Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
ROUND-UP GM fight back to seal place in the EuroLeague
GROVE Menzieshill men’s hockey team rounded off a great season with a stunning victory over Grange in the play-off final to take the Dundee side into the EuroLeague, the premier European club tournament.
Grange had already won the league and also secured the Scottish Cup.
When Frank Ryan gave them the lead in the grand final it looked as though they were en route to the treble.
However, Menzieshill had other i deas and Cameron Golden’s spectacular equaliser did much more than sow some doubts in the Grange minds.
The Menzieshill defence always looked the more secure and they also threatened more frequently on the break.
It was no surprise when Olly James made it 2-1 when he deflected in a penalty corner.
However, this only sparked a time of pressure from Grange.
Menzieshill were awarded another penalty corner with four minutes remaining and James netted his second goal in an identical fashion to his first.
The Dundee team then held on f or what really was a magnificent victory against a good Grange outfit.
Earlier, GM defeated Kelburne i n their play-off semi-final.
They took the game to the Paisley side from the outset and Cameron Golden gave them the lead.
Johnny Christie equalised but Menzieshill responded with James restoring their lead and Albert Rowling making the score 3-1 from a penalty.
Menzieshill then took full command, extending their lead to 5-1, Paul Martin netting the fourth and Olly James grabbing the fifth.
Only then did Kelburne respond. However, two goals by Josh Cairns, the first from a penalty corner and the second from a penalty stroke, were too little too late.
In the relegation contest at Dalnacraig, Wanderers twice took the lead over Watsonians who had qualified as runners- up to Gordonians in Division Two.
Bobby Ralph gave Wanderers the lead with a reverse shot from the edge of the circle having won the ball on the 25.
Watsonians equalised with a Harry Connolly shot from a narrow angle.
Wanderers made a great start to the second half when Kennedy Gibb restored their lead within seven minutes.
From that stage, play was evenly contested.
Andrew Fraser-Harris equalised midway through the second period, latching on to a pass from the 25 and firing it first time into the net.
Neither team could force the winner and the result was determined by a penalty shoot-out.
Both failed to score any of their first four penalties but Wanderers missed their fifth to give Watsonians a chance of victory from their fifth spot-kick attempt.
Jamie Cochrane converted the resulting penalty to give the Edinburgh side victory.
Watsonians thus claimed a place in Division One for next season while Wanderers faced a further play-off against Uddingston.
Wanderers were on the back foot from the outset.
They conceded the first goal but were well in the game when Bobby Ralph equalised.
That was as good as it got as Uddingston powered to a 6-1 win.
Wanderers lost a chance to retain their Division One place when they were defeated 5-4 by Clydesdale in their last league game when a draw would have seen them reaching safety.
Grange will represent Scotland in the European Club Trophy in Vienna from Friday to Monday.
They will play Stroitel Brest (Belarus) on Friday, Poznan (Poland) on Saturday and Minsk (Belarus) on Sunday before a crossover match on Monday.
The other teams are Wein (Austria), Rot Weiss Wettingen (Switzerland), Vinnitsa (Ukraine) and Bra (Italy).