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Fingal Hockey Development Officer Vacancy

Hockey Ireland (in partnership with Fingal CoCo and Leinster Hockey) is seeking to employ a Development Officer within the Fingal County Council catchment area . The aim of the Fingal Hockey Development Officer (FHDO) is to grow participation of hockey in the Fingal administrative area by facilitating the promotion of sustainable participation opportunities within clubs and schools.  

The objectives of the role are: 

  • To support clubs in the region to become stronger and more sustainable   
  • To facilitate training of volunteers, coaches and umpires   
  • To grow participation through recruitment and retention initiatives 
  • Growing Hockey through community and school engagement 

For more information see Job Description here: 

To apply please send your CV to sue.haslam@irelandhockey.sportlomo.com. Closing date is 18th March 2022.

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Upcoming Fundamentals of Umpiring Module 1 Q&A session – 10th March

The First Fundamentals of Umpiring Module 1 Q&A session of 2022 is coming up.

International Umpire Ellie Duffy will be taking the online Q&A session on the 10th March at 7.30pm

To take part in this online Q&A session you must have fully completed your Fundamentals of Umpiring Module 1 through our eLearning Hub https://hockeyirelandhub.ie/

You also need to take part in a Q&A session to complete the practical module 2 session.

To book onto this online Q&A session please email linda.monaghan@irelandhockey.sportlomo.com

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Pembroke rebuild four-point lead in women’s EYHL as Insta emerge as main challengers

Women’s EYHL Division One – day 13 round-up
Old Alex 1 (Nikki Evans) Pembroke 1 (Gillian Pinder)
Old Alex and Pembroke shared the spoils from an extremely hard-fought tussle in Milltown with World Cup silver medalists Nikki Evans and Gillian Pinder trading goals.

Alex were first to strike just 68 seconds into the contest when Evans pounced on some dither in defence, picking up the ball on the circle’s edge and unleashing a brilliant reverse stick shot to match her one from a week ago.

The hosts had the momentum in this phase with Emma Russell’s shot well saved by Emma Buckley while their first of five penalty corners slipper just wide.

With a higher press in Q2, Pembroke had more of the play as they pinned Alex back for spells as both goalkeepers pulled off key stops. Emily Beatty’s quick shot was parried away by Holly Micklem while Buckley slid out to smother the menacing Mikayla Power.

Martha McCready had a huge chance snuffed out on the goal line by Micklem and the goalkeeper produced the pick of the saves from the follow-up penalty corner when she somehow blocked a corner deflected from Sally Campbell.

The equaliser for Pembroke arrived in the third quarter when Pembroke’s press swallowed up the Alex midfield, turning over ball on the 23m line. Ellen Curran slipped the ball right to Pinder who flicked across goal with a defensive intervention turning the ball in.

While Pembroke had slightly more of the ball, Alex were the ones who had the chances down the closing stretch with Evans hitting the side-netting from a corner move while two further penalty corners were blocked down in the last five minutes.

Belfast Harlequins 1 (J Watt) UCD 3 (A Naughton R Kelly, E Paul)
UCD kept up their push for a playoff place as they won well at Deramore Park, putting 10 points between them and their Saturday hosts.

The students started the livelier, forcing a corner in the first three minutes which was eventually cleared. Harlequins sustained the early pressure and started to ease up the pitch but an unfortunate slip in midfield allowed a ball through to the danger zone and Aine Naughton scored on her reverse. Although the play evened out, UCD found Michelle Carey in space on the right and she used her considerable pace to get to the byline and cross to Rachel Kelly at the left post for their second of the game.

Quarter 2 was a more even affair with some exciting hockey. Belfast Harlequins had their best chance to score from a corner but the UCD keeper made a fine save. Likewise, Q3 was honours even with not much circle penetration for either team but nonetheless entertaining hockey.

It heated up in the final quarter with Quins going down to 10 players but still found some slick two-touch hockey to get on the scoreboard as Sophie Hunter drove into the circle and made a crucial pass to Jenna Watt on the left. Watt made no mistake with the goal: 2-1.

Quins continued to press but a debated penalty corner for UCD, along with a yellow card for Natalie Lyttle, proved definitive. Emma Paul’s shot from that set piece took a deflection to kill off the result and a further yellow for the hosts stymied any hopes of a late charge.

Loreto’s Sarah Torrans gets away from Pegasus’s Emma Quinn. Pic Billy Pollock

Pegasus 0 Loreto 4 (H Matthews, S O’Brien, G Donald, S Torrans)
Loreto ran up a big win away to Pegasus to continue their hot and cold season, putting a dent in the Ulster side’s title hopes while giving their chances of a playoff place an extra pep in its step.

After a scoreless first half, Olympian Hannah Matthews broke the deadlock in the third quarter and they spun out into a 3-0 advantage courtesy of Siofra O’Brien and Grace Donald.

