Western Wildcats were crowned Scottish indoor champions for the third year in a row and the fourth year in five when they beat Inverleith 5-2 at Dundee in the Grand Final.
The Glasgow side were 2-1 down when the Capital combine scored from a penalty corner with seconds left of the first quarter but they levelled just after the restart and the sides were locked at 2-2 after an even first-half.
The Auchenhowie combine upped their game in the second and it was all over, according to captain, Rob Harwood, after they extended their lead to 3-2 from a penalty corner deep in the third quarter, and they extended that to 4-2 with eight minutes remaining.
Fraser Moran top scored with a treble while Andrew McConnell and Dundonian Jamie Golden, who was recruited by Western for the indoor season, both netted singles.
Harwood added: “It was fairly even in the first half but we took the score to 3-2 and then 4-2 with eight minutes left and that was that.”
Western went through the whole tournament unbeaten and Harwood said: “Finals are about getting the result and the final performance was not what we wanted. We knew it was going to be tight as we drew 4-4 with them last weekend. It was about keeping them at bay.”
He added: “This is the first major trophy available to win in the season and we wanted to make a successful defence. That’s three in a row now and four in the last five and this was undoubtedly one of our targets this season.
“Now we have one trophy in the cabinet so we can concentrate on winning the Scottish Cup and also the championship.”
There was better news for the Capital in the women’s Grand Final as Watsonians edged a tense tussle against Clydesdale after a shootout.
The sides were level at 2-2 after normal time, the Edinburgh club leading 1-0 at the break, after scoring with two minutes left of the half, but Clydesdale equalised with four minutes left of the third quarter.
Watsonians went 2-1 ahead but the West of Scotland side levelled with one minute left to take the game into the shootout.
Uddingston men secured promotion to Scotland’s top indoor league with a narrow, 3-2 win over Dunfermline Carnegie in the play-off final at Dundee after missing out on automatic promotion by a point.
And the ambitious Lanarkshire club made it two promotions in one day as the women beat Inverleith 5-1 to move into their top flight for the first time having missed out on automatic promotion by two goals.
Gareth Ikin, the Lanarkshire club’s director of hockey, said that it was tremendous that the men and women took their form during the season into the play-offs and it is exciting that both are now in the top division.
Ben Young fired Uddingston ahead and Bein Wilson made it 2-0 before Dunfermline staged a comeback to level at 2-2 but captain Stephen Mackenzie netted with a minute to go to secure the promotion. They were relegated last year so have bounced back at the first attempt.
Mackenzie said: “It was a tough league with a lot of good teams in it but the boys put a lot of good work in each week and it feels great to get back into league one.
“First half was great but the second half was a bit nervy and we did not make it easy for ourselves but it was a good way to win it now we’re looking forward to giving it a go with the top teams.”
And Olivia Mullen and Kirsty Wratten both netted doubles as the club’s women’s team comfortably beat Inverleith with Lucy Hogarth netting a single.
They were 2-0 up but the Edinburgh side earned a penalty stroke following a corner and it was 2-1 at the break but two goals in the third quarter and a single in the fourth ended the contest.
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