From outdoor to indoor and some interesting games on view

Last season Western men and Clydesdale Western women took the indoor championships with 100% records, although the tournament was truncated to the league format only by enduring Covid restrictions last winter.

In contrast, this indoor season will run its full course – the initial league format, the group stages and the Gala Day finals – and this year`s champions will have to work hard for their crowns.

The women`s title last season was effectively decided by the contest between Watsonians and Clydesdale on the final day, the latter winning 2-1. A penalty corner conversion by Clydesdale`s Bronwyn Shields was almost immediately negated by Sarah Jamieson for 1-1 at the interval. The winner came from Francis Lonergan – but it was a close encounter.

Outdoor Watsonians have been on a roll, winning league and cup and the Edinburgh side are presently leading the Premiership by five points. So can they simply transfer their outdoor form to the indoor boards?

We caught up with Watsonians` coach Keith Smith to get his take on their prospects.

“I think indoor will be a good test for us this year, when we`re at our strongest we`ll be more than a match for anyone. But we also have to contend with losing players to both GB EDP and work commitments at different times across the season. So the challenge for us will be to make sure we`re as competitive as we can be on a consistent basis each week.”

There is no real indication of current form this indoor season yet, but Keith Smith`s charges will aim to take full points from Sunday`s matches against Inverleith and then Grove Menzieshill.

Champions Clydesdale could finish the opening day with a three point lead as they have the challenging task of three games on the day.

The Glasgow side are up against newly promoted Edinburgh HC, Dundee Wanderers and finally Edinburgh University who are also on their third outing of the day.

If last season is anything to go by it will be the Edinburgh students and Wildcats who should provide the greatest challenge to Clydesdale and Watsonians – but that is only surmise.

So what of the other sides? Edinburgh HC are the newcomers while the Dundee pair Wanderers and Grove Menzieshill, along with Inverleith, will be out to show some more sparkle than they have been able to show outdoor so far this season, and make an impact.

There are a few questions to answer in the men`s indoor league – foremost, is there a team out there to unseat champions Western Wildcats?

Western`s coach Vishal Marwaha set out his thoughts. “Last season was an exceptional season. Our target this season is to retain the title. Winning every game does not happen very often and I`m sure our rivals will be well prepared and motivated, so it will be difficult to repeat that.”

On his squad for the season, Vishal said: “Our squad is strong and there is good competition for places which is what you want as a coach. It helps drive training and performance.”

So who will be the likely challengers to Western? If the last few years are anything to go by, it is most likely to be Inverleith and Grove Menzieshill, they monopolised the indoor title between them from 2011 to 2019 when Western achieved their first crown. But last year their challenge evaporated on the final day of competition, firstly the Taysiders went down 8-2 to be followed by Inverleith 7-2, destroyed by the lethal finishing of Andrew McConnell, Rob Harwood and others.

But Inverleith under the coaching eye of Stuart Neave, have recorded considerable success at the indoor game with six titles between 2011 and 2020, and will hope to show they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Grove Menzieshill have three games on Saturday, they start with Grange, then Watsonians and finally traditional rivals Inverleith. Nine points here would certainly declare the intentions of the young Dundee outfit. Inverleith`s earlier games are also against Edinburgh rivals Watsonians and Grange.

So will there be a Tayside revival? In days gone by the indoor title was almost the preserve of the Midland sides – from 1985 to 2017 Menzieshill took 20 championships while Dundee Wanderers won four – time will tell if these halcyon days are likely to return.

However, over the last few seasons both Wanderers and Grange have managed big results but have been unable to mount a sustained challenge for honours. At the moment Grange top the outdoor Premiership but rarely have they made the same impact indoors – they have lots of talent in the ranks, but a lot might depend on which players step on the court each Saturday.

As with the women’s competition, the likely form of the other sides – Dunfermline Carnegie, Uddingston and Watsonians – is difficult to determine at this point – so the jury is out.

 

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