Match Report – Thursday 26th March – Gents 1s

Uddingston 1 – Western Wildcats 1

Reigning premier league champions Western Wildcats came to Bothwell Castle on Thursday night expecting to gather three more points for this year’s title bid, but they left bitterly disappointed, their title hopes in tatters.

The 1-1 draw represents another step in Uddy’s transformation from struggling Premier League survivor to genuine title contender under the stewardship of Director of Hockey John Bessell and head coach Tom Hyndman.

Uddingston Men’s 1s just seem to be getting better and better and this was another accomplished performance by a group who have gelled into a determined and cohesive unit. In fact, Aussie Glenn Turner picked up the ball one-on-one at top D with 20 seconds left on the clock with every intent of sticking it top bins, but an early whistle saved the champions from complete humiliation.

After a very narrow loss by a single, last-minute goal to league leaders Edinburgh University earlier in March and having already defeated Watsonians comfortably earlier in the season, nobody will look forward to playing Uddy in the play-offs, should that happen!

The game was evenly contested from the start before Western started to apply the pressure with four consecutive short corners mid-way through the first quarter. A well-organised defence with some good running by Joe Russell and a great goal line clearance by Uddy post man and captain Jedd Campbell kept the score at 0-0.

In spite of some spirited attacking by both teams, neither goalie had much to do in the first quarter with Western’s Gavin Sommerville hoofing the ball to the touchline for one of his few touches while Uddy’s Nic Hadland focused more on managing his defence.

Five minutes into the second quarter, Western’s Adam McKenzie picked up a bouncing, mistrapped aerial ball in the midfield, drove forward to the top of the Uddy D and then whipped in a pass for Just Noordzij to deflect in a flash into the top of Uddy’s goal, 1-0.

Uddy worked hard to respond and soon won their first penalty corner. The injection by Turner was mistrapped, but Aussie import Matty Young was able to swivel to his right and slap a low, hard shot at Sommerville who got down quickly to save well with his pads.

A period of more concerted Uddy pressure ended the second quarter with multiple circle entries but no clear chances. The score remained 1-0 at half time with Uddingston showing good signs of responding to the deficit.

Uddingston continued to push Western early in the second half, winning the first penalty corner which was well blocked by Sommerville.

Ten minutes into the third quarter, a clumsy Western mistrap in the midfield was picked up by Matty Young who ran freely into open space before finding Turner in the D, one-on-one with Western keeper Sommerville. Turner moved right but his shot was blocked by Sommerville. Turner moved the rebound on to this back stick and chipped the ball over Sommerville’s outstretched leg guard high into the Western net, 1-1. The substantial crowd bellowed their appreciation from the sideline in the Glasgow gloom.

Uddy followed up their goal with some further pressure, winning a penalty corner that narrowly missed an Uddy stick for a deflection.

With winning this match critical to Western’s title ambitions, the team from Auchenhowie became increasingly desperate flinging passes and players forward with new urgency.

Towards the end of the third quarter, Western won a penalty corner. Saved well initially by Hadland, the ball was returned hard into the D by Western and hit Stephen MacKenzie’s body in front of the goal. After conferring, the umpires awarded a penalty stroke.

Here was Western’s opportunity to claim the decisive goal and restore their title hopes for the 2025/6 season.

Fraser Moran stepped up to take Western’s stroke. Moran is a highly experienced and talented player who can usually be relied on to covert strokes, though he did miss one recently against Watsonians. Hadland, who has made saving strokes a bit of a specialty – having saved three strokes in one match last season in Australia – stood ready to defend.

Moran went low and to Hadland’s left, but the Uddy goalie anticipated the stroke perfectly, thrust out his leg guard along the turf, and the ball rebounded high and harmlessly. The score remained 1-1.

Western grew increasingly urgent as the clock ticked into the fourth quarter. The play swung backwards and forwards, both teams getting half chances.

Stephen MacKenzie has been solid as a rock in the back line throughout the top six series, exchanging passes confidently with his team mates, intercepting aerials and making some goal-saving tackles in the Uddy D. The Uddy backline with MacKenzie, Jed Campbell, the superbly consistent Angus Sinclair and with great contributions from Joe Russell has ensured few shots or open play goals in the last half a dozen games.

In the midfield, Anup Valmiki continues to impress with his energy and anticipation while Angus Millar has blossomed into an outstanding player this season. Louis and Luca Gardiner are tireless workhorses at the centre of the Uddy structure, both capable of sublime stick skills and always playing with total commitment.

As things got tight in the fourth quarter, Hadland pulled off two class saves; the first jumping high to bat away a bouncing ball with his glove, the second an instinctive lunge with his leg guard to deflect a McFadden drag flick headed at pace into the Uddy net.

Up front, Uddy continue to struggle to capitalise on their opportunities and life would have been considerably more comfortable if they had netted a higher proportion of their on-target shots in the last few weeks.

But the men in blue and gold managed to hang on for the draw and notched up yet another milestone performance in the 2025/26 season. Holding the champions to only one goal, safely defending a dozen penalty corners and almost stealing the match in the last few seconds are all testimony to the journey this team has travelled since September. There is no team in the league they should be afraid of now, none they cannot beat on their day.

With two more big matches to go, Uddy stand every chance of qualifying for the European playoffs. Let’s hope they pull it off to cap a remarkable season.

Adrian Hadland

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