Archive for year: 2021

Women’s EY Hockey Legaue – day seven round-up
Railway Union 1 (O Patton) Loreto 1 (C Hamill)
Railway Union and Loreto were inseparable in normal time for a third time this season as first quarter goals from Christina Hamill and Orla Patton meant honours even at Park Avenue.

The visitors went in front when Yasmin Pratt went on a lengthy run down the left and and shoveled across for Hamill to sweep home. Railway replied quickly with Kate Dillon deflecting over just before Patton equalised in the 10th minute when Holly Jenkinson lined up a nice angle for the former UCD player to deflect in.

After that, it was very tight. Riona Norton made a strong block from the lively Pratt while Kate Lloyd’s reverse was well blocked by Liz Murphy. She also palmed away a Sarah Patton drag-flick to keep it at 1-1 at half-time.

Loreto had a couple of good chances in the third quarter with Sarah Evans’ shot touched over by Norton while a smart corner move from Aoife Taaffe was guided just wide by a sliding deflector.

From Railway’s third corner, another Jenkinson angled shot was read well by Hannah Matthews on the left post to avert the danger and that was the last big chance.

Pembroke Wanderers 2 (E Curran, A Naughton) Pegasus 1 (K Magee)
Pembroke produced a brilliant home performance to leap-frog Pegasus and into a share of first place thanks to cracking goals from Ellen Curran and Aisling Naughton.

Pegasus – who were without Shirley McCay – had the first major chance when Katie McKee’s corner slap from the left of the circle was saved off the line by Hayley O’Donnell.

After that, the Ulster side’s goal led a charmed life as Tori Wensley almost cashed in from chaos in the circle from a miscontrolled ball around the back. A corner followed up from which Leah McGuire – who was exceptional between defence and midfield – flicked onto the inside of the post and eventually to safety.

It was @PWHC's turn to go coast-to-coast in the women's #EYHL! Goal of the season contender from Ellen Curran in their win over Pegasus pic.twitter.com/Kgz8whwrWb

— Hockey Ireland (@irishhockey) November 7, 2021

The first goal came on the half hour and was an outstanding pitch-length more. McGuire flipped the ball out to Rachel O’Brien on the 23-metre line. She got the ball on to Amy-Kate Trevor who worked it on to Gillian Pinder with space to attack; she did just that and clipped into the middle where Curran led a queue of three players lining up to get the tip in.

Into Q3, Naughton’s brilliant backhand shot hit the inside of the post again and somehow stayed out. But one did become two when McGuire’s long pump was not dealt with; Emily Beatty helped it on to Naughton who cracked home on her backhand first time.

The game remained live, though, as Kerri Magee swept in a penalty corner, cutting the gap to 2-1. And they had their moments in the fourth quarter with Taite Doherty not quite getting the full connection in a circle melee while Magee’s corner shot was blocked by O’Donnell on the left post yet again.

Old Alex 5 (S Robinson, N Evans, M Power, A Russell, D Duke) Belfast Harlequins 1 (J Kilpatrick)
Old Alex overcame a first minute concession to beat Belfast Harlequins for the second time this season and move into a share of top spot of the women’s EY Hockey League.

Quins started the better with recent Irish debutante Jane Kilpatrick scoring from a corner in the early phases. Alex had the majority share of possession from then on and got the equaliser in the sixth minute from a PC rebound scored by Sarah Robinson.

Six minutes into the second quarter, the Milltown side got just reward for their play with a reverse strike by Nikki Evans from a very tight angle to go in at half time 2-1 up.

Mikayla Power added a third goal in the 3rd quarter, roofing her shot home from a reverse. Abbie Russell weighed in with the next after great forward pressure with the forward reacting quickest to a loose ball, spinning towards goal and crashed the ball off the backboard.

Harlequins fought hard and had chances to close the gap only to be denied by some fine work from Caroline Nugent, particularly when she came off her line to make a sliding save.

The final goal was scored by Deirdre Duke who picked up the ball with her back to goal from a Lena Tice pass and squeezed the ball home on her reverse.

UCD 2 (R Kelly, M Carey) Catholic Institute 3 (R Upton 3)
Róisín Upton’s hat trick saw Catholic Institute produce an outstanding comeback from 2-0 down to beat UCD and move into a share of third place – three points off top spot – after seven rounds of action.

Rachel Kelly – playing against her twin sister Hannah’s new club – scored from a very fast counter-attack in the 10th minute for UCD in a lively opening with chances at both ends. They drew the best of Pam Smithwick, too, early in the second quarter before the Limerick side grew more comfortable on the water turf, though the hosts did finish the half strong.

Michelle Carey doubled the students’ lead three minutes into the second half with a back post deflection for what looked an imposing lead.

It remained that way until 23 minutes from the end when sustained pressure led to a corner which Upton put away to gain a lifeline. Within five minutes, it was level with Christine O’Shea earning a corner which Upton used to level matters at 2-2.