Pegs withdrew their goalkeeper Megan Todd for an extra outfielder for parts of the fourth quarter in a concerted bid to try and grab something from the game but it backfired with Sarah Torrans scoring into an open net. The defeat sees Pegasus drop into fourth place.

Railway Union 2 (L Lloyd, E Smyth) Muckross 0
Railway spent much of the first half on the front foot with Muckross’s defence called on to make a series of important blocks with Aoife Glennon busy in goal while Julia Balcerzak and Ella Malone clearing up off the pads.

The first goal came on the half-hour as Sarah Hawkshaw cut in from the right wing and laid on a perfect slide-rule pass to set Lily Lloyd free. She dummied right to creat a narrower angle but, crucially, an extra sliver of space to flick home from close to the baseline at the near post.

The pattern was a similar one in the second half with Railway pushing on and Muckross defending feverishly with Hawkshaw’s pump at goal well blocked by Glennon. Lily Lloyd picked out her older sister Kate in behind the last defender for another great chance but she was unable to connect with her reverse-stick effort.

Muckross, though, developed as more and more of a threat as time wore on and – after a series of three corners – Catalina Paz Montino hit the post from the second phase of one set play.

Railway Union’s Sarah Hawkshaw takes on Muckross’s Becky McMullen. Picture: Max Fulham

But the vital second goal arrived in the 51st minute when Niamh Shaw, Lily Lloyd and Ailish Long combined down the left channel, getting the ball into the middle where Emma Smyth swept home.

Catholic Institute 6 (N Carroll 2, A Horan, R Upton, A Hickey, E Ryan) Cork Harlequins 1 (L O’Shea)
Catholic Institute closed the Saturday night gap to one point in the women’s EYHL with their fifth successive win. They did fall behind in the first 10 minutes when Leah O’Shea as the bottom side dreamt of a shock result.

But Insta were firing in the second quarter when Olympic duo Róisín Upton and Naomi Carroll combined, the latter finishing off to make it 1-1. Anna Horan put the Limerick side in front for the first time when she dragged in a penalty corner before half-time and Upton matched that feat on the other side of the break.

Aoife Hickey extended the lead to 4-1 and Upton’s hit was turned in by Elizabeth Ryan for another one. Carroll closed out the scoring for a comprehensive win.

Sunday: Cork Harlequins 1 (Beth-Anne O’Farrell) Pembroke 2 (Gillian Pinder, Aisling Naughton)
Pembroke restored some breathing room when they dug deep to beat Cork Harlequins 2-1. Beth-Anne O’Farrell had put Quins in line for a shock result with a 49th minute penalty corner goal but Pembroke rallied quickly with Pinder netting a penalty stroke and Rachel O’Brien got the winner in the 53rd minute.

Pembroke went on the attack from the start, drawing a series of excellent saves from Lorna Bateman while Quins were holding their own in trying to disrupt Pembroke’s flowing hockey in the first half. All the fireworks came in a four minute spell toward the end of the third quarter and while Quins fought hard in the closing quarter, Pembroke picked up three more precious points to rebuild a four-point lead at the top of the table.

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Lisnagarvey back on top of men’s EYHL with thrilling win

Men’s EY Hockey League – day 13 round-up
Three Rock Rovers 2 (R Canning) Lisnagarvey 3 (D Nelson, A Edgar, O Kidd)
Lisnagarvey won a top-table classic to move back to the top of the men’s EY Hockey League table as they beat previous leaders Three Rock Rovers 3-2.

It was their second successive win at Grange Road, winning 2-0 in the Irish Senior Cup a week ago, with this tie a far more open affair.

Garvey looked in good shape to win with something to spare when Ollie Kidd set up Daniel Nelson for a simple finish in the first half and Andy Edgar whipped in a penalty corner drag-flick.

But Rovers came storming back in the third quarter and got a deserved one back via Ross Canning’s outstanding reverse-stick shot that ripped into the netting.

Rovers looked well set to potentially level it in Q3 but Garvey steadied the ship and went into a 3-1 lead courtesy of Kidd’s goal from another set piece.

In the endgame, Peter Blakeney cracked a shot off the post with James Milliken getting an incredible touch to redirect it and the goalkeeper also brilliantly smothered Harry McMahon’s deflection.

James Walker smashed in a second for Rovers with two minutes to go before Matthew Nelson became the next player to rattle the metalwork with a powerful shot pinging off the crossbar.

It puts Garvey into a two-point lead at the head of the table with Rovers dropping back to second, level on points with Glenanne who were 5-2 winners over UCD.

“It’s been tough coming two weeks in a row here and it is always tough against these guys so delighted to come away with the points,” said goalkeeper Milliken post-match, highlighting how his side toughed up a concerted second half onslaught.

