Over the weekend, Scottish Hockey held their Club Finals at Edinburgh University’s, Peffermill sports’ facility, hosting 20 teams, playing 10 matches, in the Men’s and Women’s competitions.
Saturday was dedicated to the Men’s Competition Finals with six matches played in fine weather on the artificial surfaces. The four ‘Main’ Finals were on No. 1 pitch with the two Reserve Finals on No. 2 pitch.
Whether it was the weather, or the location – Peffermill has a well stocked bar(!) and kitchen facilities, both things lacking at Glasgow Green – on both days, the stands and surrounds were packed (sold out?) with spectators, teams, sponsors, etc. and a decent amount of money was raised by the Scotland Women’s 40’s squad to support their upcoming campaign.
First up was the Men’s Reserve Cup (Pitch 1) played between Watsonians 3’s and Edinburgh University 3’s, won by Edinburgh Uni. They were leading 1-0 at the break, scoring again early in the second half. Watsonians pulled a goal back, but couldn’t find the net, leaving Edinburgh to pick up the 2-1 win and the trophy.
Second match up (Pitch 2) was Glasgow University 3’s v Hillhead 4’s in the Men’s Reserve Plate. This was win for Hillhead, beating their Glasgow rivals 1-0 to lift their trophy.
Third on the card was the District Cup (Pitch 1) between Edinburgh University 2’s and Western Wildcats 2’s. This was to be another win for the University club, beating their opponents 3-0. Leading 2-0 at the half, then added a third in the third quarter for 3-0. Wildcats came back in the fourth quarter with a couple of penalty corners, but couldn’t convert, leaving Edinburgh to add another trophy to their cabinet.
Fourth match was Glasgow University 2’s v Inverleith 2’s in the District Plate (Pitch 2). Inverleith lead 1-0 at the break, but Glasgow equalised with a penalty stroke in the second. Inverleith then regained the lead with a second goal to finish off the match and take the Plate back to North Edinburgh.
The fifth match on the day – and the third on Pitch 1 was the Scottish Plate Final between Tayside(-ish) rivals FMGM Monarchs and Perthshire and turned out to be an absolute goal-fest, with Monarchs running out 6-4 winners in an end-to-end thriller. Leading 3-1 at half time, Monarchs found themselves drawing early in the second as Perthshire netted a couple to draw level.
They quickly established a two-goal advantage at 5-3, but Perthshire pulled one back before Monarchs scored again to put the match beyond reach.
The Final match on the day was the Scottish Cup Final between Hillhead and Western Wildcats and this was, possibly, a touch anti-climactic after the thrills of the Plate match. A full match report can be found here, so suffice to say that Wildcats saw Hillhead off to the tune of 6-0 to be crowned Scottish Cup Champions.
No action shots from the two Reserve Finals as it was quite a task to be in two places at once… JLP
Images from the matches will appear here at some time in the future! It was two, long, days…
