Women’s Indoor International Series – game one
Ireland 2 (S Patton, M Power) Scotland 3 (E Dark 2, M Justice)
Emily Dark’s double saw Ireland succumb to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Scotland at the Antrim Foym in the first of their three game international indoor series.
Ireland were in control at half-time, leading 2-0 after Sarah Patton and Mikayla Power goals but Dark’s pair either side of a Margery Justice finish saw the Scots win out.
Patton got the hosts off to a dream start when she burst down the right wing and flicked in by Carmin Dow ticking past the first minute.
From there, Scotland enjoyed more of the ball as Ireland played in a low dice and were thankful to some excellent goalkeeping from Emma Buckley, racing off her line well to shut down chances.
The one time she was beaten, Chloe Brown was wheeling across the goal line to clean up the pieces and she took a Scottish shot off the line.
On the ball, Lily Lloyd was a key figure with her dancing skills and Ireland went 2-0 up when 16-year-old tyro Mikayla Power reacted fastest to a loose ball and flicked in from mid-circle.
Patton seemed destined to make it 3-0 only for sub goalkeeper Jessica Buchanan to produce a remarkable diving save early in the third quarter. Emily Dark’s pin-point penalty corner, though, cut the gap in the 27th minute to put the contest back in the mix.
Both sides hit the post soon after before Justice levelled the contest in the 36th minute and Dark popped up with the winner in the closing seconds with an emphatic corner flick into the roof of the net.
Captain Orla Fox reflected on the tie, saying: “We have a lot of new caps today which has shown the growth of the game and it is so nice to play a home game but it is disappointing, losing it in the last quarter. These games are so useful for us ahead of the Europeans in January and we have a good chance to suss out what our opposition will be like.”
Ireland: E Buckley, S Patton, L Lloyd, O Patton, M Power, L Graham
Subs: C Brown, O Fox, R McMullen, A Benson, K Kimber, B Maye
Scotland: C Dow, R Blaikie, E Wilson, F Semple, M Justice, E Dark
Subs: M Steiger, C Watson, C Hay, S Hinds, K Stott, J Buchanan
Men
Tuesday, December 28: Ireland 3 (M Crooks, R Patterson, R Canning) Scotland 7 (J Golden 3, C Golden 2, P Christie 2)
Wednesday, December 29: Ireland v Scotland, 10am; Ireland v Scotland, 2pm
Women
Tuesday, December 28: Ireland 2 (S Patton, M Power) Scotland 3 (E Dark 2, M Justice)
Wednesday, December 29: Ireland v Scotland, 11.30am; Ireland v Scotland, 3.30pm
With Christmas being a time for reflection, Hockey Ireland can look back on a memorable year when our sport not only got back onto the pitch but brought the joy of hockey to new players and new audiences.
The vitality of our clubs, coaches, volunteers, supporters and sponsors has been emotional to witness in 2021 despite the many issues Covid-19 has created.
We have been heartened by the emergence of several new clubs bringing hockey to new regions while the growth of Masters Hockey and Hockey ID clubs shows the sport is becoming accessible to all, regardless of gender, ability or age.
Around 40,000 players across 164 clubs and 244 schools are now registered participants in our new membership system, helping form our wonderful clubs, provincial associations and flourishing schools game.
The summer’s Olympic Games provided the shop window with the Green Army competing on the Olympic stage before refreshing to qualify for another World Cup in 2022.
The senior men began their rejuvenation process in earnest with an emerging new line-up, featuring nine new capped players in green and some exciting developments in the pipeline for the new year.
Their progress has been enhanced by the development of the facilities at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus with a state of the art video-analysis system, the latest addition to the Olympic standard pitch at Abbotstown.
Sport Ireland and Sport Northern Ireland have been crucial partners and we thank them directly for these provisions and their immense support for our high performance programs and beyond.
Our family of sponsors has also grown this year. We have welcomed Uniphar Group, Red Bull and AIB on board as significant sponsors to add to our current treasured partners SoftCo, Park Developments, Adidas and Saba.
Hockey Ireland has been busy, too, lobbying for capital funding and supports from various different bodies which are vital in helping us to grow the game and the hockey family.
