Hockey: High-flying Cala aim for another cup giant-killing act

Giant-killing is endemic in the cup, and the quarter-final tie in the Arthur McKay Scottish Cup between CALA Edinburgh, leaders of Division Two, and VWS Dundee Wanderers, a side struggling to find form in the top flight, has all the hallmarks. CALA are certainly on a roll, they have yet to drop a point in the Second Division, they are in line for promotion, and dumped First Division leaders Grange out of the cup in the previous round.

"This game is important to us, it is good for the guys to have a good cup run, and playing against a First Division side shows them the level they have to consistently achieve if they are to succeed at a higher level," said Neil Allan, CALA's coach. "We are definitely the underdogs, but I feel we have a squad that can do well, and potentially cause an upset."

Allan maintained the strength of the CALA side was in their attacking play and also highlighted the penalty corner threat emanating from both David Patterson and Scott Sutherland.

But Allan has his priorities well established. "For us the main aim has to be promotion to Division One at the end of the season, so far the cup has been a welcome addition and allowed us to face sides of the calibre of Grange and now Wanderers."

The Taysiders' season may have been riddled with inconsistency, but they did beat Western Wildcats 4-3 in the league, Allan Law scoring a hat-trick, and knocked Greaves Clydesdale out of the cup on penalties in the previous round.

In the remaining ties Glynhill Kelburne and Western Wildcats should see off Aberdeen Asset Management and Second Division Watsonians respectively. Rhona Simpson, Giffnock's coach and sometimes player, is planning the downfall of Milne Craig Western in the tie of the women's quarter-finals, but she is taking nothing for granted. "We always go into every game believing we can win, but this game does have a different perspective due to it being the first one back after the winter break. Western have been playing indoor a lot while the majority of mine have not, so I would expect Western to be sharper."