“We work really hard on our PCD [penalty corner defence] and it is one of our points of pride; sometimes its guys picking it off the line, sometimes are runners charging it down and occasionally I have to do a job!”

Lisnagarvey’s Troy Chambers and Three Rock Rovers’ Peter Blakeney. Pic: Adrian Boehm

It is the sixth successive round the lead has changed hands in the competition and Milliken says it keeps Garvey on alert that there is a long way to go.

“It is a significant win but we have to keep our feet on the ground. There’s five games left and a lot of teams playing well – Glenanne going well, Banbridge doing great stuff.

“You have to play well every week, have that as a baseline and not as a peak. Every team is working so hard this year and it is one of the most competitive years we’ve had and it forces you to be better every week.”

Annadale 2 (C Robson 2) YMCA 5 (H McCarthy 2, F Marriott 2, A Meates)
YMCA won a huge three-points at Annadale to move five points clear of the relegation zone and also give them a buffer in sixth place in the chase of the playoff places.

It took just two minutes for them to open the scoring with Harry McCarthy picking up the ball wide on the right and delivering an inviting cross for Fionn Marriott to deflect on his backhand.

There was just five minutes on the clock when Dale levelled, again a right-wing cross that was turned in first time, this one by Callum Robson with an open side slap. YM hit back when Scott Ruttle powered through the middle and while a couple of bodies were sent sprawling, Andrew Meates cracked home a reverse-stick shot for 2-1.

For the remainder of the half, Annadale laid siege to the YM circle but they could not make the most of five penalty corner opportunities. The visitors were proving far more efficient, through, as they grew their lead out to 3-1 in the third quarter as a diagonal overhead from Sam Hyland created an overload with the cross going to McCarthy to sweep in his first of the day.

Annadale bounced back with Michael Robson’s slip pass through to Callum Robson allowed the latter slam in his second, cutting the gap to 3-2. But they were wide open at the back and another long ball saw McCarthy through one-on-one with Sam Hamill and he rounded the goalkeeper fo 4-2.

Matthew Walker’s long overhead from left back made it all the way through to Marriott, again behind the last defender, and he slotted home with nine minutes to go and a big three points were assured.

Pembroke 3 (A Sothern 2, G Chambers) Banbridge 5 (Ph Brown, J McKee, O Magee, J Moffett, L Rowe)
Banbridge continued their excellent form, extending their run to eight games unbeaten as they won a goalfest at Serpentine Avenue. It was a measure of things to come that Owen Magee drew the first save from Ilko Dartsch just 10 seconds in.

Pembroke hit the front soon after when Greg Chambers cleaned up off the pads of Luke Roleston following an initial save from Cian Murphy. Bann replied with Philip Brown dragging down the middle from their first corner and they went 2-1 ahead from the penalty spot.

Annadale’s Michael Robson holds off YMCA’s Matthew Walker. Picture: Billy Pollock

Brown’s initially drag was parried high in the air where Jonny McKee batted it goalwards onto the body of Nick Burns; McKee slotted the stroke. It was 2-2 at half-time, though, as Sothern produced one of his trick moves at corner time, dribbling, lifting then bunting home from close range.

Bann restored their lead in the second half when, after some strong Pembroke blocks, a long corner was played to Magee whose shot from a tight angle snuck in. Josh Moffett made it 4-2 in the 44th minute when Alexander Tinney made it all the way up to Louis Rowe; he slipped the ball to Moffett who had a simple tap-in.

A direct Alan Sothern drag brought the contest back into focus but Banbridge killed off the game with nine minutes to go as the Co Down side hunted in packs to turn over the ball on halfway. The ball was fed forward to Rowe who was a handful all game and he dummied the goalkeeper before scoring.

Pembroke had a series of late corners but none hit the sweet spot and so they remain in ninth place while Bann move within two points of second place for the first time since the second day of the season.

Glenanne 5 (S O’Donoghue 4, G Gibney) UCD 2 (S Byrne, H Lynch)
Shane O’Donoghue netted two strokes and two corners to see Glenanne move back into second place with a 5-2 win at St Andrew’s. Gavin Gibney opened the scoring for the Glens with a diving finish to a backhand cross from the left-wing before the students replied with Sam Byrne finishing off in the wake of a turnover move on halfway.

But then O’Donoghue took over, making it 2-1 at half-time from the penalty spot after his initial drag hit a foot on the goal-line. He went direct to make it 3-1 with a direct shot, one which UCD countered with a corner goal of their own from Harry Lynch.

O’Donoghue, though, completed his hat trick in the 58th minute and he made the results extra safe with his second stroke, again awarded after his drag hit a UCD body on the line.

