Uddingston Stun Unbeaten Watsonians to Blow Scotland’s Title Race Open
Watsonians went to Bothwell Castle unbeaten. They left beaten 3-1, and by Uddingston’s own reckoning, they got off lightly.
Uddingston’s match report doesn’t hide how the game went. The 3-1 scoreline, it says, was flattering to Watsonians, and it could easily have been five or six. That’s a club talking about a win over the league’s form side, and the numbers back up the confidence. Uddingston are still unbeaten after seven games, third in the league with a game in hand, and they’ve conceded just five goals all season. Three of those seven games were against Edinburgh University, Western Wildcats and Watsonians. That’s not a soft schedule.
It’s also a repeat. Last season’s equivalent fixture, same ground, same 3-1 scoreline. Uddingston clearly like playing Watsonians at home, and Watsonians clearly don’t enjoy the trip.
The result blows the title race open. Western Wildcats lead the men’s Premiership after a 6-0 win over Grove Menzieshill in the last reported round, but Uddingston are now right in the mix with their game in hand. Watsonians, unbeaten no longer, have to regroup fast. In the women’s Premiership, Watsonians and Clydesdale Western lead the way, with Watsonians beating Edinburgh University 7-0 in the last reported round.
For our money, Uddingston are the real deal. Seven games, no defeats, five goals conceded, and they’ve just beaten the team everyone thought would run away with it. The report says they’re “in it to win it this year”. On this evidence, they’re not wrong.
No fixtures for this weekend were confirmed on Scottish Hockey’s site at the time of writing, so this is a look back at the result that changed the race, not a preview. When the next round is confirmed, the game to watch is Uddingston’s. Everybody in Scotland will want to see if they can do it again.
