February 16th Preview

There is a triple header on the Old Anniesland water base this weekend featuring the 1s, 2s and 3s starting at 1.30pm while the 4s travel to Glasgow Green to face Kelburne 5s. The 5s have the early push back on the Old Anniesland sand base pitch at 12.30pm.

Hillhead 1s vs Kelburne 1s – 1.30pm @ Old Anniesland (Water) – National League 1

The cold winter nights have disrupted preparations for the second half of the season as Hillhead look to build on a strong start to the season. However, with Kelburne on the horizon, Hillhead coach Mark Ralph will be encouraged by his teams 4-3 victory over Clydesdale on Tuesday night. Andrew Black calmly finished from 3 yards out with a placed finish while Fraser Ward’s powerful sweep found the roof of the net. Ross Jamieson found the net twice from midfield to complete the scoring in an open game.

Youngster Grant MacMillan will be looking to build on an encouraging end to the first half of the outdoor season while Jude Boslem will be looking to continue his development while adding a few more goals to his game. The young striker carved out a number of chances midweek against Clydesdale but found the Dale keeper in fine form.  

October’s match at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre finished 4-2 to Kelburne, which gave the Paisley side their first victory of the season. Matches between these two sides are rarely low scoring and with the talent available to both teams you can expect more of the same this weekend. Hillhead will be buoyed by having a full squad to choose from with no injury concerns for Coach Ralph to consider.

Photo Credit: Andy Lovat

Hillhead 2s vs Clydesdale 2s – 3pm @ Old Anniesland (Water) – Regional League 1

Hillhead 2s have a lot of work to do to reign in league leaders Edinburgh University 2s as they look to retain Regional League 1. The 2nd team are currently 11 points adrift with a game in hand to be played against Clydesdale 2s this weekend. Hillhead won the reverse fixture 4-1 with goals coming from Ally Deas, Leo Howes and Chris Wilson.

Speaking following the conclusion of the first half of the season, Co-Captain Mark Campbell said: “Edinburgh Uni are the team to beat, however sitting in second place with 5 home games ahead means we are right where we need to be to start cranking up the pressure. Some great results and performances so far this season from a team with arguably another gear to find - could be another exciting end to the season!”.

Photo Credit: Andy Lovat

Hillhead 3s vs Dumfries 1s – 4.30pm @ Old Anniesland (Water) – West District Division 1

The 3s welcome Dumfries to Old Anniesland for the late fixture as Hillhead aim to keep the pressure on Uddingston 2s. When the teams last met in November the Hornets secured a 5-2 win. Captain Jonny Duke was optimistic about their chances this weekend but recognises the scale of the task at hand to catch Uddingston. "Our development squad will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing performance last week. Given that arguably our best team performance this season came against Dumfries last time the sides met, this should be an exciting match."

Hillhead 4s vs Kelburne 5s – 12pm @ Glasgow National Hockey Centre – West District Division 2

Hillhead 4s sit top of the table in West District 2 with an 8 point lead over Giffnock hockey club. Gordon Macintyre-Kemp’s team have conceded just six goals in their twelve matches so far this season while scoring an impressive 57. That doesn’t mean this weekend match will be easy as Kelburne 5s won the previous meeting 2-1, the 4s only loss this season. However, having scored four goals last weekend against Uddingston 4s the boys come into this match in fine form. Gordon had the following to say about this weekends fixture, “Eight points clear at the top of the table the 4s have suffered only one defeat and it was a hugely surprising one to Kelburne 5s. Kelburne’s development team have emerged as second place contenders, with a defensive record second only to Hillhead 4s. We hadn't gelled as a team when we last met, however having scored 25 goals and conceded only 1 in their last five competitive matches anything other than a handsome win would be a major shock”

Hillhead 5s vs Giffnock 1s – 12.30pm @ Old Anniesland (Sand) – West District Division 2

The 5s will be looking to put in a performance against Giffnock 1s in the earliest of our matches at Old Anniesland on Saturday. Giffnock currently sit in 2nd place with an impressive scoring record so our boys will need to be at their best to come away with a result. Captain Findlay Currie had this to add, “After a series of cancelled or postponed matches the 5s are looking forward to finally getting the second half of the season underway and are hoping to generate some positive momentum with a win against Giffnock this Saturday.”

Hillhead 6s – No game – West District 3

“The 6s look to maintain their unbeaten start to 2019 this weekend” – Lewis Campbell, Captain ????