2020 Renewables Greenock Hockey Club Men’s 1st XI are National League Division 3 champions after an 8-3 win over Waverley Inveresk Trinity at Inverclyde Academy.

Greenock were already assured of promotion thanks to Perthshire’s unexpected defeat to Strathclyde University last weekend, and with Dundee University losing to Highland, Greenock went into the match knowing a point would secure the title.

Greenock began the match brightly and controlled the early exchanges, and eventually opened the scoring 10 minutes into the match when Andrew Leslie bundled in at the back post from a penalty corner.

Greenock’s second came soon after when a drilled cross from Ben Peterson was deflected in by Martyn Connor. Greenock continued to create chance after chance as the half went on, with Waverley struggling to get the ball out of their own half.

Greenock’s third goal came 10 minutes before half-time, when veteran defender David Brown’s precision through-ball from the back found Peterson, who drew the Waverley goalkeeper out before firing into the unguarded goal from a tight angle.

It was Brown himself who scored Greenock’s fourth goal on the stroke of half-time, firing in the rebound after his initial strike from a penalty corner was saved.

Greenock began the second half as the first half had finished, and within minutes it was 5-0 when Peterson fired an unstoppable drive into the top right corner of the net. Peterson completed his hat-trick soon after from a penalty corner, exchanging passes with Brown before sweeping low into the goal from the penalty spot.

At this point a degree of complacency began to creep into Greenock’s game, and a series of rash tackles at the back saw Waverley awarded a series of penalty corners. Greenock goalkeeper Scott Jones pulled off a series of strong saves before Waverley eventually pulled a goal back when a striker fired in the rebound after Jones’ initial save. Waverley pulled a second back soon after when a looping flick was saved by Jones, only for a forward to flick the rebound high into the top corner of the net.

At this point Greenock managed to regain their composure defensively, and after a period of sustained pressure on the Waverley goal, midfielder Rory Gorman’s scuffed shot from the edge of the D evaded the away goalkeeper and found the bottom corner to make it 7-2.

Waverley managed to pull back a third goal minutes later after Greenock were briefly reduced to 10 men when young full-back David Bushfield was given a yellow card for breaking down play with a stick tackle. Greenock did however finish the match on a high when Ben Peterson scored his fourth goal of the match to make it 8-3, flicking high into the net from a penalty corner with two minutes left to play.

The final whistle was greeted with cheers from the home side and the large crowd that turned out to show their support, and representatives from Scottish Hockey were on hand to present Greenock with the league trophy.

Greenock travel to in-form side Strathclyde University this weekend, and will be looking to finish the season strongly ahead of their Scottish Cup campaign which begins with a home tie against National League Division 1 side Dundee Wanderers on the 5 April.

Greenock Hockey Club would like to thank 2020 Renewables and Texas Instruments for their continued support.