Corinthian 1 (P Caruth) Monkstown 6 (D Carson 2, L Cole 2, G Sarratt, M Gibbons)
Monkstown eased to a strong win over Corinthian to close the gap to the top of the table and put themselves in the frame for a possible top two finish and direct qualification for the EY Champions Trophy finals weekend.

It was 2-0 at half-time and while Peter Caruth got one back for the reds in the third quarter, Monkstown race off into the distance with Davy Carson and Lee Cole scoring twice each with Guy Sarratt and Mark Gibbons also chipping in.

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Vital weekend of EYHL, IHC and interpro action

It’s one of the busiest dates of the season thus far with 11 crucial EYHL top tier games, four more in EYHL2 along with Irish Hockey Challenge knock-out ties and men’s interpro action on Sunday.

In the men’s EYHL, Three Rock Rovers and Lisnagarvey reprise their Irish Senior Cup meeting from a week ago with top spot in the table up for grabs. Garvey won round one 2-0 with a composed performance but Rovers have a couple of forwards returning to the line-up who could make a difference.

In the bottom half of the table, there are loads of permutations with Annadale, YMCA, Corinthian and Pembroke all lying between the cusp of the EY Champions Trophy playoff places and possible relegation.

The pivotal tie looks to be Annadale’s hosting of YMCA; the lie one and two points above the drop zone respectively. Pembroke, meanwhile, will aim to carry their win over Glenanne into a home date with an in-form Banbridge.

Corinthian will look to the double over Monkstown to aid their chances while the Glens host UCD, the latter needing close to a miracle to avoid the drop.

In the Irish Hockey Challenge, Waterford will look to continue their dominant form when they host Mullingar in the quarter-final while Limerick welcome Midleton in the other tie.

On the women’s side, leaders Pembroke and bottom side Cork Harlequins face a double weekend with the two meeting on Sunday. Before that, Pembroke have a big test against third equal Old Alex on Saturday as they seek to maintain their lead at the top.

Any slip, though, could open the door for Catholic Institute to put on more pressure; they host Cork Quins in the Munster derby.

Pegasus face Loreto in another classic encounter while Railway Union will hope not to have too much fatigue in their legs following their indoor exertions when they welcome Muckross to Park Avenue.

In EYHL2, the two Pool 1 leaders are in action with Corinthian facing Ards at Whitechurch Park with both sitting on 17 points, 10 clear of UCC and Trinity. As such, it is a de facto battle for top spot while the two student sides meet in the other game to try and keep their playoff hopes going.

In Group 2, Monkstown take their perfect record to Cork C of I while second place Queen’s go to NUIG in search of points to maintain their hold on second spot.

The women’s Irish Hockey Challenge is at the semi-final stage with Clonakilty welcoming NICS while Wexford go up to Bangor in two of the longest journeys undertaken this season.

Sunday’s interpros see Ulster face Munster at Under-16, 18 and 21 level in the male competitions. Ulster will hope to keep their perfect record going in the younger two age groups while Munster are aiming to reprise their earlier 3-0 win over the northern province at Under-21 level.

Saturday 26th February 2022
Men
EYHL Division 1: Annadale v YMCA, Lagan College, 2.30pm; Corinthian v Monkstown, Whitechurch Park, 3.15pm; Glenanne v UCD, St. Andrews, 1.30pm; Pembroke v Banbridge, Serpentine Avenue, 2.30pm; Three Rock Rovers v Lisnagarvey, Grange Road, 3pm

Irish Hockey Challenge – Quarter-Finals: Limerick v Midleton, Villiers, 2pm; Waterford v Mullingar, Newtown, 1pm

Women
EYHL Division 1: Belfast Harlequins v UCD, Deramore Park, 12.45pm; Catholic Institute v Cork Harlequins, Rosbrien, 1pm; Old Alex v Pembroke, Milltown, 1.30pm; Pegasus v Loreto, Queens University, 12.45pm; Railway Union v Muckross, Park Avenue, 3pm

EYHL Division 2 – Pool 1: Corinthian v Ards, Whitechurch Park, 1.15pm; UCC v Trinity @ Mardyke, 2.30pm
Pool 2: Cork C of I v Monkstown, Garryduff, 3pm; NUIG v Queens University, Dangan, 1.50pm

Irish Hockey Challenge – Semi-Final: Bangor v Wexford, Bangor Aurora, 2.30pm; Clonakilty v NICS, Clonakilty, 2pm

Sunday 27th February 2022
Men
Interprovicincial series
Under-16: Ulster v Munster, Grange Road, 3pm
Under-18: Ulster v Munster, Grange Road, 3pm
Under-21: Ulster v Munster, Grange Road, 3pm

Women
EYHL Division 1: Cork Harlequins v Pembroke, Farmers’ Cross, 1.15pm

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Ireland land first indoor win over South Africa in SPAR series

SPAR Indoor Hockey Series
Ireland 3 (C Brown 2, M Power) South Africa 2 (J Lardant, K de Waal)
Chloe Brown’s penalty corner two minutes from time saw Ireland pick up their first ever indoor international win over South Africa at the seventh attempt on day one of the SPAR Indoor Hockey Series in Gormanston College.

