Grove Menzieshill steal the limelight on men’s indoor day 1

Grove Menzieshill stole the limelight in the opening exchanges in the Men’s National League 1 championship with three straight wins over Grange, Bromac Kelburne and finally Inverleith to grab pole position in the table.

There were mixed fortunes for the pre-tournament championship favourites in the opening exchanges, Grove Menzieshill beat Grange 10-1 while Inverleith went down 7-4 to Bromac Kelburne.

Grange had quite a strong line-up on view but the Taysiders put on the pressure and piled on the goals. It seemed ominous when Grove Menzieshill`s Ben Cosgrove opened the scoring in the first minute, but almost immediately the Edinburgh side equalised through Frank Ryan – and it looked as if we had a ding-dong battle to look forward to.

But by the interval the Dundonians had marched into a commanding 6-1 lead, Albert Rowling was to the fore with a hat-trick, Cosgrove got his own second, and Cameron Golden added the other.

There was no respite for Grange after the interval, Grove Menzieshill added four more without reply, Rowling for his own fourth in the game, Cosgrove added another for his hat-trick while Golden and Gavin Byers were also on target for a convincing victory.

Men – 2017 National 1 Grand Final – Grove Menzieshill v Inverleith – photo by Duncan Gray

Meanwhile, Inverleith seemed slow to get going and found themselves three down at the interval to Kelburne, Johnny Christie got two and Josh Cairns added to the tally from a penalty corner.

Three minutes into the second half Cairns added another from a set piece but the Edinburgh side made a spirited comeback with goals from Patrick Christie and Ewen Mackie to bring the score back to 4-2. But any meaningful revival was stifled with further Kelburne goals by Michael Bremner and Christie again for his hat-trick. Although Inverleith did bring the score back to 6-4, Christie`s fourth in the final minutes sealed the three points for the Paisley side.

Grove Menzieshill cemented their initial victory with a 6-3 win over Kelburne in their second outing. Ben Cromar and Golden put the Dundonians two up at the interval. The result looked sealed when Aidan McQuade added a third from the spot two minutes into the second half. Although Christie pulled one back for Kelburne a couple of minutes later, any comeback was stifled by further Grove Menzieshill strikes from Rowling and Cromar.

In the closing minutes Cairns scored twice from set pieces, Cromar notched his hat-trick for the Taysiders, leaving Grove Menzieshill worthy winners in the end.

However, Kelburne finished the day with a 7-4 win over Edinburgh University to finish on the six point mark. The Paisley side were 3-1 up at the interval, two set piece strikes by Cairns and a further goal by Chris Caldwell were countered by a goal from Peter McKnight just on the interval. The students brought the score back to 4-4 at one point but a second half hat-trick by Christie and a further goal from Neil McIntyre secured the points for the outdoor champions.

Meanwhile, Inverleith recovered sufficient composure to see off Edinburgh rivals Grange 5-1 in their second outing. Inverleith consolidated their victory with a three goal half-time scoreline, captain Patrick Christie led from the front with a brace while Ewen Mackie added the other.

Luke Cranney pulled one back for Grange half way through the second half, but Stuart Hatton and Christie again for his hat-trick confirmed their first three points.

The final clash of the day was a direct confrontation between the great rivals Grove Menzieshill and Inverleith, the former stole the show with a convincing 5-1 victory. Three goals in seven minutes in the first half sealed the three points, Mike Ross converted two penalty corner awards while Rowling again was on target from open play.

In the second half McQuade added a fourth, Aidan McCrossan pulled one back for the Edinburgh side, but in the end Rowling had the final say with a fifth and conclusive strike.

Dundee Wanderers celebrated their return to the top flight with a 7-5 win over Edinburgh University. The students took a two goal lead in only four minutes with a brace from Callum White. Wanderers then got their act together and after 12 minutes had a 4-2 lead, Bobby Ralph started off the revival to be followed by a quick-fire hat-trick from Fergus Sandison.

A couple of goals were exchanged before the interval, Jack Jamieson scored for Edinburgh while Sean Dowie replied for the Taysiders.

The second half was a fairly even affair scorewise, Sandison added another two for Wanderers to bring his personal tally to five, while at the other end White scored again and George Adams completed the scoring for the students.

Wanderers completed a perfect day by beating Clydesdale 5-3 in their second match. The Taysiders had a 3-2 lead at the interval with Sean Dowie, Cameron Bell and Sandison on target while Paddy Lonergan and Fraser Hirst replied for the Glasgow side.

Hirst made it 3-3 in the second half but Wanderers put their foot on the gas with Bobby Ralph scoring twice to secure another three points.

Clydesdale opened their day with a comfortable 7-4 win over Hillhead. The Titwood-based outfit were four up at the interval, Paddy Lonergan scored twice while Andy MacAllan and Chris McFadden added the others.

Although David Gay pulled one back for Hillhead early in the second half, Clydesdale raced into a 7-1 lead through Struan Walker and further strikes from Lonergan and MacAllan. Ross Jamieson, Callum Duke and Andrew Hilton added three to Hillhead`s tally late in the second half, but by this time it proved only a consolation.

 

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