Hillhead men’s 2nd XI looked to get off to a flying start to their season in Regional 1 with a visit to Auchenhowie to play Western Wildcats. Having comfortably beaten the opposition in a friendly the previous week Hillhead were looking for more of the same from a star studded squad. Boosted by rare appearances from the formidable Andrew Hilton and Hillhead stalwart Alan Meikle this had all the makings of an exciting match.

The match started similar to the previous week with Hillhead feeling out their opposition by adopting a well organised quarter court press… However, when the opportunity came Hillhead took their chance to break with the Hilton brothers advancing up the pitch, culminating in an excellent finish by Andrew into the bottom corner. After this, Hillhead stepped up their game, having a host of chances. Most notably Meikle picked the ball out the air at top D and with the goal gaping he squared it to JLS at head height. Needless to say it wasn’t put away.

Despite Hillhead starting dominantly in the 2nd quarter it was Western who would get the equaliser. A slightly dubious short corner was neatly tucked away by a deflection at the near post. However, it didn’t take Hillhead long to re-establish their lead as an excellent pass from Stewart Cartmill penetrated the D, laying it on a plate for Murray McVicar to deflect the ball past the keeper.

HT:- Hillhead 2 - 1 Western

An inspiring talk from Coach Ewan Campbell and the boys were ready to start the second half, knowing full well the importance of the next goal. Unfortunately it was Western who stole it to level the match, calmly taking advantage of a 3v1 situation. Game on.

However, following an excellent bit of skill from Matt Wilson, on his competitive debut, Hillhead won a short corner. The ball was injected to top D, slipped left to Michael Sherry and he made no mistake in slotting his drag flick top bins. Hillhead were back in the ascendancy. Following this, Hillhead started to play some excellent hockey, with much of it being orchestrated by Gooks and Cartmill in the middle. This culminated in Andrew Hilton receiving the ball on the right side of the pitch near halfway before chucking the ball across the pitch towards the back post where Graeme Campbell was standing, ready, to as cool as you like lob the keeper with a one touch finish. Unreal. 4-2 Hillhead. It was at this moment Hillhead knew the game was won and they pushed for another. Michael Sherry marauded out of defence, doing keep ups all the way into the opposition D (not dangerous at all) before the ball fell to McVicar who pinged the ball top bins. However, the goal was deemed to be dangerous and thus disallowed.

Hillhead went into the final quarter knowing they just had to stay calm and see the game out. Coach Campbell made it clear to the boys to play the game at our pace and not go all out for more goals. Following this, another excellent run down the right from Deas culminated in another opportunity for Graeme Campbell to test his capabilities of hitting the ball at head height. He duly smacked the ball passed the keeper, another fine finish which left the opposition on their knees. Game over. Hillhead continued to probe, with the Hilton brothers continuing to prove a thorn in the side of Western Wildcats. However, it was Western who would score a consolation goal as they took advantage of a defensive lapse. With moments left Hillhead conceded a short corner, only for Iestyn to pull off an outstanding save to maintain the 2 goal cushion.

Final Score:- Hillhead 5 - Western Wildcats 3

MoM: Graeme Campbell

DoD: Murray McVicar

5-3: M2s vs Western Wildcats (Regional 1) - 17/09/22

5-3: M1s vs Dunfermline Carnegie (Premiership) - 24/09/22

1-4: M1s vs Clydesdale (Premiership) - 17/09/22