Weekend win double for Premiership hockey champions

Watsonians secured their second win of the weekend thanks to a 3-2 success over The University of Edinburgh after leading 3-0 early in the second-half.

It was 2-0 at the half-time break thanks to goals from Jess Garden and Emily Dark from a penalty corner. Dark netted again from a penalty corner but the students refused to throw in the towel and opened their account via Louise Campbell from a penalty corner deflection.

And Jika Nyirenda scored a second from a quick counter, but the champions, who thrashed Gordonians 14-0 on Saturday at Peffermill, managed to see the game out.

Keith Smith, Watsonians’ coach, said the first 50 minutes of the game showcased probably some of the best hockey the club have played, really dominant and arguably unlucky not to be even further ahead.

He added: “Then we conceded a goal against the run of play and then didn’t manager the game as well as we would have liked which let the momentum shift and meant the students came back into things.

“It’s definitely something we’ll look to improve but I think we can also be really pleased at the levels we reached and just how well we played for the majority of the game.” 

Sam Judge, coach for the students, who are expected to be one of the challengers for silverware this term, admitted her squad were “really poor” in the first half but improved in the second.

Uddingston won 3-2 at The University of St Andrews with the sides level after the first quarter, Lexie MacMillan scoring for the visitors after two minutes from a penalty corner and the students levelling two minutes later.

Maisy Darce edged Uddingston ahead in the second quarter but the students levelled for a second time before MacMillan grabbed her second and the game-winner late on.

Other scores in the women’s Premiership were Hillhead 0, Glasgow University 1; Inverleith 0, Western Wildcats 5; Gordonians 1, Grange Edinburgh Ladies 11.

PICTURE: Watsonians v Gordonians at Peffermill by Nigel Duncan