Dramatic day in Men’s Indoor National League 1

It was a dramatic day on the road to the GALA Day in Men’s Indoor National League 1. Grove Menzieshill and Dundee Wanderers from Pool A along with Inverleith and Bromac Kelburne from Pool B ended the day in the top positions, but there were a couple of surprises along the way.


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

POOL A

The day opened with perhaps the biggest upset of the Indoor National League 1 season to date, champions Grove Menzieshill lost their unbeaten record to Tayside rivals Dundee Wanderers, the result brought the two sides level at the top of Pool A.

It certainly looked business as usual when Gavin Byers opened for the champions in the first minute, and that remained the score at the interval.

The second half certainly belonged to Wanderers, they advanced into a 4-1 lead through Ewan Borland, Fergus and Elliot Sandison and Jack Fullerton. In the final minute Gavin Tomlinson pulled one back for Grove Menzieshill from a penalty corner, but Wanderers still had the final say with a belated strike by Bobby Ralph for a big 5-2 victory.

Both Dundee sides seemed destined for the semi-finals after Clydesdale were held to a 3-3 draw by Edinburgh University – the students’ first point in the competition. A double penalty corner strike by Fraser Hirst put the Titwood-based side into a two goal lead, but by the interval Callum White and Tim Mueller had drawn the University level.

With three minutes to go Patrick Lonergan seemed to have given Clydesdale the three points, but the students were not to be denied and White again scored for a share of the points.

Wanderers then confirmed their semi-final status with a 5-3 win over Clydesdale in their second outing of the day. The Taysiders marched into a 3-1 lead at the interval, Fergus Sandison opened followed by a double from Bobby Ralph, Chris McFadden from a penalty corner reduced the leeway.

The three points were sealed when Elliot Sandison and Ralph for his hat-trick pushed Wanderers into an unassailable 5-1 lead, although Patrick Lonergan and McFadden again got a couple of late consolations.

Grove Menzieshill sprung back into life with a 7-4 victory over Edinburgh University, there was a hat-trick for Gavin Tomlinson, Cameron Golden got two while Mike Ross and Aidan McQuade got the others, Callum White scored a double for the students.

POOL B

It could hardly be tighter at the top of Pool B after Inverleith beat rivals Bromac Kelburne 8-7 to share pole position on nine points apiece, that was until the Paisley side fell 12-2 to Grange in their second match, leaving Stuart Neave`s side with a three point lead at the top.

The Edinburgh side took the initiative right from the start and advanced into a 4-0 lead with strikes from Patrick Christie, Kyle Taylor and a double by Stephen Dick. By the interval Kelburne had made slight inroads into the deficit with goals from Chris Caldwell and two by Jack McKenzie, but Stuart Hatton and Dick for his hat-trick had increased Inverleith`s tally to six.

Sean Stewart`s early second half strike increased Inverleith`s lead to 7-3, but that seemed to signal a Paisley comeback with a double from Josh Cairns and Caldwell again to reduce Inverleith`s advantage to only 7-6.

Stephen Dick was on hand to supply his fourth of the contest to make it 8-6, and although Ben Peterson scored again for Kelburne it was not sufficient to salvage the match.

Inverleith consolidated their position with a 9-2 victory over Hillhead in their second outing. A hat-trick from captain Patrick Christie and another by teenager Ewen Mackie gave the Edinburgh side a comfortable 4-1 lead at the interval, Euan Campbell got Hillhead`s consolation. The scoring continued unabated in the second half, Inverleith`s tally was augmented by a double from Stuart Hatton, Mackie got his second while Stephen Dick and Murray Fotheringham both found the net, with a single reply from Andrew Hilton.

It was certainly a good day out for Grange, they finished with an astounding 12-2 victory over Kelburne, and in the process launched city rivals Inverleith to the top of the pool. Captain Frank Ryan ran riot with six goals, Luke Cranney got a hat-trick while Alan Johnston and Callum Milne pitched in with one each.

Earlier in the day Grange saved themselves the embarrassment of the relegation play-off after seeing off Hillhead 9-5 in the bottom of the pool clash. The foundation of Grange`s victory stemmed from hat-tricks by both Luke Cranney and Alan Johnston while Ross Jamieson scored twice for Hillhead.

Dunfermline Carnegie promoted

Elsewhere, Dunfermline Carnegie secured promotion from Indoor National League 2 when they won both games today beating Dundee Wanderers 2s 4-1 and Western Wildcats 4-3. The team will play in Indoor National League 1 next year for the first time.

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