HELENSBURGH Hockey Club’s second XI were crowned West District Division 3 champions on Saturday – without needing to strike a ball.
The historic moment for the Helensburgh team was achieved after Ayr, their scheduled opponents in the final match of the season, conceded the tie because they were unable to field a team.
That automatically meant Helensburgh were awarded a 5-0 walkover win – a result that means they can’t be caught at the top of the table.
It’s the first time Helensburgh have won the Division 3 title in the club’s history – while next season will be the first time the second XI have ever competed in Division 2.
The title-winning team celebrated by taking on the club’s first XI in a friendly match on Saturday after the trophy presentation – and the new champions marked a special day in style by cruising to a 4-1 victory.
The day brought down the curtain on an impressive season for the Helensburgh second team – though it didn’t begin in the most auspicious fashion, with a defeat in their opening match on September 24 against Hillhead’s fifth XI, the team who would become Helensburgh’s main rivals in the battle for the title.
However, a five-game winning streak early in the campaign saw Helensburgh establish themselves as genuine championship contenders, and impressive away wins against Dumfries 2 (8-0) and Uddingston 5 (9-3) were the highlights of the campaign.
Memories of another struggle against Hillhead in November were put firmly to bed as the new year began with more important wins, with Kelburne 4 beaten 7-2 and Clydesdale’s development XI losing 4-0 to a Helensburgh side who by now had established significant momentum at the top of the table.
The championship crown could have been wrapped up on April 15 against Clydesdale, but a late goal for the Glasgow club put the Helensburgh champagne on ice.
And while the season didn’t end in the way the Helensburgh squad hoped, with Ayr unable to put a team together for the final match, the walkover win nonetheless made the title a mathematical certainty.
Delighted captain Alan Bowman was the team’s leading goalscorer, contributing 11 goals for his team but it was very much a team effort, with no fewer than 19 different players finding the net during the course of the campaign
Gavin Gettings was a stalwart, commanding the Burgh midfield, with David McGregor and young Leo Caulfield holding the fort at the back – while Craig Keith’s two clean sheets, and overall record of conceding just 13 goals, played an important role in the title triumph too, leaving the Helensburgh squad eagerly awaiting the challenge of Division 2 next season.
Meanwhile, the season is also now complete for Helensburgh’s other teams – with the first XI finishing a respectable sixth in West District Division 1, while the third XI, despite ending their campaign with defeat at the weekend to a strong Clydesdale 5 team, finished an impressive third in Division 4.
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