Western Wildcats Hockey Club

The opening fixtures of the play-offs were tense, tight and tough but pretty much went to form for our top teams.

The girls were first up and came agonisingly close to a draw against Kelburne in Pool A. They looked to have ridden their luck after Susan Al Hadad's penalty save midway through the second half of a cagey game. However, as the clock ticked down Kelburne won a contentious penalty corner. The umpires and technical delegate seemed unable to agree on how long was left and the clock was allowed to run down to the disgust of the Wildcats bench. Inevitably, Kelburne converted the corner for a 1-0 win and a gutted Western Wildcats team.

The boys were up next against the season's surprise package, Hillhead. Western took what looked a commanding 2-0 half-time lead through Dougie Simpson and Gary Maitles. Hillhead pulled one back just after the break but Scott McCartney's penalty corner strike during a period of sustained Western pressure had things looking rosy. Indeed had Scooter's bludgeoned cover drive not been met by a remarkable save two minutes later the game would have been done.

It wasn't, though. Hillhead battled back and made it 3-2 to set up a horribly nervy last fifteen minutes or so. Had the Westenders' finishing been cooler this could have gone to penalties. As it was, Western held out and will play Grange (who beat Hillhead in today's second bite game at Peffermill) next Saturday for a place in the Grand Final.

The 2s finally exorcised the spectre of relegation with a 6-1 thumping of Stepps 2s at Millerston. It has been an odd season for our stiffs who seem to turn up against the better sides while conspiring to lose against those at the bottom of the division. With safety assured they can enjoy their last two league games before having a crack at the District Cup.

The 3s didn't rise to last week's giddy heights but they did manage a late, late 1-0 win over ten-man Glasgow Accies. This wasn't a great game but Accies are to be applauded for their continuing commitment to affording the criminally insane the opportunity to play hockey on a weekly basis.

The 4s beat Kelburne 5-1 while the 5s drew 0-0 with GHK.