Big weekend of indoor hockey awaits

The Tayside monopoly of the indoor hockey championships was re-established last season when Grove Menzieshill and Dundee Wanderers won the respective men`s and women`s crowns, but will this season see a meaningful challenge to the Midlands hegemony?

Inverleith was the first club to effectively challenge the 20 year Tayside monopoly of the men`s title, they won the title four times between 2011 and the present, but lost out to their great rivals Grove Menzieshill last season.

But Inverleith coach Stuart Neave insisted that the Edinburgh side are going through a transitional stage after several successful years.

Neave said: “This indoor season will be a rebuilding year for us, several of our older players have stepped down from National League hockey.

“Having said that, we still have some young and exciting players in our side and therefore expect to be competitive.”

Big weekend of indoor hockey awaits
Men – National 1 2017 Indoor Grand Final, Grove Menzieshill v Inverleith – photo by Duncan Gray

The Inverleith coach declined to name names, so it is difficult to know if his side can mount a serious challenge to current champions Grove Menzieshill.

However, Neave can look forward to a gruelling opening programme at Perth this weekend, first up are Bromac Kelburne, local rivals Grange are next, and the final encounter is against Grove Menzieshill.

It was exactly the same programme this time last year and a mixed day at the office for Neave, an 8-5 win over Grange was followed by an 8-4 reversal against Kelburne, but the day finished on a high with a narrow 3-2 victory over their Tayside rivals. Given Inverleith`s transitional status, Neave might settle for a similar set of results in this season`s opening encounters.

The Taysiders claimed their 20th indoor crown with a comfortable 7-3 win over Inverleith in last year`s final. And it would appear that Grove Menzieshill are determined to hold on to their title.

Scotland midfielder Gavin Byers said: “We always go into any competition with the objective to win it. We regained the title last year after a few years of Gala Day losses.

“We aspire to compete and win trophies in Europe as that is the tradition that has been in the club for many years. Winning the league this season is the first step to achieving this goal.”

So where is the challenge to Grove Menzieshill`s aspirations going to come from?

Byers remarked: “Every league game will be tough. Inverleith and Kelburne were strong last year and I anticipate them to be challenging for the title again.

“Grange and Dundee Wanderers are two other teams that have a good indoor pedigree and they`ll be looking to finish at the top end of the table come the play-offs.”

Last season Grange and Kelburne put in some impressive individual match performances, but finally bowed out of title contention at the semi-final stage – Grange lost 7-4 to Inverleith while Kelburne went down 7-5 to Grove Menzieshill.

Their opening day tussles with Inverleith and Grove Menzieshill could give an early indication of their crown potential.

The return of Dundee Wanderers to the top flight after a season in the second tier could give an extra dimension to the competitive nature of the championship as, like their city rivals Grove Menzieshill, they are committed to the indoor game.

The impact of the remaining three sides – Clydesdale, Hillhead and newly promoted Edinburgh University – is not easy to determine at this stage, this weekend`s performances and results will give a clearer indication.

Big weekend of indoor hockey awaits
Scottish National Indoor League Division 1 game – Hillhead v Kelburne – photo by Duncan Gray

The women`s National League 1 table has a new look about it – it is headed by Hillhead after two wins and a draw last weekend. They lead Dundee Wanderers by a point, but have played a game more.

The Glasgow side beat CALA Edinburgh 4-2, then saw off Kelburne by a lot, and were only seconds away from another victory over Edinburgh University but succumbed to a late minute strike by the students` Kate Hibbert.

This weekend`s fixtures will determine Hillhead`s staying power, they open against Grove Menzieshill, last season`s runners-up, then face a Wildcats` side that have only a point from their three games so far. It will be interesting to see if the likes of Carla McNiven, Wendy Andrews, Zoe Irvine and Kathy Watson can continue to rattle in the goals.

Defending champions Wanderers did win both their games last weekend, but they were taken right to the wire by Milne Craig Western in their opening encounter. The champions have a testing couple of ventures on Sunday, they open against city rivals Grove Menzieshill, then face an unbeaten Edinburgh University.

The Edinburgh students look like they might be a force in the land again this indoor season, last weekend they played out 2-2 draws against Wildcats and Hillhead, but created the first shock of the campaign with a 5-4 win over Grove Menzieshill, doubles from Sophie Maunder and Becky Dru were the catalysts while Ella Watt notched the winner.

The students should pick up the three points from their second outing against a Kelburne outfit that have already conceded 50 goals in their games so far.

Grove Menzieshill have a full day at Perth on Sunday, after their initial date with Wanderers, a repeat of last year`s final which the latter triumphed 4-2, they take on Hillhead and CALA and will hope to move up to the top echelons of the table.

Milne Craig Western just came up short against Wanderers last week but certainly made an impact with the Justice sisters Kayleigh and Margery sharing the goals between them. A similar show of grit and determination should see the Titwood-based side take full points from their encounters with Wildcats and CALA.

CALA might build on their three points in the bag with a win over bottom side Kelburne in their opening fixture but later outings against Western and Grove Menzieshill may be more problematic.

Wildcats only took a point from their opening three games, and only a goal a game average in indoor hockey is not good shooting, that will need to improve against Western and Hillhead on Sunday.

 

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