Hockey: Harper's Grange make point

GRANGE playcaller Craig Harper was delighted to grab a point against Kelburne which leaves his side four points clear of their rivals in hockey's Division One although the champions do have three games in hand.

The Edinburgh side grabbed a 2-2 draw at Bellahouston on Saturday as Kelburne were forced to battle back from 2-0 down. And a half-time tactical switch, moving Scottish international Michael Christie back into midfield from a striking role, proved pivotal. That allowed the West of Scotland club to gain more of the ball in midfield, an area Grange had dominated in the first 35 minutes.

Second-half strikes from new player/coach Mark Ralph from a penalty strike, which Grange's goalkeeper got a hand to, and Jonny Christie levelled a first-half double from Scottish international hit-man Cammy Fraser. However, a fine save by Kelburne's keeper prevented experienced Grange forward Phil Sully from hitting a third for the visitors with around 15 minutes left.

Grange's player/coach Harper, referring to his side's 2-1 loss to Kelburne last weekend, said: "It was good to get a point when many in Scottish hockey had written us off after last Sunday's home defeat."

Yesterday, Michael Christie slotted the winner as Kelburne edged arch-rivals 2-1 Western to move into second place.

The welcome win allows Kelburne, who were fourth before the game, to leapfrog Western and Clydesdale.

Elsewhere, Inverleith, who drew 2-2 with Edinburgh University earlier in the season, won 2-0 to leave the students in second bottom spot.

CALA Edinburgh consolidated pole position in Division Two with a 6-0 home win over Uddingston.