She struck the odd goal in five of a cracking, physical contest with the Irish goalkeepers Millie Regan – in the first half – and Emma Buckley after half-time put in outstanding shifts.

Early on, the visitors – who won all six meetings between the sides in 2019 – made the early moves with Edith Molikoe going within inches of breaking the deadlock while Regan used all parts of her padding, including her helmet to keep out a few early chances.

The hosts, meanwhile, went in front when Orla Macken pulled out a range of skills and won a corner which Brown expertly slotted away.

Ireland moved two up in the second quarter when Mikayla Power cleaned up a bouncing effort in the middle of the circle.

South Africa, though, started their comeback in the seconds before half-time when Jessica Lardant responded with a corner shot, 2-1 at the break.

The third quarter went back and forth with the Kayla de Waal equalising for SA and they almost got another when Eloise Walters’ shot – in her 50th international match – deflected in, but high and slightly off target with her initial shot.

The home side were denied from three corners in the closing seconds of the third quarter before the ship steadied. There were chances a plenty but Ireland won a vital corner with just under two seconds to go; it was switched left where Brown slotted in.

South Africa had some late moments but Ireland managed to hold on for the result. The sides meet again each night this week with games on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm and the game on Wednesday at 6pm.

Ireland: M Regan, O Macken, M Power, C Brown, O Fox, A Benson
Subs: E Buckley, S Patton, S Barnwell, K Kimber, L Graham, H Kelly

South Africa: N Serage, J Southgate, E Molikoe, E Walters, K de Waal, J O’Connor
Subs: D de Oliveira, T Kock, R Johnson, J Lardant, D van Taak, C Swanepoel

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Garvey stung late on as TRR go back top in men’s EYHL

Men’s EY Hockey League – day 12 round-up

Corinthian 2 (D Howard, A Sutton) Lisnagarvey 2 (O Kidd, M McNellis)

A rare Andrew Sutton goal saw Corinthian produce an incredible late fightback to nick a point against Lisnagarvey, knocking them off top spot of the men’s EY Hockey League.

The first half ended scoreless but things appeared to be going smoothly for Garvey when Ollie Kidd and Mark McNellis put them two clear in the fourth quarter.

But Davy Howard and the experienced Sutton’s goal in the last 30 seconds earned the reds a gleefully celebrated point which lifts them from eighth place to sixth in the rankings.

Glenanne 3 (S O’Connor, J Rogan, R Couse) Pembroke 5 (A Sothern 4, J Dale)

Alan Sothern showed how invaluable he is for Pembroke as he scored four goals as he returned to full flow after injury to give his side a vital victory over Glenanne, denting the hosts’ title chances in the process.

It was a measure of efficiency as Glenanne had a larger amount of possession and chances but Pembroke picked off corners and strokes from their fewer attacks to make the difference.

The Glens peppered Ilko Dartsch’s goal in the first few minutes with a couple of corners and a Richie Shaw volley flashing across goal. Sam O’Connor put them in front in the 24th minute but Sothern equalised within two minutes to have it level at the big break.

The second half started with the Glens on the attack for the most part but Pembroke’s first attack of the half led to a stroke which Sothern did not catch too cleanly but got enough on it to make it through David Lawless.

Jason Rogan equalised when he flicked in when the ball fell to him after a left-wing attack and Richard Couse applied a very smart take through his legs and finish for 3-2 from Shane O’Donoghue’s pin-point pass.

But Pembroke finished strong with Sothern scoring a second stroke for 3-3 after a corner shot hit a body on the line with 13 minutes to go. Julian Dale added a direct drag-flick to retake the lead soon after and Sothern completed the victory with his fourth of the day. They finished up round 12 one point away from safety while Glenanne are in third, three points off first.

Annadale 1 (J Clark) Three Rock Rovers 3 (B Johnson 2, R Canning)

Three Rock Rovers returned to the top of the men’s EY Hockey League as their set-piece functioned well to record a 3-1 win over Annadale at Lagan College.

Annandale got off to a flying start with Owen McElhinney’s left-wing cross on his reverse turned in by James Clark. Rovers, though, were level in the sixth minute when Ben Johnson nailed a drag-flick.

Rovers were initially awarded a stroke in Q2 when Johnson got in behind the last defender and went tumbling under a challenge from goalkeeper Sam Hamill but an umpire’s consultation overturned the decision.

