Scottish Cup Finals – the last domestic hurrah for this season

There could hardly be more of a contrast between the respective cup finals – the men`s appears to be a David and Goliath struggle between ESM and Western Wildcats while in the women`s it’s the top two sides in the land, Watsonians and Edinburgh University, do battle for the fourth time this season. But yet, each has its fascination.

There is little to choose between Watsonians and Edinburgh University in the women`s cup final – trying to predict a winner would be a pointless exercise. That is the fascination about this clash. It will undoubtedly be decided on the day – a piece of brilliance here, a mistake there…or simply a slice of luck – who knows?

Watsonians certainly claimed their Premiership title but that was only on goal difference after both sides had a win apiece. They also won the European play-off but that was only by 2-1.

So is Watsonians` coach Keith Smith confident of the treble?

He said: “The games between the two teams are always competitive, so we know full well it will be a tough game. We played pretty well last Sunday, but I think there is still room for us to improve, so the challenge this weekend is to try and deliver on that potential.”

And they have a not so secret weapon in the clinical finishing of Sarah Jamieson. The Scotland striker was on fire last weekend in the play-offs with a double against Clydesdale Western and the same again in the final against the Edinburgh students.

But Edinburgh University have their own scoring figurehead in Jika Nyirenda who has been a regular on the score sheet in recent weeks – she has a nose for the goal.

Highlighting the scoring exploits of two players is only part of the story as both sides have several others capable of adding to the goal tally.

So can Edinburgh University take the honours on Sunday? Coach Sam Judge thinks so.

“Yes, I believe we can win on Sunday. We could have won the two game that we lost lost also! They are always close games, we just need to be prepared for the physicality of Watsonians which I think we lacked in the grand final.”

Whatever the result on Sunday, it looks as if it will be another close encounter between two talented and dedicated outfits, and one of the certain winners will be the crowd who will be treated to a feast of skilful and exciting hockey.

Fairy tales are normally the preserve of the Grimm brothers, but ESM have written their own in the second half of this season. Promoted to the Premiership for the first time, the Edinburgh side struggled a bit to find their sea legs, after eleven games they had accumulated only four points and were second from bottom.

But what a turn round after the winter break – just look at the statistics. In the Premiership they were unbeaten with eleven out of 15 points and well clear of relegation. In the Scottish Cup they saw off the challenge of Hillhead and then Grove Menzieshill to reach the final for the first time in their history.

So what is the recipe? Clearly a good management structure of Jack Collister as captain, Jamie Hogarth as vice captain, Andrew Brogdon (Broggy) as head coach and Stevie McCurry as his assistant. We caught up with Jack Collister to get a flavour of what made ESM tick. We asked Jack about how the squad adjusted to life in the Premiership.

“We’ve got a young squad, learning with each game. We’ve played some really good hockey this year and it’s just been about building week on week. It was never going to be perfect from the start of the season, but it was just about learning from each game.”

So why the turn-round after the winter break? Jack surmised, “As I said, we’ve got a young and inexperienced squad at this level and so we just took a bit of time to adjust to the demands of the Premiership. As soon as the team started believing in what we were doing, performances have improved and picking up points has been a by-product of that hard work.”

So what about Saturday. ESM are certainly the classic underdogs against a Western side that came second in the Premiership race and won the top European spot in last weekend`s play-offs, seeing off Grange 2-0 in the final. Further, they beat ESM 7-0 in the league encounter, although that was back in September.

On the underdog theme, Jack was upbeat. “Underdogs – that’s the mentality we’ve had all year. Nobody expected us to win matches this year, but we’ve been looking to prove people wrong. It’s driven and motivated us to take points off as many teams as possible.”

Whatever the outcome on Saturday, it is clear that ESM have come a long way and it looks as if the Edinburgh side are determined to build on this promising foundation. This is what the cup final occasion means to the club.

“It is a big achievement for the club. We’ve been progressing over the last few years gaining promotions either side of Covid from the old National 3 into National League, into the Premiership. We’ve been professional, employing a fitness coach and a sports psychologist to help develop us further. Yes, we didn’t expect to be in the cup final this year, but if we continue to work hard, believing in the processes that Broggy and Stevie, Ailsa and Eleanor have put in place, then it won’t be the last final we make it to.”

If the underdogs are hoping for a bit of sympathy or perhaps an outbreak of over-confidence from Western – then think again.

This was Western`s coach Vishal Marwaha`s take on Saturday`s proceedings, “Over this season and the last the squad has shown a remarkable attitude and character. With it being a cup final I don`t see motivation being an issue.

“We played ESM very early in the league campaign when they were still settling into the Premiership. Results since then have shown they have improved significantly.

“On the back of our play-off win the group are in positive and confident mood. However, we have to recognise that ESM are a different team now and give them the respect they deserve.”

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