Sunday, January 26, 2025: The opening weekend of the EYHL2 certainly didn’t disappoint with five exhilarating matchups surviving the carnage of Storm Eowyn.
In Women’s Pool A, Monkstown had to reverse a one goal deficit to beat Cork Harlequins, with Olivia Brady’s brace securing the points. Portadown and Muckross shared the spoils, with a final quarter goal for Portadown drawing the sides level at 2-2.
In Men’s Pool A, Railway Union and Kilkenny began their campaigns with a classic playing out a 3-3 draw in a tense encounter. Bandon travelled to nearby rivals C of I. The sides went toe-to-toe with C of I taking the lead and Bandon drawing level on two occasions before a Q4 brace for captain Ian Balding meant C of I eventually secured the points to take control of the Pool.
In Men’s Pool B, Portrane asserted their dominance over Leinster rivals Clontarf, securing a 4-0 win after a goalless first half.
In the AIG Irish Senior Cup, Railway Union secured their place in the quarter finals with a 2-0 victory over Old Alex. The side saw out their lead after Matilde Errico and Emma Smyth’s first half goals.
EY Hockey League Division 2 – Women
Monkstown began their bid to return to Ireland’s topflight with a narrow win over Munster champions Cork Harlequins in Rathdown School. The host found themselves trailing by a goal when Cliodhna Sargent converted for Harlequins from a penalty corner. Monkstown responded quickly through Olivia Brady to see the sides enter the break on level terms. Brady produced the defining moment of the game, completing her brace and giving Monkstown the victory when she found the net in the third quarter.
Elsewhere, Portadown celebrated their club’s first EYHL2 game in the club’s history by securing two points following their draw with Leinster side Muckross. The sides entered half-time level, despite chances up both ends and a disallowed goal for Portadown’s Rebekah Lennon. The deadlock was eventually broken in Q3, Portadown’s Brianna Gregg finding Lara Wilson free in the circle to slot home. Muckross fought back, responding in Q4 with two set-piece goals, the first coming from a penalty corner scored by Julia Holmes, followed by a penalty stroke that Kim Baker calmly converted. Portadown would eventually draw level, Emma McEntee reacting quickest to Grainne Molloy’s save and scoring, resulting in a 2-2 draw for the sides.
Queen’s University’s game against Lurgan, and University of Galway’s game against Corinthian were both postponed due to Storm Eowyn.
EY Hockey League Division 2 – Men
Railway Union and Kilkenny played out a classic in Park Avenue in the first game in Pool A. Railway took the lead in Q1 when Toby Slye-O’Connell’s initial effort was saved, falling to Darragh Curley to convert. However, Kilkenny’s two unanswered goals saw them lead after Andrew Atkinson drew them level in Q2 and Riain Delaney capitalised on a charged down penalty corner to make it 1-2 to the visitors.
Railway Union responded, a brace of set piece goals from prolific striker Mark English restoring their lead in the final quarter. The drama wasn’t to end there, with Kilkenny eventually drawing level, Javier Romero capitalising on a moment of chaos in the circle to force the teams to share the points.
Cork C of I hosted Bandon in the second Pool A game, with the two sides very familiar with each other having met several times during the Munster League thus far. The sides traded blows in the first half, with C of I taking the lead twice thanks to goals from Tiarnan Gaffney and Harry Jackson, but on both occasions, Bandon responded, once in Q1 when Colin Kingston converted a penalty corner, and again when Dave Jennings scored seven minutes into the third quarter.
Captain Ian Balding was the hero for C of I converting two penalty corners in quick succession to give his side a commanding lead which they would see out to secure all 5 points.
Portrane hosted Clontarf in Donabate in the only game in Pool B. After a closely fought opening half the sides sat level at 0-0. It wasn’t long into Q3 before Portrane took control of the game, player-coach Ross Hetem breaking the deadlock from a penalty corner. Portrane seized control of the game, building an eventual 4-0 scoreline when Noa Mulvey and Cameron Shoebridge both scored in Q3, and Anthony Glutz put the cherry on top in the final quarter.
AIG Irish Senior Cup – Women
Railway Union hosted rivals Old Alex in an early round of 16 match in the AIG Irish Senior Cup as they looked to retain their title as champions. The sides last met in their final game before the winter break, playing out a tight 1 – 1 draw in Alexandra College.
Railway Union’s Matilde Errico gave the home side a 1-0 lead just before the end of quarter one. Emma Smyth added a second from open play in the 25th minute, giving Railway a 2-0 lead which they defended well until the final whistle to secure their place in the quarter finals.
The rest of the AIG Irish Senior Cup fixtures are set to take place February 15th.
