I am extremely proud to announce that the men’s 1st
team have been crowned as the new champs of East Division 2. Having been relegated last season from
Division 1 the team bounced back in stunning style to claim the title for the
first time in their history which is an excellent achievement considering the
standard of this league. Myself (Pete
Cockburn), Matt Bain, Allan Hamer and Will Kerr (old boys from the previous
regime) were joined by the consistently up and coming junior, Angus Macpherson
along with new additions Tiezheng Yuan (TZ) and Duncan Ross.
We started the season with some strong wins over Dunbar,
HWU2s and ESC4s and after a while it became clear that Linlithgow 1s and Colinton
Castle 2s would be challenging us again for promotion. Matt Bain, playing at number 1, led the line in
great fashion and should be commended for only conceding the one match which is
an awesome effort considering his position in the team. Really showing his talent and the work he has
put in. Angus came through season
showing signs of his true potential as he swept aside some big names giving it
little thought while TZ fought hard in all his matches making the victory fist
pump his own! Things were not always
plain sailing as we lost to both our main rivals in the first half of the
season however we were still very much in contention at the Xmas break although
ESC4s were now definitely emerging as fresh challengers. We however had not yet released our secret
weapon in the form of Duncan Ross who was in his first season at the club. Dunc started his season strongly in the 2s and
moved up to the 1s shortly after Xmas where he began showing his true potential
by really destroying some of his unfortunate opponents in some impressive
displays. Those distant days as a top
international junior beginning to shine through! In the second half we all played well putting
in gutsy performances to ensure we kept up the pressure and in the end we won
all our games clinching us the title.
Not by much as we only finished 6 points ahead of our nearest rivals
showing just how close it actually was.
A great team effort from everyone involved however the real challenge
now starts as we try for the 3rd or 4th time of asking to
make an impact on Division 1 which is quite literally a different league
altogether! Still in the cup and
National league so not done yet although a bit of a rest might be in order.
It should also be noted that guest appearances were also
made by 2s captain Gordy Sloan, Allan Wallace, Duncan Walker and Alan Stokes
(on yerself Stokesy!). A big thank you to them as well!Hopefully see you all at the dinner
Pete
