Opening day of the men`s Indoor National League and day two for the women’s competition

For three decades and more Grove Menzieshill were Scotland`s most successful men`s indoor club.

Just look at the Taysiders’ record: they won the inaugural National League title in 1985 and went on to win another 16 championships to 2010. Then with the introduction of Grand Finals two years later Grove Menzieshill went on to claim the crown in 2013 and 2017. The Menzieshill halcyon days saw world class indoor players treading the boards – the likes of Billy MacPherson, Bruce Cuthill and lethal striker John Christie.

These days Inverleith and then Western Wildcats have taken over the mantle. but does the Menzieshill indoor tradition still linger? We asked current coach Gavin Byers that question and this is what he said.

“Indoor is a big tradition at the club. We have a rich history of winning championships and competing in Europe and we are working towards getting back to that level.”

That sounds as if the revival is underway. Certainly last season Grove Menzieshill just missed out on a place in the final. Needing only a draw against Inverleith the Dundonians went down 2-1 and missed out by a single point. So close and yet so far.

Gavin recalled, “We go into every season with the goal of winning the league. We fell short last year in the final game before the Gala Day.

“That was hard to take but ultimately we didn`t do enough to get ourselves into the final.”

On the coming campaign Gavin laid out his stall, “We feel we can beat anyone and we will try to use last season`s experiences to help us get over the line this season. Inverleith and Western are two strong teams and I think it will be another challenging season.”

And it is an intriguing opening day`s action facing Gavin Byers and his new brigade.  Grove Menzieshill open against Grange and much might depend on the players who arrive at DISC on Saturday. Then the Tayside derby against Dundee Wanderers, four times winners of the championship and in days gone by this fixture often decided the fate of the title. Grove Menzieshill`s day concludes against Inverleith, themselves seven times champions and the side that frustrated the Taysiders` aspirations at the close of last season.

Gavin revealed the strength of squad he will be putting out this season. “Most of the outdoor squad will play and we have added Michael Ross again to the team alongside Andrew Doyle from Dunfermline. Our second team is in division 2 and so there is real competition for places which is great.”

Given last season`s results then Western Wildcats might fancy themselves. It was Western who took the title with a 5-2 win over Inverleith, Fraser Moran was the catalyst with a hat-trick.

The champions are late on the boards on Saturday and have two games against Uddingston and Hillhead.

Inverleith have three games, starting with Watsonians, then Uddingston and finally Grove Menzieshill as already stated.

Watsonians could be a wildcard in the contest, although not traditionally an indoor force in the past it will be interesting to see if they can build on this season`s outdoor success. All will be revealed when they take on Inverleith, Grange and Dundee Wanderers.

So what about Wanderers? They were part of the Dundee indoor dominance of a couple of decades ago – it will be interesting to see how many points they can glean from their three games against Grove Menzieshill, Hillhead and Watsonians – that should give an indication of their potential this season.

On paper the other sides – Grange, Hillhead and Uddingston – will be hoping they can string a few early results together and gain in confidence to challenge for top spots.

The women`s indoor campaign is already underway and Sunday sees the second round of matches.

After the first round Watsonians, Clydesdale Western, and Dundee Wanderers emerged undefeated. Even at this early stage Watsonians and Clydesdale are in pole position for the Gala Day finals, but Wanderers may have a say in this.

The Taysiders were impressive in their convincing win over Uddingston and striker Amy Snelle looked in lethal form with a personal tally of four.

But the proof in the pudding will come on Sunday when Wanderers are up against both Clydesdale and Watsonians, and they must take something from the occasion if their challenge is going to be meaningful. And to do that the Dundonians will have to contain the striking power of Watsonians` Sarah Jamieson and then Clydesdale`s Millie Steiger, Jenny Eadie and Lucy Williamson. A significant challenge, but not impossible.

Wanderers start the day against Grange, and three points here are essential for them.

The favourites will again be targeting full points in their other matches, Clydesdale play Wildcats which will not be an easy encounter while Watsonians take on Uddingston, another tricky contest.

However, the most intriguing encounter might be between Uddingston and Wildcats later in the day, they were the only other sides to record a victory on the opening day. A top four place could open up for the winner.

At the other end of the spectrum the final clash between Hillhead and Grange could see the winner here move off the bottom rung.

 

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