Senior Schools’ Cup Finals day delivers tremendous action at Peffermill

18th March 2023

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Mary Erskine School 0-1 Edinburgh Academy | Senior Girls Cup

In the first of two main events at Peffermill Mary Erskine School took on Edinburgh Academy in the Senior Girls Cup.

Both sides tried to start the game off at a really high tempo, but it was Edinburgh Academy who were able to sustain the pace they had set.

The first 10 minutes saw them press Mary Erskine into their own half with very little room to breath between each attack, with a big issue developing as Edinburgh continued to cut them off in transition, putting their defence under a lot of pressure early on.

Mary Erskine stood strong against the renewed control from Edinburgh, although a flurry of short corners jeopardised their defence, but the team in red and navy managed to get to half-time level, with Edinburgh’s chances being limited in the first 25 minutes.

In the second-half Mary Erskine had built on top of their defensive stability and turned the game into more of an end-to-end game, with both having chances to try and snatch the lead in this game.

Just as penalties were looking like a realistic possibility Edinburgh finally got their goal. A short corner routine allowed Beth Macrae to rifle a shot into the top right of Erskine’s goal.

Edinburgh pushed through to the end to secure the Senior Girls Cup 1-0, with that one short corner deciding what was a very tense final between two very strong sides.

Strathallan 0-1 Fettes | Senior Boys’ Cup Final

In a close and competitive Senior Boys’ Cup Final it was Fettes who came out on top to win 1-0 and lift the cup.

After a cagey opening to the contest it was Fettes who threatened first with an attack down the left and an effort that zipped across the face of goal.

As the half grew older Fettes began to enjoy more possession but came up against a well organised and structured Strathallan defence.

Strathallan dug their heels in and a super counter attack by Patrick McIntyre created an opportunity and led to a penalty corner, but they couldn’t convert and the game remained at stalemate.

Adam Anderson then had a half chance for Strathallan but the ball was hooked clear by the Fettes defence.

The second half continued to be a tight and tactical affair with neither side able to grasp hold of the contest.

Then the game sparked into life when a swift Fettes counter attack saw the Strathallan keeper yellow carded and a penalty corner awarded, but the Strathallan defence was firm once more and cleared the danger.

Then it was Strathallan’s turn to counter, and a quick attack down the left saw a pass across goal evade all the sticks sliding in on the target.

Finally, the deadlock was broken, and it was Thomas McDonald who put Fettes ahead with a low drive against the backboard for 1-0.

Moments after the goal Strathallan thought they’d equalised but a dramatic goal line clearance saw the ball knocked clear of the danger.

The post denied Strathallan next when a penalty corner cracked the upright, with a huge hint of a save by the keeper, and bounced clear.

There would be no further goals and Fettes claimed victory in a very close final.

Cults Academy 5-1 Balerno High School | Aspire Girls’ Cup Final

Cults Academy were victorious in the Aspire Girls’ Cup final with a fantastic 5-1 win over Balerno High School.

It was a good start to the contest for Cults Academy as they caused problems with a high press. They earned two penalty corners, the first cracked against the post while the second led to an infringement.

The Cults pressure continued as they camped themselves around the Balerno circle but the Edinburgh side held strong under pressure.

Megan Shaw was denied by an excellent close range save by Hannah Fowler in the Balerno goal, before another excellent save at the top corner denied Grace Wilkinson.

The opening goal came soon enough and a lovely penalty corner exchange was finished by Jessica Freeland with a low drive for 1-0 to Cults Academy.

Freeland had the ball in the net a short time later but it was chalked off for an infringement. A second goal wouldn’t be denied for long and Freeland struck to make it 2-0 near the end of the first half.

Balerno pulled one back right on half time with a lovely deflection by Ava Marsland into the roof of the net. 2-1.

Early in the second half Cults Academy went 3-1 ahead through a well worked goal. A lovely assist by Megan Shaw found Abigail Shaw to tap the ball home.

It went 4-1 to Cults when Grace Wilkinson slotted a low drive into the far corner for a lovely finish.

Cults began to pull away as the game progressed and Megan Shaw squeezed the ball home to make it 5-1.

