shaded it, for example we had eight penalty corners to their none, perhaps an indicator.”

The start was not all that auspicious for Inverleith, Western`s top scorer Andrew McConnell opened in the first minute. Inverleith retaliated with strikes from Kyle Taylor at a penalty corner and John Stephen for a 2-1 lead. But by the break it was level at 2-2 with Fraser Moran finding the net for Western.

A minute into the second half Hamish Galt made it 3-2 for Western, but then in a nine minute spell Stephen scored another two for his own hat-trick and Taylor again to put the Edinburgh side into a 5-3 lead. Rob Harwood reduced the deficit to a single goal with five minutes left but the champions were unable to find that elusive equaliser.

Grange signed off the league part of the season with a comfortable 7-1 win over Dundee Wanderers who slip back to fifth in the table as a result. Grange romped into a four goal lead in the opening 13 minutes, a double from Jacob Tweedie, Harry Edolls and John McCluskey were on target, K Gibb replied for the Taysiders. In the second half it was McCluskey who scored twice and Tweedie got one – with both finishing with hat-tricks.

Dunfermline`s rising star came to an abrupt end at the hands of Grove Menzieshill`s Luke Cranney, his four goals were the ruin of the Fifers. It all started well when Mike Ross opened for Dunfermline in eight minutes, Cranney levelled at a penalty corner, but Andrew Doyle gave Carnegie a 2-1 half-time lead.

That is how it stood until eight minutes from time when Cranney scored three times for the Taysiders in as many minutes to put his side 4-2 ahead. Thereafter there was no way back for the Fifers with goals added by Chris McFadden, Fraser Allan from the spot and Euan Cuthill for a 7-2 lead before Ross added a late consolation.

Inverleith retained their pole position in the league with a 12-2 win over Uddingston in their second match of the day. Bizarrely it was only 1-1 at the interval, Stephen Dick opened for the Edinburgh side at a penalty corner and Steven Percy replied in kind for the Lanarkshire side.

However, the second half was a totally different picture, Dick completed his hat-trick and that was followed by three from both John Stephen and Keir Robb, Charlie Jack got two while Derek Salmond picked up the other.

Western were also heavy winners in their second match, winning 11-3 against Watsonians to confirm second spot. In the Western camp there were two goals each for Rob Harwood, Fraser Moran, Andrew Lochrin along with Joe and Andrew McConnell, while Callum Duke got the other. As per the first game Watsonians goals came from Dan Coultas (2) along with Danny Cain and Tom Swarbrick.

The Dundee derby turned out to be a bit one-sided with Grove Menzieshill winning 5-0. Bruce Cuthill`s charges were four up at the interval, Euan Cuthill, two penalty corners from Luke Cranney and Gavin Byers were on target. In the second half Cranney capped a successful day with another set piece conversion for his hat-trick. The result confirms Grove Menzieshill in third spot at the end of the league format.

Dunfermline have made fourth place their own after seeing off Uddingston 4-3 in the final match of the day. The latter moved into a two goal lead through Stephen Mackenzie and Tom Hyndman but Ethan McQuade pulled one back for 2-1 at the interval. The Fifers took control in the second half with a double from Mike Ross and another by Adam Czub for a 4-2 lead before Louis Gardiner notched a consolation for Uddingston in the final minute.

 

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