Shock troops face test

A cracking start for newlypromoted Hillhead sent shock waves through the anticipated pecking order when last year’s division 2 runners-up shot to the top of the national indoor league table.

Whether this early momentum can be sustained will come under close scrutiny when they line up against Grove Menzieshill and Western Wildcats in tomorrow’s second session at Bell’s Sports Centre in Perth.

Unfortunate timetabling means one of the tastier contests on the bill seems likely to play out in front of very few spectators as Dundee Wanderers and archrivals Grove go head-tohead at 9.15 am.

Wanderers lie one point adrift of Hillhead having played a game less, but while their young recruits meld with seasoned campaigners, the seven-time champions will expect a stiff examination from Edinburgh University later in the day.

Clydesdale Western, Grove and CALA are next in line, locked together on three points with the Glasgow heavyweights well ahead in the ‘goals for’ column, while the Cats will be striving to claw their way up the table after a disappointing start left them on a point.

Grove’s intense threematch shift is book-ended by their encounter with CALA, who mirrored the Taysiders’ results a week ago and should kick off the day with a win over bottom-of-the-table Kelburne.

Aberdeen Bon Accord and Watsonians laid down the gauntlet in division 2 with Wanderers and Grove’s reserve strings struggling to keep up with top teams from most of the other contenders.

The Taysiders clash at DISC with Grove also taking on MCC Westerns IIs and Bon Accord while Wanderers round off their day against MCCW.

Forthbank hosts the first outings for division 3.

Perthshire are paired with Uddingston, Stirling Wanderers and Granite City Wanderers with not much recovery time between matches.