THE head coach of Dunfermline Water Polo Club's senior men believes the club should be proud of reaching five Scottish Cup finals.

Davie Baxter has hailed the efforts of Dunfermline's teams from under-16 to senior age group level as they prepare to go for glory in the Scottish Water Polo Championships at Glasgow's Tollcross International Swimming Centre on Sunday.

There will be six trophies up for grabs on finals day and the West Fife club will be represented in all but one; the under-16 boys' final, in which they lost narrowly to Stirling in the semi-finals.

The senior men, who this year were crowned Scottish National League champions for a second successive year, will lock horns with fierce rivals Portobello, while both clubs will also contest the ladies' final for the Graz Trophy.

Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth will be Dunfermline's opponents in both the girls' under-16 and under-19 matches, while the Malta Trophy for the under-19 boys will be contested by Dunfermline and Stirling.

"Over the last few years, Scottish Water Polo have done a good job in making it a big event," Baxter commented.

"For us to have five out of six teams in the finals is testament to the players up and down the age groups, and is something to be proud of. We're really excited.

"In terms of the senior men, we've generally been very consistent in winning the league in the last few years, but we've not won the Scottish Cup, certainly in the last two.

"Portobello are big rivals; there's good camaraderie between the guys who play with Scotland, but there's an intense rivalry as well. They are a formidable side and are physical, big and have more older guys.

"We've got a very young team and have to get momentum from a good start. We try to play a fast and high-tempo game, and we need to put the work in the first two or three quarters and then try to win it in the fourth.

"If we play our best and the right style, I think we'll be fine."

Niamh Moloney, who is one of 17 hopefuls aiming to make a final squad of 14 that will represent Great Britain's under-17s at the European Championships in September, is set to be involved in both the girls' under-19s and ladies' finals.

"I'm quite excited; they'll be tough games but I hope they will be enjoyable to watch and to play in," she said.

"We'll be hoping to win, especially in the seniors, as we won the league and only lost one match. I feel we have a good team chemistry to get the ball up the pool to score, and the spectators push you to play even better and bring the best out of you."

Baxter added: "There's only one of the finals where I'd say we're probably going in as underdogs – in the rest, we're favourites or you can pick on the day.

"The ladies look particularly strong. They have players like Niamh, who is in the GB junior set-up, and a few who have been in it before, as well as some fantastic younger members of the squad."

The action begins at 10am with the under-16 girls' final, concluding with the under-19 boys' match at 5.30pm.