Final agony

And that was exactly the reaction of the boys of Clydesdale Hockey Club after they came second in the U18 Indoor Cup Final on Saturday.

As part of a new Gala Finals Day at Bell’s Sports Centre, Perth, Grange overcame the Titwood youngsters 5-3 to take the trophy back to Edinburgh.

But the game was much closer than the scoreline might suggest, with the two sides tied at 3-3 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Grange took the lead in the seventh minute before 16-year-old Murray Collins equalised for Clydesdale five minutes later.

Two minutes later, Grange were back in front from a penalty corner strike, but Clydesdale again levelled before half time when Patrick Lonergan’s fierce drive from the left nestled in the far corner of the net.

Soon after the restart, Collins netted his second goal of the game to put the Titwood boys in front for the first time.

But in the last dozen minutes, Grange scored three times to claim the silverware against a much younger Clydesdale team.

New Clydesdale coach John McKnight emphasised that half his squad would still be under 18 next year, and said the experience would stand the present players in good stead for the future.

Meanwhile in the semi-finals of the senior women’s cup competition, goals from Morag McLellan and two from Anna-Mae Morton took Milne Craig Clydesdale Western to a sudden death penalty shoot-out against Dundee Wanderers.

But Wanderers advanced to the final courtesy of a 5-4 margin from those penalty strokes, and went on to win the final against Grove Menzieshill by 4-1 to secure their place in the European Championships.