Lisnagarvey’s Daniel Nelson shoots under pressure from Craig MacKay. Picture: Adrian Boehm

Conor Quinn made a big save from David Tremlett’s deflection before Rovers made it 2-1 with the last play of the half as Johnson’s shot was blocked by a body on the line and Ross Canning stepped up to convert from the penalty spot.

The Dubliners moved into a 3-1 lead from their third penalty corner of the second half with Johnson again the man on target, going down the glove side into the bottom corner.

After that, Rovers held on reasonably comfortably with Quinn not called into action in the closing 20 minutes while Hamill made some robust stops in the Dale goal.

UCD 1 (H Lynch) Monkstown 4 (D Carson, T Kohlmann, M Gibbons, G Sarratt)

Monkstown recorded a 4-1 win for the second week running as they proved too strong for UCD at Belfield. The students started well with Ewan Ramsay drawing a couple of good saves from Dave Fitzgerald but Monkstown were on their way in the second quarter.

David Nolan danced one way then the other from a free, getting to the baseline and crossing to Davy Carson to finish off. It was 2-0 by half-time via a sweet team move through the middle which Theo Kohlmann finished off.

Mark Gibbons was credited with the third goal with a deflection from a right-wing cross though the students argued it took a foot rather than a stick. Matthew O’Brien Holohan made a number of top class saves but the fourth goal fell to Guy Sarratt with a piece of individual brilliance, beating a couple of players on the baseline and then reversing into the net.

Harry Lynch pulled one back from a corner in the dying minutes for UCD.

YMCA 2 (G Glutz 2) Banbridge 3 (D Finlay, J McKee, E Magee)

Banbridge, meanwhile, won a rollercoaster against YMCA 3-2 to continue their push for a good playoff draw.

Grant Glutz had the Y 1-0 up from a penalty stroke but David Finlay had Bann level before half-time and a world class effort from Johnny McKee gave the Co Down side the lead for the first time. Eugene Magee’s corner goal put the visitors 3-1 up; Glutz’s second of the day closed out the game but proved immaterial.

Bann remain level with Monkstown in fourth place but have reeled in the gap to the top three.

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Pembroke winning streak ends as chasers cut the gap

Women’s EYHL – day 12 round-up

Cork Harlequins 0 Belfast Harlequins 1 (E Uprichard)

Emma Uprichard’s 19th minute goal gave Belfast Harlequins a huge three points over their Cork namesakes, pushing them five points clear of the relegation zone. For the Farmers’ Cross side, it leaves them with eight points to make up in the closing six matches.

The Cork side had the pick of the first quarter chances with Beth Anne O’Farrell going close but the Belfast side came into their own and began to threaten before Uprichard got the only goal.

She came in from the right, beating a couple of defenders before sliding a reverse sweep past the Cork Harlequins keeper. It remained that way through to the break despite Michelle Barry winning a corner but produced no reward.

The third quarter was end to end with the hosts having some big chances they should have put away while the Belfast side were fast on the break but held at bay by a strong defensive showing. The fourth quarter followed a similar pattern with both teams creating chances but not capitalising as the visitors held on for a significant victory.

Pembroke 2 (E Curran, S Campbell) UCD 2 (K Egan, E Paul)

Pembroke’s seven-game winning streak was brought to an end as UCD stormed back to grab a share of the points at Serpentine Avenue, coming back from 2-0 down.

In a first half of few chances, Pembroke opened the scoring from a lovely flowing move, started and finished by Ellen Curran. The midfielder laid off to Sinead Loughran who fed it on to Aisling Naughton on the right baseline. Her ball to the baseline ended up blocked at the near post by goalkeeper Laura Gunning but Curran had followed up the attack to pop in off the pads.

For UCD, their best chance came off the back of Michelle Carey’s driving run with the ball hitting the outside of the goal. Pembroke, though, doubled their lead when a corner was slipped to Sally Campbell who pushed in from the left of the D.

The students were back in the game in the 47th minute when Aine Naughton raced into space down the right right wing and squared for Katherine Egan who controlled well and slotted by Ruth Cowman in the Pembroke goal.

Early in Q4, Hannah McLoughlin hit the post after a surge from the top of the circle as UCD put on the pressure while a corner chance was well blocked by Cowman, scrambling to her right from a deflected shot.

And the equaliser arrived with five minutes to go with Emma Paul slamming in a sweep-shot from a corner into the bottom right corner. Pembroke did land a corner in the closing seconds but it was skewed wide and the laurels shared.

Muckross 0 Catholic Institute 4 (R Upton 2, N Carroll, H Kelly)

Catholic Institute continued their excellent start to 2022 with a third successive victory since the turn of the year, keeping them in second place. 

Hannah Kelly lines up a shot. Picture: Adrian Boehm

The first quarter was scoreless with Insta testing the Muckross defensive mettle before taking the lead in the second quarter through Naomi Carroll, a cracking reverse-stick shot from the Olympian.

