Writer
Glasgow Uni Women’s Hockey look like they are in a strong position to continue their reign at The Glasgow Taxi’s Cup this year. Being a BUCS league above Glasgow Caledonian University and having won against Strathclyde twice this season, Club Captain Rebecca Boyle is confident that the 1st XI have the title in the bag yet again.
However, Boyle does recognise that it will not be easy and that the team, under the captaincy of Laura Murray (1st Team Captain), need to be careful not to get complacent on the day. She acknowledged, “we’ve beat Strathclyde twice this year so I’d say we’re feeling confident, but not cocky, because at the Taxis Cup everybody wants it and it’s not always the same. We don’t play Caley in our league so we don’t really know what to expect from them – they’ve only got one team and some years they can be really good if they have a big influx of players, so you can never really tell.”
Overall the squad have developed their game a lot this year, running more tactical sessions and shifting the team around with the help of their new coach. The 1st XI are currently second in their BUCS league, narrowly missing out on promotion, and are sitting in the top 4 in their National 2 league. Their national seeding is a big jump from their position last year, and Boyle believes their training and preparations for this will set them up well for the GTC. She explained, “overall I think the team work really well together and really gel so I think it’ll definitely be a team effort. I think the main thing will be the support on the sideline as well, there’s always a huge crowd there.”
It was easy to recognise Boyle’s excitement as the event begins to draw nearer. With Glasgow winning overall for the past six years, she recognises the importance of her club winning their event and helping Glasgow towards lifting the trophy again. She said, “everyone’s really excited. It’s a really big deal to be chosen for the squad and there’s been a lot of chat and hype about it for our freshers who have never experienced it before. It’s a really good atmosphere, everyone painting their face and wearing black and gold, riling everyone up. Everyone’s really excited about representing the club and the uni.”
So despite the potential for two tough matches on the day, Glasgow Uni can be fairly confident about getting some points on the board from Women’s Hockey. A lot of excitement is bubbling throughout the club as the event draws nearer, and with the 1st XI looking very strong this season so far, their enthusiastic black and gold supporters are unlikely to be disappointed.
