Western Wildcats on verge of first Scottish hockey title since 2004

The Milngavie side are five points clear at the top of the Premiership with two games to play and a draw against closest challengers Grange at Auchenhowie on Saturday will be enough to be champions.

They still have another game to play at Dunfermline Carnegie, but skipper Rob Harwood says he would love to win the title on home ground.

Unbeaten in the Premiership all season, Wildcats also won the indoor title in January – and with a Scottish Cup final to come against Hillhead next month are on the verge of a memorable treble

"We struggled a little bit for form when we first came back after the mid-season break,” said Harwood. “Some of the performances weren't quite where they had been at in the first half of the season but it was just important to get the results.

"We got a draw in the fixture at Grange; it was obviously important to get something out of that game and keep the gap at five points.

"Since then we've kicked on again and the form's been really consistent.”

The match starts at 1.30pm and Harwood says: "We're hoping for a decent turnout. A lot of the club guys will be down and the women also have a home game after us.

"I know how much it means to everyone at the club because we've not won it since 2004. It's been along time coming for the guys who have been around since then – I don't think they would have thought at that point it would be 18 years before we got the opportunity to do this again.

"It would be a really proud moment for me as captain to get it done on Saturday in front of the guys who have watched us build up to this point.

"It's a big pressure game but I think we can take confidence from the fact that we've not been beaten this season.

"We've played Grange three times and we've won two and drawn one and we're back at home so we're confident and just can't wait for Saturday to come round."