Balerno made a late push and had a penalty corner effort denied after a scramble in the D, but there would be no further goals and Cults secured a great victory.

Robert Gordon’s College 0-4 Hutchesons’ Grammar School | Senior Boys’ Plate

Hutchesons’ Grammar School enjoyed a 4-0 win over Robert Gordon’s College to lift the Senior Boys’ Plate at Peffermill.

It was an edgy opening with both sides testing each other in a midfield battle. Robert Gordon’s College fashioned the first opening for a strike at goal, but the low effort fizzed across the face of the goal and wide.

Then came a moment of magic. Jamie Green picked up the ball for Hutchesons’ Grammar on the half way line and weaved in and out the Robert Gordon’s College defence before rounding the goalkeeper and sliding the ball home for 1-0.

As the match progressed, a penalty flick was awarded to Hutchesons’ Grammar and Johnny Bradley stepped up to sink it into the roof of the net for 2-0.

Green was causing all sorts of problems down the right as Hutchesons’ Grammar went hunting for more goals.

It would be Green who scored next for Hutchensons’ as he took control of the ball and fired home on the reverse into the Gordons net to make it 3-0

Green soon turned provider as his run drew in the Gordons defence and goalkeeper before a light pass found Leo Watt who tapped into an empty net.

Kelvinside Academy 5-1 Gordonstoun | Senior Girls’ Challenge Cup

The Senior Girls’ Challenge Cup was lifted by Kelvinside Academy after a 5-1 win over Gordonstoun.

Gordonstoun started strong with Olivia Han weaving through players towards goal, but courageous defending prevented a shot at goal.

It was Kelvinside who came close first after a penalty corner routine saw them cause havoc in the Gordonstoun defence. Three attempts at goal saw a fantastic triple save to keep the ball out.

The opening goal came soon enough and it went the way of Kelvinside Academy. Another scramble in the circle saw the ball fall kindly to Sophie Reid who slid the ball home for 1-0.

Kelvinside doubled their advantage when Ruby Neilson bounced the ball home from close range to make it 2-0.

A third goal came quickly and it was Reid who bagged her second of the match with an accurate low shot into the far corner for 3-0.

Kelvinside made a strong start to the second half and from the whistle started asking more questions of the Gordonstoun defence, but Han on the counter attack was a constant threat for Gordonstoun.

A fourth goal for Kelvinside Academy came midway through the second half when a penalty corner was squeezed home by Eilidh Cornwell for 4-0.

Cornwell was at it again minutes later with a clinical far post finish to make it 5-0 to Kelvinside Academy.

Han pulled one back for Gordonstoun with a terrific turn and shot off the post and in to make it 5-1 to Kelvinside Academy.

Kilgraston School 6-1 Galashiels Academy | Senior Girls Challenge Plate

After a week of turbulent weather across Scotland the sun managed to appear just in time for the start of the Senior Schools Cup Finals at Peffermill in Edinburgh, as proceedings kicked-off with the Senior Girls Challenge Plate between Kilgraston School and Galashiels Academy.

Kilgraston didn’t wait long to score, the ball was played down the right and was pushed into the circle, where Fern Nissen guided the ball into the net to make it 1-0.

The team in light blue were quick to double their lead as similar situation to the first played out, this time Christabelle Pratt getting the goal and gave themselves a 2-0 lead after seven minutes, with Gala’s lack of a goalkeeper really effecting how they play.

After falling behind Gala seemed to gain some control of the play and started to push into the opposition’s half. This pressure was soon rewarded as Abigail Burns was picked out unmarked in the box with a through ball. Burns was able to quickly get her shot off with a slick reverse stick hit beating Melissa Stewart in the Kilgraston goal, cutting the deficit in half.

Just as half-time approached Kilgraston were able to restore their two-goal lead, this time a penalty corner was hit to Lexie MacMillan, who took one touch before passing to Martha Baldwin, who’s shot managed to tickle past a host of sticks to find the back of the goal. Kilgratson weren’t done, with the last chance of the half, Baldwin scored again, this time hitting the ball from the top of the circle, leaving Gala a 4-1 hurdle to jump in the second-half.

