Scottish Super League 2024 | Match Day 2

By Mihael ‘Jimmy’ Dimitrov

Two weeks after the first SSL matches, the second round of fixtures was a–go. Unexpected unavailability and injuries meant a few extra people were brought in as late subsitutions this week. And so the teams still had to find the dynamics and connections between players if they wanted to get the job done and win their game.

Clyde v Skye

Last week’s winners were facing off this time around. Both teams had the same core players, however Clyde’s first pick, Ben Cornelius, suffered a broken thumb on match day 1, making him unavailable. Jack Hughes was brought in as a replacement and Skye picked up Martyna Bakon to replace unavailable Chloe Lightle. The game started slowly, with neither team scoring cleanly on offense. Clyde struck first with a break to take the lead at 4-2. Perhaps they got a bit too comfortable with a break in hand, trying several deep shots which didn’t pay off. Skye on the other hand, kept it cool, boarded the train and kept reeling in the breaks. Hilary Hulmes came in with a bang, continuously striking deep and using her height to score. Before we knew it, they were leading 7-4, ready to take a comfortable half.

That was the wake up call Clyde needed who went on a D-roll of their own. Jack Hughes proved he is a worthy replacement and showed great awareness to peel off and pressure the deep shots on defence, while Elise Camilleri-Brennan had claimed the under space on offence and provided plenitude of options for her team. In the second half, Skye threw a zone to try and slow down Clyde’s offense. While it did slow them down, Clyde still managed to find a way through, with Freya Elliot shooting deep for Ronan Kelly who whipped out his fancy feet to remain in-bounds and put in an easy score. Clyde continued rolling out of half, taking a 2 break lead. The Mack2Jack (Cameron Mackie to Jack Hughes) connection struck quick for Clyde putting them in the lead at 10-8 scoreline. Skye were not quite ready to give up, and the Grimmer2Barb (Lewis Grimmer to Barbara Møller), albeit not as catchy, was super effective and returned the quick score. [Credit to SWebb who contributed with the connection names, among other things…]

Skye were desperate for the win, but fatigue was setting in a bit. Too many unforced errors left them at a 14-9 disadvantage. Nevertheless, they managed to not only hold the next offence cleanly, but they scored a break straight away. Despite then having the disc several times for another break, they couldn’t get it past the endzone line. It wasn’t meant to be for Skye; Clyde’s Freya Elliot found Ronan Kelly in the deep space again for a score to Clyde, closing out the game. Final score 15-11.

MVPs:

Clyde – Elise Camilleri-Brennan, Jack Hughes

Skye – Hilary Hulmes, Phil Webb.

Lomond v Nevis

Both teams lost a sudden death game in the first round, but even from the warm up this week, you could see they were fired up to get their first W. Lomond had a late dropout so picked up Nick Byrne as a replacement. The game here was a tad slower in the points department compared to the other pitch, but that was primarily due to the high intensity defence from both sides.

Both teams were content to keep possession of the disc and were comfortable swinging it between the handlers. Adreena Ann seemed to be everywhere for Nevis, providing option after option to keep the stall count low. Lomond’s Beth Dimitrova put on her conductor hat, throwing assists left, right, and centre to rack up 6 in the first half alone. Captains Johnny Tofalis and Lucy Brown were leading by example, each of them scoring a couple in the first half. Nevis on the other hand, had suffered some minor injuries on the FMP side with Linn af Bjorkesten and Karina Aitken having to take few points off, but thankfully nothing too serious as they returned in the second half. On pitch, Matthew Miller picked it up right where he left it after match day 1; an actual quote from a teammate on the sideline “you have never ran this fast”. He managed to find Ali McNeill off deep shots while Sean Martin-Beattie found a connection with Elsa Geeraedts for a mid-range score and to take half 8-7.

In the second half, it was still anyone’s game. Joel Terry put on the rocket boots and collected some floaty discs on defence for Lomond, while Nevis’ Adam Sweeney was effectively pressuring the unders. Adreena Ann was still disgustingly efficient in the under space, moving the disc around to provide an easy option for the handlers. A cheeky break put Nevis in the lead at 12-10, but that was the only thing separating the two teams. The teams continued trading until 14-12, and for Lomond it was now or never. Nick Byrne was a man with a mission, quietly racking up the assists in the second half. Sending another deep shot, with Lucy Brown collecting, took the score to 14-13. In the following point, a cross-gender switch between Nick and Beth allowed Nick to earn a point block and assist yet again, this time to Frederik Dalgaard.

This took the game to another sudden death finish. Both teams took ballsy options, yet didn’t come down with them due to scrappy defence on both sides. It wasn’t meant to be for Lomond in the end, losing out again on sudden death. Adam Sweeney found Ali McNeill striking deep who took it away with a final score. Nevis deservedly celebrated, having been trading up pretty much the whole game.

MVPs:

Lomond – Beth Dimitrova, Joel Terry.

Nevis – Adreena Ann, Matthew Miller.

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We are thrilled to be bringing the SSL back this year, perhaps even more than some of the players. Regardless of the final scores, the games were a superb show of what the very best in Scotland have to offer and are an absolute treat to watch.

We would like to invite everyone to watch and support the teams for the final fixture on Saturday 14th at 3pm, when you can watch Nevis v Clyde and Lomond v Skye.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who has worked hard to make this happen. The SSL committee is still looking for on-day helpers! P.S. being involved in organising events like that looks great on your CV!

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More pictures from Match Day 2 can be found here! Thanks Jimmy!