National One Preview – week 2

Top flight hockey is cyclic in nature, there is simply no doubt about that. How long your cycle of success lasts can be a matter of moments, weeks, months or even years. The start to the season has been the most interesting in recent memory for both leagues with a combination of dropped points, controversial decisions and coaches beginning to feel ever so slightly hot under the collar as their teams suffered unexpected reverses and dropped levels of performance.  In the womens top flight Edinburgh University swept GHK aside and will hope their cycle of success lasts for a long time to come, reigning champions on the men’s side, Grange, also won but in far less emphatic style.

The top game in the men’s side this week involves the ‘Stags’ fresh from grinding out their 2-1 win against Dundee Wanderers last week. Coach Colin Clark will have been disappointed with a number of individual performances in his side in their opening fixture in the capital and be looking for a much improved performance against a Clydesdale side who have made wholesale changes compared to last season. It is early on in the season but Clarke will have been as delighted with his own clubs ability to take three points from their opening fixture as much as the inability of their main rivals, Western and Kelburne, to do so.

 

Graham Dunlop was able to dust his first fixture in charge of Clydesdale with his usual panache and conjured up a 3-0 win against top flight debutants, Uddingston. The game against Grange represents a much tougher assignment for the Georgi Kinkladze of Clydesdale as he continues to try to develop youth players at the Southside club. Experience, however, is the one quality that a coach cannot provide and it is a quality that the Grange chaps have in abundance, this should be a straightforward assignment for the current Scottish Champions provided they not take matters- and the opposition – lightly.

 

The game in focus on the ladies fixture card is Western Wildcats v Dundee Wanderers. Wildcats are completing their ‘double header’ of Dundee teams in the opening fortnight having bravely held on against a Dundonian onslaught from Grove last weekend.

 

A narrow 2-1 loss was down in part to Jayne McLaughlin in the Wildcat’s goal who performed admirably under intense pressure from the home side. Grove were gifted a string of corners; won roughly every 6 minutes throughout the game against the Cats. Defensive strategies will need to be improved significantly if the Cats are to emerge with something from the game against Wanderers which throws together two teams who have been evenly balanced in recent years – the same fixture last season was a 2-2 draw.

 

Wanderers, themselves are on a high after beating Clydesdale Western last week and will be brimming with confidence for this one. The usual architecture of Vicky Bunce in midfield will look to create chances for a forward line looking to exploit half chances and snatch those corner opportunities. Jessica Ross will be looking to add to her well taken goal last week too, but do Wanderers have the focal point in attack that their counter attacks crave?

 

The most interesting battle, however, is likely to be in the midfield where Kareena Marshall will look to impress her skillset upon fellow international Becky Ward. This will be a close game with chances likely to be at a premium providing Wildcats are slightly more nimble on their feet in the D.

 

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