Stirling retain historic West Cup at Tollcross
Stirling Water Polo retained the West Cup – the oldest trophy of its kind in the world – with a victory over Western Baths at Tollcross in Glasgow.
The cup dates back to 1886 and is fought for by senior teams within the West District of Scottish Swimming.
And in a high-tempo performance full of impressive displays of speed and pressing, Stirling came out 17-11 winners in the final.
The first quarter saw Stirling take a two-goal lead but their opponents were threatening and Western Baths cut the margin to 4-3.
Stirling changed their approach and adopted a drop defence – limiting the space in front of goal.
This worked as Western Baths were only able to get away shots from longer range which were saved or blocked.
In attack Stirling found their form and scored six goals to their opponent’s one.
The third quarter saw a fightback from Western and the lead was narrowed to five – with Stirling leading 14-9.
And in the final quarter goalkeeper Cameron Blance – making his debut at the age of 14 – pulled off an excellent point-blank save to keep out Western’s dangerous centre forward.
This set the tone for the remainder of the match and Stirling eventually ran out 17-11 winners.
Throughout the campaign the team were assisted by two senior players – Mark Speed and Vygantas Kersulis – who both live in the district and, despite playing their polo for Dunfermline WPC, they readily agreed to play for Stirling in this event.
Their experience and knowledge helped the young players raise their game – giving them invaluable experience of senior competition.
Team: Elliott Harris, Harry Gray, Alexander Harris, Gregor Rodger, Ilhan Omar, Olly Carr, Mathew Wearing, Vygantas Kersulis, Mark Speed, Tasos Mbaltadakis, Daniel Woodhall, Alexander Johnstone, Cameron Blance.
Cameron Harris and Angus Cameron were missing from the team but played in the semi-final.