HELENSBURGH Hockey Club’s third XI secured an important three points with a 3-0 win over Clydesdale’s fifth team at Hermitage Academy on Saturday.

With both sides struggling at the foot of West District Division Three, Helensburgh knew how vital it was to resume the outdoor league season with a win – and after a relatively even opening spell, Helensburgh eventually got the upper hand, with the young side pushing forward in search of the first goal.

Excellent wing play by Calum Ross and Ross Hynes set experienced striker Jamie Caulfield through on goal but to no avail.

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Mark Findlay, pushing forward from defence, won Helensburgh an early short corner – and the Clydesdale keeper won’t want to see a replay of the set-piece after he completely mis-kicked a shot from Gordon Black, allowing the Burgh skipper to open the scoring.

Despite it being a gift of a goal, Helensburgh felt they deserved the lead, and the hosts continued to press, with Logan Hill and Daniel Dooley both impressing from midfield.

Caulfield was unlucky not to score from a deflection after another short corner, and though Hynes and Ross both came close, it was some neat play by Findlay that set up Helensburgh’s second goal: Callum Sumsion started the attack from left-back, playing in Arthur Kelly, and his ball across the D found Black ready to strike – and though his shot was relatively weak, Findlay was there to control and slot it home to give the hosts a 2-0 interval lead.

Keeper James Pettit had had a quiet first half, but was called into action early in the second period as Clydesdale tried to find a way back into the game.

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But Helensburgh were in no mood to allow their visitors a foothold on the match, and goal number three arrived when some gritty play from Andrew Macauley set up a counter-attack; his through ball sent Caulfield in on goal, and though the opportunity looked to have been lost when he chose to pass but failed to find Sean Murphy, Murphy didn’t give up and retrieved the ball before showing some fine individual skill to open up room for a shot which gave the Clydesdale keeper no chance.

At 3-0 up, Helensburgh relaxed a little and allowed Clydesdale back into the game – but the defence held strong and the team saw the game out to win an important three points.

Helensburgh team: James Pettit; Callum Sumsion (MoM); Graham Kelly; Andrew Macauley; Mark Findlay; Gordon Black (capt.), Andy Richardson; Calum Ross; Ross Hynes; Jamie Caulfield; Sean Murphy; Logan Hill; Daniel Dooley; Arthur Kelly; Morgan Kelly.

Thanks to John Friel for umpiring.

If you’d like to get involved with hockey, juniors are welcome along on a Monday night from 6.30pm at Hermitage Academy, or seniors can come and join in on a Wednesday night from 8pm, also at the Academy.

You can also follow the club by liking the ‘Helensburgh Hockey Club’ page on Facebook.