Uddingston v ESM Lions Tops the Bill as Scotland’s Premiership Reaches the Business End
This is the weekend Scotland’s Premiership starts to sort itself out. Second against third in the men’s league, the leaders away at a rebuilding Grange, and a double outing for Clydesdale Western in the women’s title race. Plenty to watch, and not much room left for anyone to hide.
The game of the day is at Bothwell Castle on Saturday. Uddingston host ESM Lions, and there’s nothing in it. The Lions sit second, Uddy third, two points adrift with a game in hand. Both sides have made a habit of troubling the big names this season. Uddy beat Watsonians last weekend and have already drawn with Western Wildcats and champions Edinburgh University. They’re unbeaten. The Lions held Watsonians to a goalless draw of their own.
Uddy’s rise hasn’t come out of nowhere. They made the top six split last year but never really threatened the honours. This season feels different, and the Lions know it. Their captain Sam Tait called it “a challenging game on Saturday” and said the two sides have had tight games in recent seasons. He’s right about that, and about Uddingston being well coached and playing good hockey. The Lions have new faces settling in nicely, with David Knipe and Stevie McCurry added to the coaching group, and Tait says the focus is just on developing together and improving on last year’s league position. Whatever happens on Saturday, both sides will still be right in the fight at the end of the season. For our money, a draw wouldn’t surprise anyone. But if Uddy win at home, with that game in hand, they start to look like genuine title contenders rather than just a good story.
Wildcats still rule the roost
Western Wildcats are still top, and the only blemish on their record is that draw with Uddingston. They go to Grange on Saturday, and on paper it’s theirs to lose. Grange are rebuilding and results have been mixed, though two recent wins have pushed them up to seventh and they won a Scottish Cup tie last Sunday. The goal spree has dried up a touch for the Wildcats, only two against Hillhead last time out, but two goals still won that game. Grange will need more than a good day to stop them.
Watsonians, meanwhile, go to Hillhead trying to pick up the pieces. They’ve dropped five points in their last two outings, and the trip to Hillhead is trickier than it looks. The home side are famed for rising to the occasion, and the games they’ve lost have only been by a single goal. Watsonians should win it, but they can’t afford another slip while Uddingston and the Lions are playing each other.
Champions Edinburgh University are still stuck in sixth, but they should see off bottom side Dunfermline Carnegie at Peffermill and start climbing. The last game on the card takes Inverleith to Tayside to face Grove Menzieshill, with both sides desperate to climb out of the bottom rungs. Menzieshill have scored only five goals in seven games. Inverleith have conceded 48. Somebody has to find a way.
Clydesdale get two bites at it
The women’s title race has two runaway sides, and this weekend gives Clydesdale Western the chance to catch up on points. They’ve got a double outing. On Saturday they travel north to Gordonians, who have yet to score a goal in their five matches so far. Then on Sunday they welcome St Andrews University to Titwood in a catch-up fixture.
Finding the net has been the opposite of a problem for Clydesdale. Last weekend they put eight past Grange, with Jenny Eadie and Sophie Hinds scoring two each. That result dropped Grange from fourth to seventh, and Grange have no game on Saturday to put it right. Six points from this double would put real pressure on leaders Watsonians, who should pick up another three points with some ease against a Hillhead side that haven’t won since the opening game of the season.
The mid-table is a proper clutter. Uddingston, Wildcats, St Andrews and Grange all share eight points, and Edinburgh University are only one behind. St Andrews look the most likely to break out of it. They’re at home on Saturday to a Glasgow University side propping up the table with no points and a goal deficit of 40. That’s an opportunity too good to miss.
The game of the day in the women’s competition is at Auchenhowie, where Wildcats entertain a GHK side that look secure in third place. GHK are on a roll, three wins in a row, the latest a 3-1 win over Uddingston with Lucy Williamson continuing her lethal touch in front of goal with a double. That’s eight for the season so far. The Wildcats have made a promising start of their own. After losing the opening game to Watsonians, they’ve put together a four-match unbeaten run. This one could be the best game of the weekend, either side of the border.
Men’s fixtures, Saturday 14 November: Uddingston v ESM Lions (Bothwell Castle); Grange v Western Wildcats; Hillhead v Watsonians; Edinburgh University v Dunfermline Carnegie (Peffermill); Grove Menzieshill v Inverleith.
Women’s fixtures, Saturday 14 November: Gordonians v Clydesdale Western; Hillhead v Watsonians; St Andrews University v Glasgow University; Western Wildcats v GHK (Auchenhowie). Sunday 15 November: Clydesdale Western v St Andrews University (Titwood).
