Match Report – Saturday 18th April – Gents 1s

Grange 2 – Uddingston 2

The Uddingston Mens’ 1s made history this weekend by qualifying for the first time for Scotland’s Eurohockey playoffs. They will face premier league champions Edinburgh University in the Grand Finals on May 2 at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre. The game will be live streamed by Scottish Hockey and, while a serious challenge, offers the delicious prospect of European hockey for Uddingston next season.

Going into Saturday’s away game, a number of permutations faced Uddy. Sitting on the same points as ESM but below them on a small goal difference with one game to play, it seemed a win against Grange on their home patch was going to be essential. If ESM were able to defeat a Western Wildcats team with nothing to gain or lose from the fixture, as they had already qualified for the playoffs, it would be out of Uddy’s hands.

So, at the outset, a win was critical. In front of a decent crowd on a pleasant Spring day at Fettes School in Edinburgh, the Mens’ 1s made a confident start. Having already beaten the former hockey powerhouse 3-1 earlier in the season, there was no reason a positive result wasn’t more than possible.

With Glen Turner having left for the season, the Uddy squad was going to have to step up a gear on the goal-scoring front to bank the win. And the team got off to a terrific start with Anup Valmiki winning a penalty corner after only seven minutes of the first quarter which Uddy danger man Angus Sinclair then dispatched with gusto for 1-0. Another quick goal and we could all start to relax.

But proud Grange in front of their home supporters were not prepared to let Uddy just steamroll past and worked hard to produce a number of half chances and a series of penalty corners that put Uddy under increasing pressure. The well-organised Uddingston defence held firm, however, and the first quarter finished 1-0.

Just a few minutes into the second quarter, a clumsy challenge at top D resulted in the umpire assuming the dreaded 7 o clock point: penalty stroke to Grange. Could this be the end of Uddy’s hopes of Europe?

Uddy fans and teammates have come to expect the extraordinary of their keeper, Nic Hadland, and once again hopes were pinned nervously on his renowned talent for saving penalties. He didn’t disappoint. A hard, low flick to Hadland’s left was anticipated in a flash with his outstretched leg guard and glove, and the stroke was safely parried away. It remained 1-0 to the delight of Uddy fans sitting in the Edinburgh sunshine. Hadland has now saved three of the four penalty strokes awarded against Uddingston in the 2025/6 season, an astonishing percentage.

But the Uddy keeper wasn’t going to be left to bask in his own glory for long as Grange soon stepped up the pressure and fought hard for an equaliser. They were unable to make any headway for the rest of the second quarter and the half finished a pleasing, if fragile, 1-0 to Uddingston.

The third quarter was far from one sided, but Grange had the overwhelming majority of chances with a penalty corner count that added up to 6-1 in their favour. The Uddy defence remained unbroken, even when one Grange striker turned with the ball in the D toward the end of the quarter and took a full swing on the penalty spot only to see his smashed effort rebound to safety off Hadland’s leg guard. The Uddy keeper was putting in a fine display that would later win him the Man-of-the-Match award from his teammates.

In the fourth quarter, things got tense. Uddy’s season was on the line. Within two minutes, Grange had been awarded a penalty corner. The variation saw them push it right from the first castle and then switch it left to a striker on the p-spot. His shot was saved by Hadland, but the keeper was down now. Grange schoolboy Angus Fletcher picked the ball up on the baseline and from a tight angle, with the keeper stranded, smashed the ball on his reverse stick high into the Uddy goal, 1-1.

Uddy weren’t going to give up their season that easily. Some slick passing down the left saw Angus Millar in the clear and streaking toward the Grange goal. Suddenly it was three on one and after an initial block from the Grange keeper Dave Forrester, a final pass from Millar to Finn Halliday saw the big Uddy striker flick the ball home for a 2-1 advantage. There were only seven minutes to go. All we had to do was hold on just a bit longer.

But Uddy haven’t generally been that kind to their supporters, or themselves, in recent times. A tense last period ensued with great saves at each end by both keepers.

Inevitably, with just a minute or two to go, a goalmouth scramble after a blocked shot opened the door for Grange’s Andy Wallace to find the net and even up the game, 2-2.

The Uddy team were distraught, shoulders fallen. But at the final whistle, good news was on the way. ESM had been comprehensively beaten 8-2 by Western at Auchenhowie, and fourth place was in the bag for the men in blue and gold.

The team showed great character in a tough, evenly contested, quality game. Standout players included Luca Gardiner, Valmiki, Sinclair, captain Jedd Campbell and the ubiquitous Angus Millar. The collective efforts of the entire team brought a fabulous and well-deserved reward at the end of what has been a historic season: a chance to play in Europe.

Let’s hope they can rise to the challenge one more time.

Adrian Hadland

We stream our Saturday games live on our dedicated YouTube channel, UddyTV. Make sure you check out the latest game here – Uddy Hockey YouTube. 

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