Men's 1s
Team Report 2007/2008 by Dougie White
Second Half of season
As the second half of the outdoor season beckoned the Men’s 1s looked forward to competing in National 1B – the gateway to the promised land of National 1. Having been promoted to the division at Christmas we faced Hillhead, Gordonians, Wanderers, CALA and Waverley over 10 games in the second part of the season. A top 3 finish in this league would have seen us qualify for National 1 in 2008/09. However to the disappointment of everyone in Scottish hockey (well, at least that’s what we assume) we finished 6th and will be returning to National 2 for the start of next season. I guess that when the players driving to games pick up more points from speed cameras than the team manages on the pitch then it’s probably a sign that things haven’t gone exactly according to plan!
Dougie White, player of the year
We opened our 1B campaign with a disappointing loss to Waverley, but this was followed up with an impressive 5-3 win over CALA at a cauldron-like Tipperlinn. That result and performance gave the team a lot of belief that we could make a big impression in the league. However we were tripped up by an inability to put together really strong performances over the full 70 minutes, with good first half displays undone by a weak second half, and vice-versa. So, it’s back to National 2 for next year but the squad has learned a lot from its experience this year and now has a clearer idea about what is required to compete at the higher level that we want to reach again next season. And of course, we know where more of the speed cameras are now!
However if the outdoor season was disappointing the indoor season was anything but. The team made Watsonians history (yep, history!) by winning promotion to National 1 for the first time ever. We went into the final game of the season requiring a win over Gordonians to overtake them in the league and claim the title and promotion. A 5-3 victory was duly delivered and promotion achieved – which was all the more satisfying having finished as runners-up the previous two seasons. Even a collision with an HGV on the way home couldn’t ruin the occasion!
So, all in all it’s been a bit of a mixed season for the Men’s 1s but it’s been good banter along the way. Chris Miller has transformed himself into the club’s ‘top boozer’; new recruits Hamish, JD, Chris Annan and Fraser, have fitted in well; and youngsters James and Alex have also made their mark. I’d like to thank all the guys in the squad for their efforts this year, with particular thanks to Chris Miller for coaching the team and also to Mags and Sweetman who have helped out with running training as well. Big thanks also need to go to Fin for helping sort out players, training and nights out over the course of the season. Clemo is taking over as captain next year and I’m sure he will do a great job and lead the team to new heights, and probably yet more carnage……
First Half of season
It’s been a successful first half of the season for the Men’s 1s, with the teamfinishing top of National 2 at the mid-season break. This means that we enter National 1B for the second half of the season, alongside the bottom fourteams from National 1 and the second placed team in National 2. Indoors we are currently top of National 2, and in the Scottish Cup our reward for beating Stewarts Melville in the first round is an away game against Kelburne – who I’m sure are as disappointed with the draw as we are…The team has done extremely well to finish top of the league at the winter break.
We lost a number of key players and our coach in the summer, but new players such as Chris Annan, Fraser Macdonald, Hamish Robertson, John Dunlop and Kevin Doyle have fitted in well, and youngsters James Byers and Alex Fedenczuk have also made a very positive contribution to the team. Chris Miller has been coaching the team this year as well as playing, and attendance and commitment at training has been very good – which is a big improvement from recent seasons. This is something that we’ll need to continue in order to succeed in division 1B in the second half of the season.
The team’s battling qualities in games has also been particularly pleasing. Of our nine league games before Christmas we won seven, drew one and lost one, coming from behind to secure wins against Granite City, Waverley, and Uddingston and coming from 2-0 down with 10 minutes to go to get a 2-2 draw away to Edinburgh Uni. This is a feat that we may have to repeat in our forthcoming games! Indoor, the team has recovered from a disappointing first couple of games
to win six matches in a row, including a couple of very satisfying victories against our Edinburgh rivals MIM. We are now one point ahead of Gordonians at the top of the table with five games to go – and the possibility of a league decider against Gordonians in the final game of the season.
Outdoor we will be up against Hillhead, MIM, Gordonians, Dundee Wanderers, and Waverley when the league restarts in mid-February. Each team will play each other home and away with all points from the first half of the season scrapped. The top three teams automatically retain a place in National 1 for the start of 2008-09, with the fourth placed team playing-off against the top team in National 2, and the bottom two teams relegated. We face 10 tough games but we’re all confident of gaining our place in National 1 for next season.
So, all in all it has been a very satisfying first half of the season for the Men’s 1s. Indeed the only disappointing aspect of the season so far has been the number of team members at the Hockey Club Ball who failed to eat their dessert in the appropriate manner – something I’m sure that these individuals will be keen to put right at the End of Season Dinner in May!
Dougie White
See final table here
