Big National League and Scottish cup weekend on the cards

For most teams there are four games to go in the National League 1 season, at the moment Bromac Kelburne and Edinburgh University seem to be in the driving seat in the quest for the men`s and women`s titles, but there may be some twists and turns still to come.

Kelburne are five points ahead of Grange in second place, but with a game more played, on Saturday they have a banana skin visit to Western Wildcats` den at Auchenhowie. Three points here for the champions would go a long way to see them collect their 14th league championship – but nothing is certain as the end of last season`s campaign demonstrated.

24 March 2018 at the National Hockey Centre, Glasgow Green. Scottish League Division 1 match – Kelburne v Grange.
Gary Maitles flies through the air to score Kelburne’s third goal – photo by Duncan Gray

The Paisley side undoubtedly rose to the occasion to see off the challenge of Grange 5-3 in the top-of-the-table clash a few weeks ago. Earlier in the campaign Kelburne were 2-0 winners over fourth placed Wildcats at Glasgow Green, a double from Josh Cairns did the damage that day.

And the Wildcats` form has been up and down since the restart, in addition they will be without the services of striker Rob Harwood, still on the Gold Coast. Whatever the outcome at Auchenhowie Grange must keep on winning to maintain the pressure and they are at home to Edinburgh University at Fettes.

The students have yet to win in the league since the winter shutdown and they have dropped to sixth in the table, but last Sunday they went to Tayside and dumped Grove Menzieshill out of the Scottish Cup, scoring five goals in the process. So University are capable of hitting the heights.

Grange certainly won comfortably 4-1 in the first meeting of the sides, there were two goals each for Jacob Tweedie and Ally Irvine.

Grove Menzieshill will have to pick themselves up from their cup exit if they hope to take the three points from their visit to a revitalised Clydesdale at Titwood. Three league wins in a row and a cup triumph over Kelburne, albeit in a penalty shoot-out, could make this the closest contest of the day. The carrot for Clydesdale is that they now have an outside chance of a top four finish.

Elsewhere, the remaining two games have the mark of relegation about them. Hillhead have perhaps the best chance of avoiding the relegation play-offs, they won their last two outings against Uddingston and Dundee Wanderers, they have a game in hand, and take on bottom side Inverleith at Peffermill. An additional three points could see Mark Ralph`s charges move up to the safety of sixth place.

Dundee Wanderers and Uddingston are both on 13 points towards the foot of the table, whoever wins this one could start the progress to safety. The Taysiders won the earlier contest 1-0 with Bobby Ralph getting the sole goal.

Edinburgh University could consolidate their hold at the top of the women`s National League 1 if they can see off third bottom Grange. It will be more difficult with the continued international leave of Amy Brodie and Becky Merchant, but the students are still unbeaten since the winter break. In addition, University won the earlier encounter 6-0, so will hope the three points are safe.

The students` cause should also be aided by the fact that Milne Craig Clydesdale Western entertain Grove Menzieshill at Titwood in a second versus third clash… so one or both could drop further points.

The Titwood contest is diluted slightly by the absence of their respective Commonwealth Games players, so the conflict could well be decided by which team has the stronger depth of squad.

Back in October the tussle on Tayside ended in a 2-2 draw – Emma McGregor put Western ahead at the interval, the home side then took a 2-1 lead in the second half through Iona Armour and Nikki Skrastin only for Millie Brown to level at the end.

At the moment the Titwood side are four points ahead but with two more games played, so the contest for second spot is still tight.

Fourth placed Wildcats are without the services of Gold Coast starts Kareena Cuthbert and Becky Ward, but will hope to still be too much for bottom side Kelburne at Auchenhowie.

Dundee Wanderers will aim to consolidate fifth spot with a home win over GHK, especially as they won the earlier game 4-0, Emily Dark scoring twice. But the Taysiders are under pressure from Watsonians who lurk one point behind with a game in hand. They entertain a Hillhead side that beat them 2-1 back in October.

SCOTTISH CUP – SEMI-FINALS

The men`s Scottish Cup semi-finals presents an intriguing scenario – will it be the underdogs Clydesdale and Edinburgh University who progress to the ultimate stage or will Grange and Wildcats from the top four triumph? The rough and tumble of the cup can often throw up rogue results.

Grange certainly triumphed in the league encounters, taking all six points and scoring eleven goals in the process. The latest encounter was a 7-1 victory at Fettes, Todd Mills scoring four of them.

Edinburgh have already given the Wildcats a bit of a mauling – 3-0 at Peffermill with David Mawhinney, Simon Balschke and Kevin Wong on target. But what makes this tie so intriguing is that both sides have shown inconsistency in performance.

The women`s penultimate ties look a little more predictable, and certainly Edinburgh University will feel themselves capable to see off a GHK side they beat 9-1 in the league. The Glasgow side however has been on an exceptional run of matches to reach this stage of the competition, especially having disposed of neighbours Hillhead in the last round. The romance of the cup could have another story.

The Grove Menzieshill versus Wildcats on Tayside could be a closer affair – both sides lack their Scotland players – although the Dundonians won the league fixture 3-0, Jenny Walls scored twice with Iona Armour getting the other.

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