And Upton had her third of the day when a great team move ended with yet another set piece which Upton put away. UCD replied with Niamh Carey going close with five minutes to go from a one-on-one chance but Insta prevailed for a famous win.

The top of the table in both the men’s and women’s EY Hockey Leagues could be in for a big shake-up on Saturday with Pembroke meeting Pegasus in the latter while Lisnagarvey host Three Rock Rovers in the former.

With a third of the season almost complete, the main contenders have started to emerge in recent weeks with Pembroke’s women looking to force their way into the reckoning this term.

In the women’s competition, four matches have been brought forward from December due to the Junior World Cup, meaning rematches from the opening days of the campaign when Pembroke drew with Pegasus.

The Ballsbridge club have steadily added strong players to their line-up over the past few seasons with midfielder Ellen Curran (from UCD) and defender Issy Delamer (Trinity) adding real quality this term.

With Orla Macken also pushing for inclusion in the senior Irish setup, Emma Buckley between the posts and the likes of Sinead Loughran, Aisling Naughton and Leah McGuire in the line-up, there is quality in each area of the field.

For coach Gavin Groves, he feels the side are in a good spot, one point behind Pegasus with four wins from six outings to date. A win on Saturday at Serpentine Avenue could potentially see them leap-frog their rivals and go top.

“We are happy enough with the form we have shown. We had a really tough start to the league so to be sitting in the top 3 at this stage is ok. Every week is difficult and brings a tough opponent but it’s good to be involved in such a competitive league.

“We know how organised and disciplined Pegasus can be so we know we will have to perform well to get the result we want.”

For Pegasus, their tricky forwards Taite Doherty and Lucy McKee have put in serious star turns to date this season to lift the Belfast side to the top of the table at this stage.

There is a wealth of experience at hand with Shirley McCay, Alex Speers and Ruth Maguire offering guidance to new stars like Niamh McIvor and Ella Armstrong.

Craig McGrugan took on the coaching reins this summer and is comfortable with how his side has progressed, saying: “It’s been a very competitive first third of the season with some very tight, exciting games. So far we’ve been making progress game by game but this weekend will be another step up. We will have to perform at our best to come back to Belfast with any sort of positive result

“Pembroke have an excellent side playing a very good brand of hockey. They are a good passing side so the contest in the middle third of the pitch will be key.”

There will be plenty checking their Twitter feeds for score updates just down the road in Milltown where Old Alex – equal second on 13 points – host Belfast Harlequins.

UCD have been the league’s entertainers to date, their matches yielding almost five goals a game. They host Catholic Institute at Belfield in a lunchtime tip-off, an important for the sides in fourth and fifth to keep contact with the leading trio.

Likewise, sixth placed Railway Union meet Loreto for the third time already this term; the first EYHL meeting was a draw while Railway prevailed in a shoot-out in the Irish Senior Cup so expect this one to be extremely tight. Cork Harlequins’ date with Muckross has remained in its original December date.

On the men’s side, there is just one game on the EYHL agenda from which any winner between Lisnagarvey and Three Rock Rovers will catapult themselves into pole position after Glenanne fell to their first defeat of the season last weekend.

It is a back match from early October when Three Rock were involved in the Euro Hockey League in Antwerp.

Garvey won their last meeting just over 12 months ago in a cracker at Comber Road 4-2 but Rovers have a much changed line-up since then with five players emigrating for professional hockey or work reasons.

In their stead, Ryan Spencer and Matteo Romoli have made big impacts since joining the club along with the return of Ali Empey, Mark Samuel and Andrew Keane from UCD.

For Garvey, they are more settled in terms of line-up with the three Nelson brothers causing havoc in the forward lines, going on a run of four successive wins in the EYHL.

Coach Erroll Lutton says his side have been “playing well for the last few weeks and we want to build on that in this next period with a run of games with no interruptions up until the winter break.

“Three Rock have certainly been playing some good hockey and scoring quite a few goals. With some new faces in their team they certainly seem to have gelled quickly and found some momentum and consistency early in the season.”

Rovers coach Elun Hack is similarly complementary of Saturday’s opponents, saying: “Garvey are a quality team, and their performance and results over the past couple of disrupted seasons, and before are testimony to that.

“They are a very well organised team, hard to score against, and very dangerous on attack, with some seriously good talent in their forward line.

“Limiting their chances and creating our own is going to be the biggest challenge for us… getting that balance right.

“Our team is coming together nicely; huge amounts of process have been made and some of the goals and performances we have put together recently support that. However, there is still lots of work to do for this group to reach their full potential.”

** Zara Delany celebrates her second goal for Railway Union against UCD. Picture: Adrian Boehm

Women’s EY Hockey League – day six round-up
Belfast Harlequins 0 Pembroke 1 (C Foley)
Claire Foley’s first-half goal sealed Pembroke a narrow win over Belfast Harlequins at sun splashed Deramore Park.

