Week 3 of top hockey was action packed.
Here’s everything you need to know from Week 3:
Wednesday 28th Sept
WOMEN
Monkstown V Old Alex 0-4
Goals (Old Alex: M Power x 2, A Russell, R Heatherington)
Saturday 1st October
MEN
Three Rock Rovers V Glenanne 1-3
Goals (Three Rock Rovers: A Empey; Glenanne: G Shaw, J McCormack, B Cleak)
Cookstown V Pembroke Wanderers 2-2
Goals (Cookstown: C Anderson, M Kerr; Pembroke: E Albers, C Hynes)
YMCA V Annadale 0-0
Monkstown V Instonians 2-0
Goals (Monkstown: L Cole, T Kohlmann;)
This week saw four EYHL Men’s games as Lisnagarvey competed in the EHL competition in Hamburg. With action both abroad and at home it was an exciting weekend for Men’s hockey. Three Rock Rovers welcomed a strong Glenanne side to Grange Road with the first quarter showing how even the two teams were. Good build up from both sides but no numbers on the scoreline with only one penalty corner for Glenanne coming to nought. Quarter two again was an even showing with Glenanne taking the lead when Gary Shaw fired home from a Sam O Connor pass. But this was a short lived lead with Three Rock Rovers finding the back of the net with a sliding deflection from Ali Empey managing to connect to a ball from James Walker. In quarter three things started to stretch out a bit more with Glenanne retaking the lead with a deflection goal by Jonathan McCormack. Still everything was left to play for in the final quarter until a turnover by Glenanne with a few quick passes led to a counter attack and a Brynn Cleak goal. This scoreline sees Glenanne to the top of the table on goal difference but Three Rock Rover stay close behind.
Pembroke Wanderers travelled up to Cookstown for their round 3 match which saw both teams leave the pitch with a point each after a showing of some fine hockey skills. Pembroke were the first on the scorecard with Cillian Hynes scoring from a penalty corner in the 11th minute. For the next 34 minutes each team tested the other and there were some excellent moments of neat stickwork and cross field passes but it wasnt until the 45th minute that Cookstown broke through the Pembroke defence with Callum Anderson finding the back of the net. This meant all was left to play for with just over a quarter of playing time left. For the rest of the third quarter the scoreline stood 1-1 making for a big 17.5 minutes in the final quarter and the teams didnt disappoint the spectators. Pembroke taking the lead with a goal from play by Ewout Albers but after a big celebration they didnt hold the lead long when two minutes later Michael Kerr evened the scoreline at 2-2. A draw but a great game of hockey.
YMCA v Annadale was the match in Wesley this weekend and with the tweets by the home club possibly more exciting = than the fixture itself the two teams came away with a point after a 0-0 draw. The middle two quarters of the pitch saw the majority of the action in the first quarter with Annadale having the only bit of pressure but that was well shut down by the YMCA defence. The second quarter saw a YMCA penalty corner saved by the Annadale keeper Benjamin Simms. YMCA took a few chances in this quarter ending with a counter attack as the half time whistle blows but nothing too pressurising on the Annadale defence. So it stood 0-0 at half time. A shot on goal from Annadale kick started the action in the third quarter but it went just wide, YMCA responded well and the ball flashed across the goal with no one managing to get a stick to it for a deflection. And that was the end of the action for the third quarter. The final quarter saw a green card for Annadale and YMCA tried to take advantage of the uneven number with a goal on target but the goalkeeper stood strong and cleared it. Annadale probably had the strongest chance of the match so far with a penalty corner strike saved off the line by Scott Ruttle, then another green card saw the home team down to 10. Some tense moments around a penalty corner saw YMCA go close to 1-0 up but the chances didnt quite get there. Full time score 0-0.
Monkstown as part of their double header weekend faced off against Instonians in Rathdown School. The half time whistle saw the score line remain 0-0 but the second half saw the main action of the game. In the 43rd minute Lee Cole added to his score tally for the season with a goal from a well won Monkstown penalty corner and Theo Kohlmann followed suit with his own penalty corner goal in the 59th minute. Monkstown showing the work on their set pieces pulling off with the three points for the match keeping them in the middle of the table. Two wins from the double header for Monkstown Men and Women saw for a great day of action for the Monkstown supporters.
WOMEN
Catholic Institute V Railway 1-0
Goals (Catholic Institute: M Barrett)
UCD V Pembroke Wanderers 2-0
Goals (UCD: N Carey, E Paul)
Old Alex V Loreto 1-0
Goals (Old Alex: M Power )
Monkstown V Belfast Harlequins 4-0
Goals (Monkstown: O Brady, E Kealy, S Moore, S Twomey)
Monkstown met Old Alex in a midweek fixture on the 28th September with the goals coming in quick succession by the travelling side. Mikayla Power opened the scoring at the start of the second quarter, Monkstown held off the onslaught for rest of the first half but that was when Old Alex got into their stride, with goals scored on the 41st, 51st and 61st minutes by Mikayla Power, Abbie Russell and Robyn Heatherington it was a half of 10 minute plays.
Old Alex then went on to meet a stronger Loreto opposition on Saturday. Starting off strong Mikayla Power scored again this time in the 6th minute from a neat piece of open play, slotting the final shot past goalkeeper Lorna Bateman. Loreto held strong in defence after that with Old Alex trying again and again but not getting past the backline to score that wished for second goal. Tensions started to rise in the third quarter with a flurry of cards on both sides but neither team able to take advantage of the numbers. A settled final quarter didnt see too many chances to change the scoreline and Old Alex took the three points for the weekend.
Monkstown however went on to face Belfast Harlequins and found an opportunity to get some scores on the board. A goal in each of the first two quarters coming from Sara Twomey and Olivia Brady, both from open play, set the tempo for the match. Belfast Harlequins tried to get on the score line but the Monkstown backline didnt bow to the pressure and the third quarter saw the final two goals coming from Monkstown sticks. Emily Kealy in the 47th minute and almost on the whistle Sophie Moore slotted the last goal past the Belfast Harlequins keeper. Monkstown will be feeling more confident after that match going into the fourth round.
Railway Union players travelled down the road to Catholic Institute for their third round match which was a tense affair all around with both teams looking for those winning points to get back into the top half of the table. The first half the two teams spent testing each other trying to find weaknesses in two strong defences. Nothing was given on either side until Catholic Institute struck gold with a Penalty corner in the 47th minute that was successfully put past Railway keeper Riona Norton to give the home team the 1-0 advantage. Now they just needed to hold it and that they managed to do. A very equally matched game, the reverse fixture between these two teams will be one to watch.
UCD ladies welcomed Pembroke Wanderers to the Belfield pitch for what was sure to be a spicy game with both teams on even points. The match started after a minutes silence as a mark of respect to the late Brian Mullins who stood as Director of Sport in UCD over recent years. UCD started off the stronger team with the first goal on the 6th minute with a fantastic strike from Katherine Egan beating keeper Aoife Glennon. A number of penalty corners for UCD marked the first quarter with the Pembroke solid defence seeing off any shots on target. In the second quarter Pembroke came close with a shot from Sally Campbell hitting the top post and a short corner just going wide. Pembroke upped the pressure but the half time whistle saw UCD hold on to their 1-0 lead. Early in the second half UCD’s Niamh Carey scored from open play to make it 2-0 to the home team and that was the scoreline that stood until the full time whistle.
