Inverleith men and Watsonians women are indoor champions

A goal-laden Charlie Jack was the catalyst in Inverleith`s triumph after shoot-out victory in the men`s final while Watsonians took the women`s title with a 2-0 win over Clydesdale Western. In the play-offs Uddingston retained their top flight status in the men`s while it was second tier Inverleith who gained promotion in the women`s

 

MEN`S NATIONAL LEAGUE FINAL

WESTERN WILDCATS 4  INVERLEITH  4   (2-3 SHOOT-OUT)

What an advert for Scottish indoor hockey –  the final of the first division championship produced eight goals evenly divided between Western Wildcats and Inverleith, a game that was evenly contested throughout and a dramatic shoot-out which Inverleith just won 3-2 – the Edinburgh side take the title and the place in Europe nest season.

And what did long standing Inverleith coach Stuart Neave have to say? Well. simply this:  “The team gave everything.”

So how did the shoot-out go?  In the opening salvo Andrew McConnell failed to convert the opener for Western, hitting the post, while Charlie Jack scored for Inverleith.   And it went to form after that with Tommy Austin and Jamie Golden scoring for Wildcats while Rory Steedman and Ewan Mackie did the same for Inverleith – so that meant Inverleith were 3-2 winners.

So what about the game itself?  It`s a team game and that’s what Inverleith coach Stuart Neave would certainly emphasise but you cannot get away from Charlie Jack’s goals.

Jack made an immediate impression on the final with a penalty corner strike in the opening three minutes.  But the lead was short lived, and enter Jamie Golden to score twice in as many minutes to put the Wildcats into a 2-1 lead.  But the game twisted back in favour of the Edinburgh side with a spot conversion and open play strike from Jack for a 3-2 half-time lead.

The ebb and flow continued in the second half with Wildcats` Fraser Moran equalising but Jack again entered the fray with his fourth of the game to restore Inverleith`s single goal advantage.  However, with ten minutes left Andrew McConnell levelled for Wildcats and that is how it stood at the end.

WOMEN`S NATIONAL LEAGUE FINAL

WATSONIANS  2   CLYDESDALE WESTERN  0

Watsonians retained their first division title and their place in Europe with a 2-0 win over Clydesdale Western.

Watsonians coach Keith Smith said: “We were a bit nervous to start with and did well to weather the several open play and penalty corner chance that Clydesdale created in the first half, our defence coped very well with the challenge.   However, after we scored the first goal it calmed the nerves and we settled down and created much more fluidity to our game.”

The first half was goalless but it fell to 17-year-old Jess Garden to break the deadlock and put the champions in front.  The result was sealed with a second from Emily Dark’s close range finish, after good build up down the right, in the closing five minutes and there was no way back for Clydesdale.

The Edinburgh closed the game out well and took yet another piece of silverware home in a great victory.

 

MEN`S PLAY-OFF

UDDINGSTON 3   FMGM MONARCHS  3   (2-1 SHOOT-OUT)

Uddingston retained their division 1 status after a close encounter; it was three each in normal time, then the Lanarkshire side eased over the line 2-1 in the resulting shoot-out – a tough one to take for the Taysiders.

The contest took 15 minutes to trouble the scoresheet and it was the Monarchs who took the lead through Scott Glashan, but just on the stroke of half-time Connor Richmond-Spouse levelled for Uddingston.

There was a further exchange of goals in the second half, Luca Gardiner put Uddy 2-1 ahead only for Andy McQueen to level for the Dundonians.  The first division side regained the lead when Louis Gardiner converted from the spot but with five minutes left Monarch`s captain Callum White brought the scores equal for the third time…and that`s how it finished.

And so on to the shoot-out. Richmond-Spouse and Glashan both scored the opening salvoes, then Uddy`s Stephen Mackenzie and Rory Taylor of Monarchs both missed.   The final coup de grace came in the third volley with Finn Halliday converting and Callum White not…and so the belated victory and survival went to Uddingston who will play in the top flight next season.

 

WOMEN`S PLAY-OFF

UDDINGSTON 1  INVERLEITH  2

The women`s play-off bucked the trend, this time the second tier side Inverleith triumphed in the play-off 2-1 against first division`s Uddingston to gain promotion to next season`s top flight.

There was no scoring in the first half until seconds before the interval when Lily Creighton gave Uddingston a slender advantage.  But the Edinburgh side were not to be denied in the second period and after six minutes Jenn Tait converted a penalty corner to tie the match at 1-1.   With another shoot-out on the horizon, Inverleith stole the show with an open play strike from Bopi Monte to ensure her side`s promotion as Uddingston were unable to level the contest in the closing minutes.

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