Keith Smith saw Watsonians women claim four late goals to win Scottish Hockey’s Grand Final by beating Clydesdale Western and declared: “It was a really mature performance.”
Katie Stott netted late in the third quarter and Gen Hussell claimed the second a minute into the final session.
Her strike was followed by two more, one from Milly Berndes-Cade and the fourth and final goal came from Scottish international striker Sarah Jamieson soon after.
Coach Smith now eyes Sunday’s Scottish Cup Final against Western Wildcats at Glasgow’s National Hockey Centre (16.00) to claim a domestic treble having already won the Premiership crown.
He praised Clydesdale for their efforts and said: “They did a great job of nullifying the threat of The University of Edinburgh in their semi-final on Saturday. They really frustrated them.
“We knew how difficult they would make the Grand Final but we also recognised how much the win over the students could have taken out of them.
“Our plan for the Grand Final was to be really patient, not to chase the game and move them around until we created quality chances.”
Smith feels his side were unlucky not to score at least two goals in the first half and he added: “We could have easily let that impact on our mindset, but the players were calm and composed and stuck to doing the things we knew would get the results we wanted.”
WATCHING BRIEF: Keith Smith (with glasses) and his assistant David Knipe in the dugout at George Watson’s College as Watsonians played Western Wildcats in a recent Premiership game. Picture Nigel Duncan
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