DUNFERMLINE Water Polo Club’s senior men clinched a dream double last Sunday as they added the Scottish Cup to their national league title.

Goals from Chris Campbell (4), Ali Campbell (4), Darren Campbell (3), Mark Speed (2) and Andrew Woodall sealed a 14-10 win over Portobello to keep the trophy after a hard-fought final at Stirling University.

It was the first time that Dunfermline retained the cup since 1988 and rounded off a superb undefeated season.

Ali Campbell, who is also the team’s senior manager, said, “I had to look at the records to check the last time that we retained it so it was really good for us to do it.

“We’ve ended the season undefeated in Scotland and you can’t ask for much more than that. I was always confident that we would win but it was tight until the end - we were never more than a goal ahead until the final period.

“I think maybe we were just a little bit fitter than them towards the end which made the difference.

“Portobello have been the dominant team for years but that’s five games now where we haven’t lost to them. Maybe the tide is turning a wee bit which is good for us.” In an entertaining final, Portobello struck first only for Darren Campbell to equalise before Ali Campbell netted a double to help the West Fifers to a 3-2 lead after the opening quarter.

There was nothing to separate the sides in the second period, with Chris and Darren Campbell on target for Dunfermline, before Portobello grabbed the lead early in the third with two quick goals.

But three successive strikes from Woodall, Speed and Darren Campbell put Dunfermline two goals clear before they conceded another to lead 8-7 going into the final quarter.

Chris and Ali Campbell put Dunfermline into a three-goal lead before both teams traded six strikes, with Speed, Chris Campbell and Darren Campbell netting for Dunfermline.

Portobello were awarded a penalty with just under two minutes left that gave them the opportunity to reduce the deficit but goalkeeper Simon Metcalfe rounded off a fine performance with a big save.

The game was sealed 18 seconds later when Dunfermline were awarded a penalty of their own, which Ali Campbell converted to clinch victory.

He said, “Hopefully this will inspire the juniors, who have been doing really well, to make the step-up to the senior team. There will be a Spring league that we will be involved in that is the same as the Scottish National League but international players are unable to play. It is like a development league so our juniors will be playing in that, which will be a good experience for them against senior players.” Coach Paul Metcalfe added, “I’m delighted to have retained the cup. The players coped remarkably well in a close match against very physical opponents and it sets us up nicely for the year ahead.” The future of the club is also looking bright with younger members James Melville, Thomas Cameron, Finlay Nesbitt and Orla McQuade travelling to Cardiff at the weekend to take part in Great Britain trials.