That was how it remained through to half-time but the Limerick side cut loose in the second half with Hannah Kelly grabbing a second goal. And Róisín Upton added two identical penalty corner drag-flicks in the closing period to expand the lead to 4-0.

Pegasus 2 (K McKee, T Doherty) Railway Union 1 (N Shaw)

Pegasus fought back from a half-time deficit to land an important win of their title chances as Katie McKee and Taite Doherty turned the tide against Railway Union at Malone Road.

Niamh Shaw got the only goal of the first half with a cracking hit from a double-switch move from a penalty corner to give Railway the half-time advantage.

Pegasus, though, were level two minutes into the second half when Katie McKee twisted and turned to get the space to shoot on her backhand where she powered home.

And the Ulster side had the winner when Ruth Maguire picked out a brilliant pass to Taite Doherty and she struck a crisp effort for 2-1.

Loreto 1 (H Matthews) Old Alex 3 (N Evans 2, M Power)

Nikki Evans’ classy double earned Old Alex a key win over fellow playoff chasers Loreto to put them in fourth spot in the women’s EY Hockey League.

Nikki Evans’ sparkling top-corner effort lit up the first half as she picked up Millie O’Donnell’s ball into the D, steadying before unleashing a sublime shot on her backhand.

Prior to that, Loreto had seen a corner shot confidently booted away by Holly Micklem while Emma Russell went inches wide from an Evans pull-back. Liz Murphy, meanwhile, was alert to clean up a one-on-one chance.

Loreto had most of the play after the goal with a number of half-chances slipping by with Cailtin Sherin stepping forward and going close.

Alex had the best of the third quarter and they were rewarded when Lena Tice lifted an overhead into the D to Mikayla Power who controlled and slipped in her shot for 2-0.

The Beaufort side got one back from the third of a series of three corners when Hannah Matthews’ hit took a heavy deflection off the number one runner. 

But Evans quickly restored the Alex lead when she reacted brilliantly to a rebound from Tice’s corner shot, batting home on the dive.

Micklem did brilliantly to keep out an Aoife Taaffe first-time shot in Q4 and Matthews went close with another corner effort in a late series of attacks from Loreto but Alex held on for their first win in the EYHL since early November.

 

EYHL Division 2 round-up
Ards, Corinthian, Monkstown and Queen’s moved into the prime positions in EYHL2 with high-scoring wins in their Saturday match-ups.
Ards head up Pool 1 thanks to a 6-1 win over Galway. It was tight in the first half with the oranges missing a number of chances but they still managed a 1-0 lead at half-time thanks to a near post shot from Ali Carson.
An impressive second half saw Amy Benson and Zara Malseed on the scoreboard twice for Ards before youngster Katie Kimber scored Ards’ final goal from a well rehersed penalty corner routine in the 6-1 win.
Alyssa Manley smartly converted a penalty corner with a well placed strike for Galway to score their first goal in their EYHL2 campaign.
Corinthian withstood a Trinity comeback to win 4-2 in the other game and move into second spot in the group. Two goals from Lauren McGrane and one from Christina Seggie had the reds 3-0 up before Faye Neill and Kate Sullivan made things interesting. Seggie’s second, though, killed off the tie.
In Pool 2, Monkstown moved closer to a confirmed playoff spot with a 5-0 win over Lurgan with Susie Kelly, Claire O’Reilly, Chloe Watkins, Natasha Twomey and Rebecca Carthy all scoring.
It puts them 10 points clear of Queen’s who were 4-1 winners at home against Cork C of I.
EYHL Division 2

Pool 1: Ards 6 (Z Malseed 2, A Benson 2, A Carson, K Kimber) Galway 1 (A Manley); Trinity 2 (F Neill, K Sullivan) Corinthian 4 (L McGrane 2, C Seggie)

Pool 2: Lurgan 0 Monkstown 5 (S Kelly, C O’Reilly, C Watkins, N Twomey, R Carthy); Queens University 4 (J McMaster 3, E Getty) Cork C of I 1 (C O’Sullivan)

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Hockey Ireland welcome over €2m from Sports Capital Programme

Hockey Ireland has welcomed the allocation of over €2 million for 23 projects in 12 different counties from the Sports Capital Programme.

They were among 1,900 successful applications announced today by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers, as part of an overall package of €150 million.

“The announcements today on the capital grants by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D. and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers T.D. are fantastic news for hockey, said Hockey Ireland CEO Jerome Pels, welcoming the news. 

“The development of our playing infrastructure is key to the success of the Hockey Ireland strategy to grow the game and the number of players.  This support comes at a time of significant growth in hockey and will have a real positive impact on the quality of our hockey facilities and programmes.”

