The race for the indoor semis is on

Indoor National League 1 has moved on to the group stage with the top two sides moving to the business end of the competition – the semi-finals.

After carrying forward the results between the sides in each group, pole positions in the men`s groups are held by Inverleith and Western Wildcats with nine points, and in the women`s Watsonians and Clydesdale Western are in a similar situation, and if these sides hold on to that status they will consequently avoid each other in the semi-finals.

Much will be decided in the opening games of the men`s competition on Saturday, the first match sees Inverleith take on Dunfermline Carnegie who lie second with six points – a win for the former would confirm their place in the semi-final. If Stuart Neave`s charges went on to win against Uddingston in the afternoon, then pole position would be secured.

Alternatively, a Carnegie victory would put the sides level on points, although Inverleith do have a superior goal difference.

In many respects the Fifers have been one of the successes of this indoor season, they are well organised under Michael Ross and won four out of their seven league matches. But they weren’t able to put a dent in Inverleith`s progress after going down 4-1, another victim of Kyle Taylor`s sharp shooting.

So to make the semi-finals Dunfermline would need to win their subsequent games against Dundee Wanderers and then Uddingston next weekend – and that they did in the league encounters.

There is a similar scenario in Pool B with the opening encounter between leaders Western and second placed Grove Menzieshill in the third game of the day on Saturday. Western won the league fixture 3-1 with goals from Andrew McConnell, Andrew McAllister and Fraser Moran, so a similar result would virtually seal the champions top status in the group. Western`s next game against Watsonians could be more of a formality as the earlier match ended in an 11-4 win for Vishal Marwaha`s men.

However Grove Menzieshill, 20 times champions in days gone by, could be a tough nut to crack if they feature the likes of Ross McPherson, Olly James, Gavin Tomlinson and Gavin Byers. And the champions will also have to look out for the free scoring activities of Luke Cranney – he has already scored 17 times in the seven league games.

Western v Grove Menzieshill could be the toughest encounter of the day. Grove Menzieshill will then take on Grange in their second game of the day – a repeat of the earlier 9-2 win would be ideal for the Taysiders` semi-final aspirations.

For the teams presently at the bottom end of the pools – that is, Dundee Wanderers and Watsonians on three points along with Grange and Uddingston who are pointless, the aim must be to pick up points and avoid finishing in fourth spot and relegation concerns.

Spare a though for Grange, they picked up six points in the league with victories over Uddingston and Dundee Wanderers and finished in sixth place, but start their pool competition with no points as the sides they beat are in the other pool and so the results are not carried forward.

The women`s scenario in the group stages is in many respects very similar to the men`s – that is the unbeaten pair of Watsonians and Clydesdale are top carrying forward the maximum nine points.

Clydesdale`s key match on Sunday pits them against a Western Wildcats side that finished a clear third in the league table with 15 points after their seven games. One of the Cats’ reversals was the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Clydesdale, and a repeat of that sort of outcome would almost certainly guarantee Clydesdale`s pole position in pool B. Wildcats succumbed to goals from Margery Justice (2) and Fiona Semple.

But the Cats will again be no pushover as they have been rattling in the goals with Alex Stuart, Rachel Osborne, Olivia Finch and Lucy Findlay all regular contributors. And three points would put them level with Clydesdale.

However, Clydesdale have a strong squad under the coaching aegis of Wendy Justice and their goals come from several players – although Millie Steiger and Margery Justice are regular contributors.

In their second game of the day – Clydesdale play Edinburgh University while Wildcats take on Grove Menzieshill.

Watsonians are in an even more secure position in pool A, they lead second placed Inverleith by five points. If Watsonians win the all-Edinburgh head-to-head in the opening game of the day, and then see off CALA in the afternoon, they will finish the day confirmed as pool winners.

That would then leave Inverleith to fight it out with Dundee Wanderers in their second game to hold on to second spot. Inverleith did win the league encounter with Wanderers 3-2 with Ellie Hutcheson, Bopi Monte and Katie Swanson on target – but it was a narrow victory.

As it stands Wanderers along with CALA, Edinburgh University and Grove Menzieshill will be fighting hard to avoid the relegation threatened bottom spot in the groups.

Recent posts:

Back to all news
Back to top