Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Monarchs fade following their bright opening
SPORTS
IN hockey’s Men’s I ndoor Nat ion a l Leag ue, Monarchs have fallen behind in the Second Division promotion race fol low i ng two defeats at the weekend.
The first, a 13-7 loss against Menzieshill II, was a surprise, especially in terms of the scoreline.
The second, by the odd goal in nine against Kelburne, allowed the Paisley side to move closer to leaders Watsonians in second place.
The day had started so well for Monarchs with an 8-5 win over Falkirk.
Meanwhile, despite that sizeable win over Monarchs, it was not Menzieshill’s day as they could only draw 8-8 with Falkirk in the last game of the day.
Perthshire suffered their first defeat i n Division Three to Uddingston II by the odd goal in nine.
However, they still lead the way by a comfortable margin over Grove Menzieshill III, Western Wildcats II and Watsonians II.
Adam Czub was Perthshire’s main scorer with a hat-trick against Uddingston II while Tom
Cahalin chipped in with one.
Perthshire made amends in their second game with a 5-1 win over Wanderers II.
This time Czub scored four with Andrew Clark getting one.
Harris got their first win of the season with a 5-3 victory over Menzieshill III, to move them up from the foot of the division.
Defeat against Watsonians II was not unexpected but perhaps disappointing, as their results are largely on a par with Menzieshill’s.
The second last sessions in Divisions Two and Three of the Scottish I ndoor League will be played on Saturday.
Watsonians have a slight advantage over Kelburne at the top with Monarchs in third place – one point behind Kelburne but having played one game more.
Monarchs have a great chance to make amends for last week’s relatively poor results.
However, their first game against Watsonians may be a step too far.
Victory against Hillhead will keep them firmly in the top half of the division.
Menzieshill II, two points behind Monarchs, should easily make up that difference with two much easier games against Inverleith II and Stepps.
Perthshire lead the way in Division 3 with a sevenpoint advantage over Menzieshill III, each having five games remaining.
The title is within sight for the Perth club but by no means a certainty at this stage.
Victory against Harris should be a given, although maybe not by the 8-0 margin of their first game but Watsonians II should provide stiffer opposition in the last game of the day at DISC.
Menzieshill III will also have real tests against Watsonians II, Uddingston II and Western Wildcats II, the three teams immediately below them and within one or two points.
Harris moved off the bottom position with last week’s win over Menzieshill III but only on goal difference over Glasgow University.
Wanderers II are only a point ahead of Harris with a game more played, making the second game of the day between these two intriguing.
That will probably be the only chance for both these clubs to pick up points on Saturday as their second games are against Watsonians II and Perthshire.