Men’s hockey – Inverleith back in pole position as promotion race hots up

Teenage striker Charlie Jack celebrated with his team-mates as Inverleith replaced Dunfermline Carnegie the summit of Division Two with a 3-1 victory over the Fife side at Edinburgh Academy.

Carnegie moved into pole position after Inverleith let slip a 3-1 lead to go own 4-2 at Gordonians seven days previously.

And it looked tough for the Edinburgh side after Andrew Doyle fired Carnegie ahead from a penalty corner after five minutes.

The fired-up Dunfermline side then dominated the first-half of a tense game as Inverleith failed to protect the ball.

And it could have been 2-0 had Inverleith defender James Stuart not made goal-line clearance as Carnegie cut through the home side late in the first-half.

But Inverleith survived and Ed Iffla and then Borders-based Jack, son of former Scotland star, Janet Jack, claimed two goals to collect the points.

The scoreline could have been greater had Carnegie goalkeeper Matt Jones not pulled off two diving saves as Inverleith’s eager strikers homed in on his net.

And Murray Fotheringham hit the right-hand upright with a sizzling shot as Inverleith upped the pressure.

It was not all one way, however, and experienced Inverleith defender Sean Stewart made several telling interceptions as the pressure grew towards the final whistle.

And former Scottish international Derek Salmond (pictured with Magnus Ferrier) proved a steadying influence in midfield as Inverleith fought their way back into the game after their early set-back.

The loss of influential Steven Glass with a calf strain early in the second-half and his men being down to nine players at one point did not help the visitors.

Glass felt his men dominated the first-half and had the better of the chances created, but sportingly conceded that Inverleith are a class team and he felt that the home side capitalised as his men tired.

Chris Duncan, Inverleith’s coach, said that there were key moments in the game, including the intervention of Stewart.

He added: “The target was to be top by Christmas as we have achieved that. We play Carnegie in the last game of the season and our job is to keep winning as we want the automatic promotion place.”

Duncan did not however mention that Inverleith also have a healthy goal difference over their arch rivals.