Hockey: Allan has hope for Cala Edinburgh's play-off showdown

The man who has guided his young side to the Division Two title now clashes with Division One strugglers Aberdeen.

And the prize in the one-off showdown at Peffermill is promotion to the top tier. The ambitious Allan

was an interested spectator as Edinburgh University beat Aberdeen 2-0 at Peffermill last weekend.

And he arranged a challenge match with the students last Wednesday to give his charges a chance to understand the difference in pace between Division One hockey and Division Two.

Allan puts little store in the 5-5 draw shared with the men from the Granite City earlier this season and says: "I believe we can do it but we will have to play well. It will be a close game and they are a strong, physical team. They are difficult to break down and they have more experience than we do.

"They have also been playing at a higher level all season but we can cause a lot of teams trouble going forward.

"We can score goals. David Guy has netted 42 so far this season and he has played in Division One for Inverleith and Grange in recent seasons.

"Simon Waugh has also netted consistently this season and we're recently recruited Ramsay Bell from Inverleith. He complements the other forwards and can give defences real problems with his pace.

"We have to be strong defensively and, if we are, then we can do it."