Nissen got Kilgraston off to the perfect start in the second-half, some strong stick skills down the right-wing from MacMillan gave her the opening to play a diagonal ball to Nissen, who dribbled into the circle and under pressure slotted home for her second of the day.

Things were made even harder for Gala when Burns was forced to sit out for two minutes after receiving a green card. Her teammate Lucy Weir was soon to follow with the second green card of the game. Despite this Gala stood firm defensively until a penalty flick was awarded, which was calmly placed into the left side of the goal by MacMillan to make it 6-1.

In the end Kilgraston had a comfortable victory as they collected the Senior Girls Challenge Plate, but Galashiels Academy can be proud of a spirited performance were they continued to push their opponents till the last play.

Trinity Academy 2-6 High School of Dundee | Aspire Boys Cup

Game 3 of the Schools Cup Finals Day saw Aspire south representatives Trinity Academy take on north representatives the High School of Dundee.

Both sides started off firing forward looking for the first goal, fortunately for both some solid defensive work and sharp goalkeeping kept it level in the early exchanges. The High School of Dundee finally broke the deadlock when Alistair Clark salvaged a loose short corner to hit a sweet reverse stick shot into the top of Sam Jackson-Barnes goal to make it 1-0 Dundee.

Things got worse for Trinity as David Cargill doubled the lead for Dundee, the attackers shot locked to be blocked before awkwardly catching the foot of Jackson-Barnes and going into the goal. Just as it looked like Trinity were getting back into the game Dundee scored a third with only 90 seconds left of the half. A cutback into the top of the circle was controlled by Lewis Simpson, who placed his power shot into the bottom left of the goal to make it 3-0 at the end of the first-half.

Trinity tried to take control of the momentum of the game at the start of the second-half, but the High School of Dundee showed a lot of patience, as they start to catch their opponents out continuously on the counter-attack.

But it was Trinity who scored next after captain Ethan Jackson-Barnes converted a penalty flick to spark life into their performance and pull the deficit back to two goals. It was nearly back to one when Trinity tried to convert from a short corner, but some last ditch defending on the line from Dundee defenders kept the score at 3-1.

Just as it looked like Trinity were back in the game Clark scored again to restore Dundee’s three goal lead. The attacker caught everyone off guard, as he reversed hit the ball with his back to goal, with his shot flying between the legs of Jackson-Barnes. Clark wasn’t done there, he completed his hat-trick moments later as he deflected his teammates hit into the net to make it 5-1.

With just over 90 seconds Trinity finally had a much deserved second goal, a lofted pass was calmly brought down by Ethan Jackson-Barnes who slotted home to make it 5-2. Dundee did convert one more off of a short corner to make it 6-2 with adding the final goal to the strong performance.

The High School of Dundee claimed the Aspire Boys cup in what looked to be a comfortable scoreline, but that scoreline doesn’t show just how well Trinity contested this game, with Dundee’s clinical finishing being the only thing to really separate the two sides.

Glasgow Academy 0-2 High School of Dundee | Senior Girls’ Plate

The High School of Dundee were looking to make it two wins in two finals as their senior girls team stepped out to take on Glasgow Academy in the Senior Girls Plate Final. Dundee were the early aggressors as they tried to pin their opponents into their half, this didn’t stop Glasgow, who seemed to absorbing the pressure.

Unlike the other games previous to this there wasn’t an early goal and it looked like it was going to be the first game of the Schools Cup Finals that went into half-time at 0-0. That was despite the fact both teams had a plethora of opportunities to open the scoring, but both were just missing that final piece to get the ball into the back of the net.

Just as it seemed that like the half would end goalless Dundee managed to break the deadlock, as Emily Elder converted a short corner with a power shot to beat Lucy Harris in the Glasgow goal.

The second-half continued in the same vein as the first, with neither side budging in the battle for control of the game. With 15 minutes left Glasgow Academy seemed to push up the pressure in pursuit of an equaliser, forcing Dundee to spend longer periods trapped in their own half.

Dundee removed that pressure six minutes from time, as a rinse and repeat of the short corner from the first-half saw Elder score again with the same venomous shot to make it 2-0 to Dundee and all but confirm the win.

In the end the two short corners goals were enough for the High School of Dundee to win the Senior Girls Plate and complete the double for the school.