It`s still early doors in the men’s Premiership campaign and therefore still difficult to detect trends/form for each club at the moment.
But what is certain is the promising start made by Watsonians – two comfortable wins against Dundee Wanderers and Inverleith.
And on Saturday the Edinburgh side take on Clydesdale – and their hope is that the perfect record will continue.
So we caught up with Watsonians` captain Luke Campbell to get his take on affairs, “We`re happy to have started with two wins so far, but we know we have improvements to make in terms of performance. Clydesdale this weekend is a big game, our games with them in recent seasons have always been close and we know we will need to play well to take the three points.”
Watsonians have made some inroads into success; last season they won the Scottish Cup for the first time in the club`s history and finished fourth in the Premiership – not a bad effort indeed. But the Edinburgh club need to build on that success. In particular, they require to take on the top sides on a regular basis to enhance this development.
Luke reflected, “Finishing fourth last season and winning the Scottish Cup represented possibly the best ever season for our men`s first team.
“We have recruited well over the summer and had a real positive pre-season, stretching back to June and including good quality games in Manchester earlier this month.
“There was quite a big gap between ourselves and the top three, so we definitely aim to reduce that as much as we can this season. We`ll take it one game at a time and see where we are at the split.”
So what of the chasing pack?
Western Wildcats seem to be purring along nicely – three wins out of three and not a goal conceded after a midweek 4-0 win at Clydesdale. All the goals came in the first half started by Fraser Moran with a deflection from a pass by Jamie Golden followed by Cammie Moran, who controlled a scoop into the circle and volleyed into the roof of the net. Jamie Golden then followed up with a double, the first was a deft deflection under the keeper, and then he drove round the keeper and finished with a reverse sweep into the net.
Coach Vishal Marwaha will certainly not want to falter against Inverleith at Auchenhowie just a week away from the EHL.
Grange, on the other hand, were 15 seconds away from dropping points against ESM last weekend, and are at home to Grove Menzieshill. That might not be so easy, the Taysiders have already restricted the Wildcats to a couple of goals and held Edinburgh University to a draw. Under the experienced eye of Gav Byers Grove Menzieshill could pose a threat to Grange`s aspirations if the champions are not at their best.
Three teams sit on four points – Hillhead, FSEG Clydesdale and Edinburgh University.
Hillhead`s coach Yan Adams described last weekend`s 3-1 win at Dunfermline Carnegie as “laboured”, his charges may have to be a bit more focussed to take the three points against Uddingston on their own patch. How the Lanarkshire are going to fare this season is as yet uncertain with a seven goal win against Inverleith and a narrow single goal reversal at Clydesdale – the jury is still out. This could be a close encounter.
Edinburgh University have a win and a draw under their belt and the students will look to pick up another three points at home to a Dundee Wanderers side that have yet to find the net and have conceded eleven.
Spare a thought for ESM – they have been two minutes away from a draw with Edinburgh University and 15 seconds last weekend against Grange – and yet they have no points on the board. This Saturday the Edinburgh side are at home to Dunfermline Carnegie and surely they must fancy breaking their duck finally. But the Fifers are also keen to get off the mark after a brace of defeats, so it could be an interesting tussle.
One midweek game in the women’s Premiership saw Watsonians regain pole position with a convincing nine goal win over Inverleith – they head the table on goal difference from Clydesdale Western. Top scorers were Sarah Jamieson with a hat-trick, Gen Hussell with two and singles from Emily Dark, Katherine Holdgate, Milly Berndes-Cade and Tabitha Peck on her debut. There are no women’s Premiership matches this weekend as it’s a national teams training weekend.
