Scottish Super League 2024 | Match Day 3
By Mihael ‘Jimmy’ Dimitrov
The last round of SSL was coming up and it was all up for grabs. Clyde (2-0), Nevis (1-1), and Skye (1-1) all still had a shot to win the league depending on how the games finished and the points difference. Lomond (0-2) could no longer aim for first, but, after 2 sudden death losses, they were still fighting for their first win and had a shot to finish second.
Several people got a call up due to unfortunate injuries or otherwise. Jonny Tang, Tristan Millington, Tereza Martinovska, Rob Avontuur, and Shaun Webb all seized the chance to step in and take part in the Super League.
The last round set up Clyde v Nevis, with both teams having their destiny in their own hands (for the most part). Nevis needed to win by 4+ and rely on Skye beating Lomond to end up at the top, while Clyde had done a shift in the previous weeks and only their own performace to rely on if they wanted to win the league. The game started off squeaky clean with very smooth offense by both teams. Clean holds all around until 2-2. Nevis’ Ali McNeill finding Linn af Bjorkesten for a score, while Clyde’s Ben Cornelius hit Leah Harkey with a blady flick.
A few points in, the defence decided to wake up and join the game. A very long and scrappy point with 5 turnovers on each side, Nevis’ Sean Martin-Beattie was ready to pounce on any misexecuted throws, collecting 2 blocks in a single point, while Clyde’s Greg Stewart and Angus Bain won aerial battles and earned the disc back.
Clyde eventually managed to break and take a 5-3 lead. After a timeout and another well-fought point, the teams worked it to the endzone line multiple times. But, Clyde again managed to secure the final catch to bring it to 6-3. It looked like it was business as usual for them, getting a comfortable lead at the start and controlling the pace. Nevis resorted to switch up their defensive outlook, FMP handler marks sagging off and clogging the under space. That proved to be quite effective, Becca Hardman Carter getting a block and Nevis securing a break straight away. Rhona Gordon was pivotal in the handler space and allow Nevis to keep the disc. They managed to secure another break and bring it to 7 a piece.
Clyde took half with a clean offense, and regrouped well during half time, and came out with a plan for Nevis’ defence and managed to open up the lead again at 12-9, Cameron Mackie taking few deep shots culminating in Andreea Gradinaru scoring a couple points in a quick succession. Nevis were desperate to come back, forcing some shots and gambling on defence, which meant they conceded another few breaks. A gamble worth taking for the top spot but ultimately left them losing 15-9.
MVPs:
Clyde – Alex Hiley, Cameron Mackie.
Nevis – Rhona Gordon, Alastair McNeill.
On the other pitch, the fight was for pride, honour, and of course second place was for the taking. Skye’s John Stainsby had to unfortunately pull out due to a last minute injury but they picked up Shaun Webb, in the hope they could cook up some magic on the pitch. Skye started off strong, with Connor Gaffney breaking at first opportunity to take a 3-1 lead. Lomond fought back – James Taylor returned the break straight away to take us to even 4s, followed by another break for Lomond and a 5-4 lead. This was followed by a 12-minute point, full of huge athletic plays, misexecutions, and calls – a lot of calls. You could feel the tension rising, both teams putting it all on the line, the game getting a bit chippy and more contact-y. It seemed like the teams wanted to go through the whole rulebook in that single point, with contested out calls, stallouts, fouls, travels, and some ten turnovers on each side.
Eventually, Lomond managed to stick it in to take a 6-4 lead. Although they’d put themselves in a great position, Lomond did not capitalise on it, letting Skye have a fair few good defensive points. Skye’s Lewis Grimmer established dominance in the air, skying Johnny Tofalis for a score and hyping up his teammates. Tilly Mason put in a shift on defence and allowed Ruaridh Cullen to find Lauren Logie in the endzone. And just like that, Skye took half at 8-7. With only 15 minutes till soft cap, Lomond came out after half time with a lot of energy, still fighting for that sweet first win. They put lots of pressure on Skye’s offense and earned a few chances for a break. Joel Terry found Beth Dimitrova in the deep space to bring it to 11-9 at the soft cap, and a game to 12.
Unfortunately, Lomond seemed to run out of steam for a bit. Skye’s Leah Dobbs scored a well composed point, followed by high intensity defence to score a break and make it a sudden death game. Tied at 11, Lomond worked up the disc well, managing to find Iain Lindsay just outside the endzone. A short flick pass, albeit sailing over Beth Dimitrova’s head at first, was later ran down for the final score. An incredibly well fought game from both sides and Lomond put in a W on the board, making it a 3-way tie at the bottom.
MVPs:
Skye – Tilly Mason, Lewis Grimmer
Lomond – Lucy Brown, Joel Terry.
League Review
The second year of SSL brought a (hopefully) better and more polished look. It was a chance for players to mingle, get to know new faces, and play some high level mixed in the off season. A total of 72 players took part over the 3 match days, 13 volunteers helped out during various stages of the league, and 8 captains from a range of clubs across Scotland kept everyone in check and ready for the games.
The league saw incredibly close games, 4 out of the 6 games finishing in sudden death. In the end, Clyde managed to secure the top spot with a 3-0 score. The other teams ended up in a 3-way tie at the bottom, all standing at 1-2 win records. Lomond, despite only securing their win on the last day, ended up in second having pushed Clyde the hardest to universe point. Skye followed right behind in 3rd, with a -4 points difference.
Chasing glory and having a shot at the top spot, Nevis ended up suffering a hard defeat against Clyde which put them at the very bottom of the 3-way tie with a points difference of -6. While it is great to acknowledge the winners and losers, we can all see that the league was incredibly close and a single point could have completely flipped the script. The SSL hopefully achieved its main goal of some great off-season reps and a decent new profile pic for some along the way.
Now onto the league MVPs. This year, each team voted for two MVPs of each gender from the opposing team. We aimed to recognise those who did the best per game and sum that up to find out the MVPs of the league. A grand total of 32 different players were voted as MVPs once or more over the 3 fixtures. Without further ado, the overall league MVPs the teams voted for were Lomond’s Beth Dimitrova and Joel Terry. Coincidently, they were the league stat leaders (assists/goals/blocks) in their genders with 21 and 27 total stats, respectively. Force Ultimate has kindly sponsored the tournament and provided us with MVP tops for them, which hopefully you’ll get a glimpse of soon!
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With the SSL over for another year, it’s time to reflect and collect some feedback. We aim to make the league better in the future and ensure we listen to the feedback both from players and from those who missed out. Please spare us the 10 minutes and fill in the feedback form!
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Some pictures from day 3 can be seen here, taken by Jimmy Dimitrov.
Featured photo by Ellis Stabler.
Graphics by Elise Camilleri-Brennan.
