Battle for hockey’s Grutness Trophy hots up

Competition for senior hockey’s Grutness Trophy is hotting up, with Spurs leading the way on nine points but Delting and Whalsay, who have both played a game less, are on seven and six points respectively.

Shearer Shield

Spurs 6, Zetland 4

Spurs started with only 10 players but applied pressure straight away. Accurate passing from Rona Simpson into the box helped Sarah Grogan slot the first goal in after eight minutes.
Spurs continued to push forward and link well and an unmarked Grogan scored her second in quick succession.

Zetland kept their heads up and some good runs were seen from Aimee Keith, Wilma Sim and Maisie Unsworth. The Spurs defence held well, however, with debut goalie Gail Donohue keeping everyone organised.

A good run up the wing from Gayle Johnson saw her pass a strong ball into the box which Karen MacKay swiftly put into the back of the net. This was followed soon after by another goal from MacKay, after good linking from Ava Sim, Fiona Shearer and Sarah Grogan.

Zetland did not give up and good defending from sisters Dawn Anderson and Lara Jamieson prevented several of Spurs’ attacks. A series of short corners were then awarded to Spurs, with a strong accurate hit from Morag Fox past Zetland goalie Helen Robertson resulting in the fifth goal of the first half.

The second half saw an early goal from Gayle Johnson after good linking with Susan Morrison up the right wing, making it 6-0.

That seemed to spur Zetland on, and good play from Aimee Keith and Caitlin Holmes helped Stacey Gardner put away their first goal of the night.

The goal gave Zetland the confidence they needed and the game picked up pace, with end-to-end play and good passing from both teams. Irene Gray put in some well-timed challenges to thwart any Zetland advances.

Good linking from Zetland’s midfield saw them dodge Spurs players and a good strike from Aimee Keith gave Zetland their second goal of the night.

The game continued to be quite even, with Gayle Johnson’s runs to the baseline unfortunate not to result in any goals. Spurs appeared unorganised at times, play becoming lethargic in parts owing to their only fielding 10 players.

Zetland continued to fight on and after good play from their midfield, a strong accurate pass from Aimee Keith found Maise Unsworth in the box, which after an initial save from Spurs keeper was slotted in by Unsworth.

The last goal of an eventful game was similar to the previous with Keith and Unsworth linking well and Unsworth sliding the ball into the Spurs’ net.

Players of the match were Gayle Johnson for Spurs and Ailsa Sinclair for Zetland.

Grutness Trophy

Spurs 0, Delting 2

Delting immediately began to apply pressure on the Spurs defence with good linking play from Jillian Copland, Jill Hibbert and Julie Leask. This resulted in a series of short corners with Spurs stand-in keeper Gail McCulloch pulling off a number of impressive saves. Gwen Malcolmson, Irene Gray and Susan Morrison also worked hard to clear the ball from danger.

It was 30 minutes into the first half when Delting’s effort finally paid off, with a beautiful strike from Jill Hibbert from a short corner leaving McCulloch with no chance.

Spurs did not give up with a period of applied pressure on the Delting defence. Rona Simpson played a key role in the midfield supported by Gayle Johnson and Fiona Shearer. They fed balls to the Spurs front line with efforts from Karen McKay and Sarah Grogan thwarted by the extremely agile Toni Sidgwick in the Delting goal. Nicola Johnson also stood out for her defending efforts.

The second half saw some good end-to-end play, Delting having the slight edge with their ability to keep possession and pass the ball effectively.

Delting’s second goal of the evening was again a result of a short corner. McCulloch made the initial save but the ball was not cleared from danger and up stepped Brenda Leask on the back post to score a brilliant goal from a tight angle.

Player of the match for Spurs was Gayle Johnson while for Delting Toni Sidgwick stood out.

Scalloway 5, Zetland 0

Scalloway started strongly, pressurising the Zetland defence right from the beginning. The midfield of Lynne Scollay, Emily Tait, Kate Moncrieff and Naomi Johnson worked hard, playing good balls up to the forwards who were unlucky not to score.

Zetland’s Aimee Keith and Hannah Irvine linked up well together on the counter attack but the Scalloway defence was solid. Scalloway won a series of short corners and it was not long before Scollay scored to give Scalloway a 1-0 lead.

In the second half Scalloway had the upperhand and great work from the midfield found Mhairi Moncrieff perfectly placed to make the score 2-0.

Lara Jamieson and Abby Irvine played well together for Zetland on the left but Zetland were stopped in their tracks by Lara Kay and Rhiannon and Mel Inkster in the Scalloway defence. Scalloway were strong on the counter attack and a ball from Hannah Hunter found Mhairi Moncrieff in the D who scored her second.

Scalloway were determined to score more and Karis Irvine made it 4-0 with an excellent solo run up the park and lovely strike.

Zetland began to tire and great work from Scollay found Mhairi Moncrieff in the D again to complete her hat trick, making it 5-0 to Scalloway.

Players of the match were Aimee Keith for Zetland and Karis Irvine for Scalloway.