Among the projects, the allocation features provision for a first ever astroturf pitch in both Carlow at Leo’s College and Laois at Dunamase College. Both are set to receive €300,000 while the long-awaited new pitch in Galway at Miller’s Lane got the go-ahead with support of close to €180,000.

In total, hockey projects in Donegal, Galway, Laois, Carlow, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Meath, Tipperary, Offaly and Waterford will benefit.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said: “Sport is crucial for all communities in Ireland. There was a record number of applications for these grants and the government responded with the most significant level of individual awards ever.

“So this is a great day for sports clubs and community groups right around the country and I want to congratulate all of the successful applicants.

“It has been a tough two years for many sports clubs but the pandemic really demonstrated the importance of sport for our collective wellbeing. The grants we are announcing today will significantly improve sports facilities in every county. There is a huge variety of different sports covered and I was particularly pleased that the scoring system placed an even greater emphasis on female participation.”

County Organisation Project Title Provisional

Grant Allocation €
Carlow St Leo’s College Phased Upgrading of Hockey Pitch 300,000
Clare Ennis Hockey Club Ennis Hockey Club Equipment Grant Project 4,624
Cork Clonakilty Community Sports Association CCSA all weather hockey/multi-sport pitch . 150,000
Cork Cork Harlequins Club Upgrading Floodlights to LED 80,391
Donegal The Royal and Prior Comprehensive School Replacement of Astroturf & LED Lights 186,169
Dublin Glenanne Trust Corp Ltd 2020 – Upgrade pitch floodlight system to LED lights 40,000
Dublin Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Loreto Order 2020 – Essential pitch maintenance equipment 13,090
Dublin Old Alex Ladies Hockey Club 2020 – Equipment Grant OSCAR 15,111
Dublin Pembroke Wanderers Hockey Club 2020 – Pembroke Wanderers HC – Centre of Excellence 150,000
Dublin Portrane Hockey Club 2020 – Equipment project 2021 7,850
Dublin Railway Union Sports Club 2020 – Multi Sport All Weather Hockey Pitch 150,000
Dublin SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL 2020 – Weston Hockey Pitch Re-Surfacing 150,000
Dublin Suttonians Hockey Club 2020 – Sports Equipment for Suttonians Hockey Club 8,000
Galway Connacht Hockey Promote Women in Sports through Hockey in Connacht 38,781
Galway GALWAY CITY COUNCIL 2020 – Synthetic Hockey Pitch at Millers Lane 178,654
Laois Laois and Offaly ETB Regional Hockey Pitch at Dunamase College 300,000
Meath Boyne Hockey Club Boyne hockey- Growing Hockey in the North East 39,180
Offaly Tullamore Harriers Athletic Club Phase 2 Tullamore Harriers Upgrade – Astro Pitch 140,099
Tipperary Nenagh Hockey Club Basic equipment for hockey training and promotion 10,966
Tipperary Presentation Secondary School (Thurles) Upgrade Outdoor Basketball Courts 50,533
Waterford Waterford Hockey Club Sports Equipment 40,527
Wicklow Loreto Bray Community Sports Project Replacement of Security Fencing 18,215

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Ulster shine to reach girls interpro finals

Ulster’s inteprovincial girls teams both confirmed their place in this season’s finals, setting up final dates with Leinster at Under-16 level and Munster in the Under-18 competition.

At Under-16 level, Ulster who secured their place in that showdown with a 3-0 win over Munster from their winner-takes-all encounter. Rebekah Lennon scored a hat-trick in the success as they completed the group stages unbeaten.

Leinster were 2-0 winners over Leinster South with Orla Young Hughes and Sarah Byrne getting the goals which propelled the blues to the top of the table and a place in the final on April 3.

In the Under-18 competition, Ulster produced a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to defeat Munster 3-2 in what was a precursor for this competition’s final showdown in April.

Amy Connolly and Robyn Murphy put the southern province two goals up but Gabriella Scott fired a double with Sophie Kidd on the mark, the winner coming on the final hooter.

That result meant Ulster topped the round-robin phase on 10 points with Munster on 8 with both advancing to the decider.

Leinster edged out Leinster South 3-1, coming back from 1-0 down to land the result for their first win of the campaign.

Michelle Cashman’s penalty stroke gave South the lead but replies from Ella Pasley, Emma Montgomery and Alex Gallagher turned the tie their way. The two sides ended their group on four points.

Girls Interprovincial results
Under-16: Leinster 2 (O Young Hughes, S Byrne) Leinster South 0; Ulster 3 (R Lennon 3) Munster 0

Under-18: Ulster 3 (G Scott 3) Munster 2 (R Murphy, A Connolly); Leinster 3 (E Pasley, E Montgomery, A Gallagher) Leinster South 1 (M Cashman)

 

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