It was a game of precious few chances and only one penalty corner which the hosts failed to convert late on. Pembroke got what turned out to be the crucial goal from the first opportunity of the game on 33 minutes.

Sinead Loughran picked up a loose ball 25 yards out and found Aisling Naughton who had two shots saved by Susie Taylor in the Quins goal. The second rebound fell to Foley who volleyed high in to the net from close range. Pembroke had the better of the chances after the long break with Taylor denying Naughton and Sally Campbell.

Quins will have been disappointed at their failure to create any genuine chances from open play in the entire 70 minutes.

They were awarded the game’s only penalty corner in the 63rd minute and Jenna Watt had two efforts saved by Emma Buckley at the far post for their only shots on target.

The result means Harlequins slumped to a third successive defeat while Pembroke stay in title contention with the win they just about deserved on the balance of play.

Old Alex 5 (N Evans 3, L Tice, M O’Donnell) Cork Harlequins 2 (R Walsh, L O’Shea)
Old Alex remain with a point of leaders Pegasus as five first half goals saw them get the better of Cork Harlequins in Milltown. Lena Tice gave them an early lead from a corner to the left corner before Nikki Evans got the first of her hat trick when she dived onto the end of Sarah Robinson’s run and cross from the right corner.

The third goal was the pick of the bunch as Abbie Russell broke out of defence, picked out Deirdre Duke overlapping on the right. Her cross again found Evans sliding to get the touch in.

Ruby Walsh got one back for Quins from their first corner when she reacted quickest after Michelle Barry’s shot hit the first runner’s foot, picking out a nice angle to find the bottom corner.

But another Duke cross found Evans and Orna Bools in the middle with both going for the touch in, the former getting the credit for the final touch. Millie O’Donnell swept in another corner for 5-1 at half-time after Tice had hit the post.

The second half was a more even affair with Harlequins getting the only goal when they turned over the ball deep in the Alex circle and Leah O’Shea thumped home her shot.

Pegasus 3 (L McKee, N McIvor, A Speers) Muckross 1 (L Hanlon)
Pegasus maintained their place at the top of the women’s EYHL with a 3-1 win over Muckross at Queen’s. It was built on a super first 10 minutes with Lucy McKee breaking the deadlock with her fourth goal of the season and Niamh McIvor got the next soon after.

Muckross, though, reduced the deficit to 2-1 from a well-worked penalty corner move, switched left and then back to the injector Laura Hanlon.

But Alex Speers made the game safe in the 44th minute when Taite Doherty produced a piece of magic, weaving in from the left sideline through a couple of tackles before delivering a backhand cross which the former Irish captain guided home.

The hosts held sway for much of the second half and Aoife Glennon did save a Pegasus penalty stroke while Muckross also had their chances on the counter but they remain on one point.

UCD 1 (S Thomas) Railway Union 2 (Z Delany)
Zara Delany’s double gave Railway Union their third win of the campaign and kept them connected with the leading sides in the women’s EYHL. UCD were the first side to go close when both of the Carey twins went close with Railway scrambling away the chance.

Railway, meanwhile, almost turned a UCD corner into the opening goal via an outstanding counter, created by Orla Patton’s 60-metre pass. The opening goal came when Emma Smyth’s driving run was followed by a slip pass to Kate Dillon who squared for Delany to finish off.

Her second came in the second half from a corner move, guided back to the injector’s area where Delany had time to control and flick high in off the underside of the crossbar.

UCD got one back with plenty of time remaining in the fourth quarter when Sophie Thomas controlled a looping high ball and cracked home. And the students threw everything into the closing phases with Michelle Carey’s high shot blocked by Riona Norton, Katherine Egan’s ball flashing across the face of goal and Sophia Cole’s last minute shot went over the bar.

Catholic Institute 1 (N Carroll) Loreto 0
Naomi Carroll’s single goal in the 48th minute gave Catholic Institute an important win to lift the Limerick side back into the top four in the table while Loreto drop a place to seventh.

The sole goal was a work of art, the ball being worked from right back around the back to left midfield and then back inside where Carroll spun into space and unleashed a fierce shot.

In the first quarter, Loreto had the best chance, drawing a cracking save from Pam Smithwick in the closing action. Carroll drew a high glove save from Lizzie Murphy in the second period while the Limerick side had a wealth of corner chances which they could not convert in the third quarter.

Smithwick got down low to tip away a Hannah Matthews corner shot just before the only goal.

Loreto had big chances to get level with a cross just going out of reach of Yasmin Pratt from the left wing while there was a big debate when Matthews smashed in a shot. The effort, though, was disallowed with the shot deemed to have been outside the circle.

The Dublin side had a couple of corner chances denied while Insta had two big chances to make the result more comfortable but Murphy was outstanding both times.