A pyrrhic draw

The last time these local rivals met, Edinburgh won 3-1, Fraser McCurdy scoring two of them. Today spoils were shared in a hard fought contest that ended in a draw.

Watt’s midfield snuffed many of Edinburgh’s attacks, which were rebutted time and time again as both chase the top spot of the Scottish Universities League which is proving to be a race between the two Peffermill sides who knew the turf and handled it well, in spite of the conditions. Centre-half Calum Duke was absent with a recurring long-term injury and although the midfield was sharp early on, Edinburgh’s shaky defence was carved open in the fifth minute, with Calum Mitchell’s powerful finish from inside the D capitalising on the weakness. With a soft short corner won by Watt from the ball striking the foot of an Edinburgh player, quick passes brought a well-taken finish for Andy Taylor, taking the score to 2-0, with Watt playing proper hockey which once again stunned the unbeaten Edinburgh side, conceding their fourth and fifth league goals this season. The Watt side was constantly dominant, with Edinburgh constantly displaying scrappy errors, and poor finishing skills, with final touches flashing across the face of the goal, and often far wide.

Duncan Birse was anxious to atone for his mistake at the end of the first half which had forced an impressive stop from David Forrester who, with catlike cool, spared his team from embarrassment by preventing an two-on-one attack finding the net. Edinburgh's poor clearing nearly resulted a Watt score, with the opposition performing well on the attack, putting serious pressure on Edinburgh's defense and creating drama in the midfield. Fifteen minutes from time, winning a short corner for feet, Andy ‘Soupy’ Campbell found backboard from close range after Birse’s push forward. Neil Fulton was green triangled for his zeal and then sinbinned for his overly aggressive tackling, prompting unsavoury high-fives from the Watt players and cheers from their supporters. Although still struggling to create decent chances on the ball, Edinburgh finally won a short corner for sticks after sustained pressure on the Watt defence. Paddy Thompson took the shot, which squeezed past two men and dribbled over the line for a deserved equaliser. A tense final few minutes brought the game to a fitting climax, as the best hockey players in Edinburgh concluded on a stalemate.