Hockey: Grange vow to make most of away day

GRANGE were due to fly to Cardiff today to prepare for the EuroHockey Club Trophy with a message to supporters: "Forget our home form."

The Scottish Cup holders are currently in a disappointing sixth place in Division One having only won three of their 12 league games. But experienced defender Rob Barr is confident and believes the Edinburgh club can lift their game to make the final on Easter Monday. Grange are taking 18 players to the event at the Welsh Institute of Sport, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.

And the Edinburgh outfit are in Pool B alongside Italian cracks HC Roma, Welsh side Whitchurch and Ukrainian unknowns HC Olimpia Kolos Sekvoia.

The other group features Russian combine Dinamo Elektrostal, Swiss side Luzerner SC, plus SC Stroitel Brest from Belarus and Cardiff & UWIC HC from Wales.

Grange open their campaign on Friday against the Ukrainian side and player coach Colin Clarke is busy splicing together some footage from the internet to give some idea of their style.

Barr, 30, one of the most experienced men in Grange's side, said: "We're at full strength and the moral in the dressing-room is pretty good. We've managed to fit in some friendly matches since the winter closedown and we've been experimenting in recent games.

"We've been looking forward to this since we won the cup last season and this is a tremendous opportunity for the club. Some of the guys have never played at this level before so this is a tremendous opportunity for them."

He added: "The Ukrainian side are a little bit of an unknown for us but Colin (Clarke] is working on that and we'll be watching the others play when we are down there. We're going there to win four games and make the final. If we do then that could earn promotion and help promote Scottish hockey.

"A key element is discipline. We've talked about it a lot in training and it is important we keep 11 players on the pitch at all times."

Goalscoring is another issue for Grange who have netted only 30 goals in their 12 league games. The pressure is on Scottish international hit-man Cammy Fraser to find the net and Craig Harper and Barr are key men at the back.

Grange have conceded 36 goals this term and Barr said: "Colin Johnstone is a top goalkeeper and he's travelling. CJ has not played a lot with us this season because of his study and family commitments.

Goal scoring is a real focus for us as we don't have the offensive threat of Western and our strikers will have to be clinical if given a chance."