Indeed, this week, we were delighted to hear of €350,000 being made available to the sport from the Covid-19 club support scheme which will hopefully benefit up to 38 different clubs/branches.
We have welcomed new staff on board to help spread the word further with Sarah Murtagh coming on board as our new Munster Regional Development Officer with similar roles in Fingal and Connacht in the pipeline.
It has also been a special year for Ulster Hockey, toasting their 125th anniversary with the launch of an exciting new strategic plan.
Our umpires and officials spread far and wide as European international and club competitions returned this year. We are also delighted to be represented in the European Hockey Federation by Inez Cooper as the continental vice-president and Keith Morrow on the EHF’s finance committee.
These elements have all helped shape and develop our vibrant sport we have in Ireland, from the top of the international game to the grassroots, community and family side which we hold so dear.
For that, we thank all of our clubs, schools, umpires and officials, administrators, supporters and volunteers for the 2021 we have enjoyed and plenty more to come in 2022.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Yours in hockey
Trevor Watkins
Hockey Ireland Chairman
It has been a busy schedule since my last newsletter. On Wednesday 13th October, I was invited by the Minister of Communities, Deirdre Hargey, to a reception in the Great Hall Parliament Buildings, Stormont, to celebrate the achievements of Northern Ireland’s athletes in the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Out of the 12 athletes present, four were members of the Ireland Women’s Hockey Team – Katie Mullan, Shirley McCay, Lizzie Holden and Zara Malseed. Katie and Shirley were interviewed and spoke very well about their experience.
It was time for the European Hockey Federation World Qualifiers and on Thursday 21st October I travelled to Cardiff to support the Ireland Men in their tournament. I stayed in the Village Hotel, as did Ireland squad, which was approx. a 20–25-minute journey to Sophia Gardens.
Ann Rosa at Stormont with the Irish Olympic contingent
The players and support staff were in a bubble, ate their meals in a separate area and we just met if we were in the reception area at the same time. As a result, I was not able to congratulate and present Johnny McKee with his 50th cap on Thursday 21st and Shane O’Donoghue with his 200th cap on Sunday 24th. The team conducted themselves impeccably well during their stay and were a credit to Hockey Ireland.
In their first match, they played very well against a strong Russian team and were clear winners, 2-0. The Russians were only allowed to field 11 on-field players due to Covid restrictions, but this did not take away from the Irish victory. Our men deserved the win. The Irish players were quietly confident going into the Welsh game on Saturday, knowing that the winners would secure a place in the World Cup. However, it wasn’t to be and Wales won the shoot-out competition after an unfortunate umpiring decision.
The match to decide 3rd and 4th places took place before the final on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, after taking the lead the Irish men could not hold off strong Austrian attacks. They had their chances, but another shoot-out competition, decided their 4th place. Wales came out winners of the tournament, beating France in a closely contested final.
As we cheered on the Irish men, we were wondering how we were going to be able to watch the women’s match online from Pisa. Sarah Campion, Hockey Ireland’s Media Officer, had the answer – she brought her lap-top to the side of the pitch and as she was multi-tasking and keeping Twitter feeds going, we were able see the women in action against Wales. We were delighted when the Irish girls held on to win and qualify for the World Cup.
On 30th & 31st October, I attended the WISE Hockey ID Festival at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus in Abbotstown where seven teams took part. Harbourne and Wakefield travelled from England with teams from Botanic, Monkstown, Railway Union, Three Rock Rovers and Wicklow joining the event. Players and officials were delighted to meet the Irish Minister of State for Sport, Jack Chambers, who came to support the event on the Saturday morning.
As part of the event, there was a FIH Hockey ID Coaching Course with Norman Hughes, Grahame Mansell-Grace, Hans Pieter van Beek and Hugh Santos working with coaches over the weekend. Our thanks go to Dwyne Hill for organising this event and to all the volunteers who made it such a memorable weekend for all.
The Under 16, Under 18 and Under 21 Interprovincials are being played under a different format for this season only. On Sunday 14th November, I travelled to Three Rock Rovers to watch the Connacht Under 18 and Under 16 teams take on Ulster. Two very exciting games were played. Ulster came out winners of both matches with the Under 18s winning 4-0 and the Under 16s winning 7-0. The Connacht girls played very well in both matches and did not give up until the final whistle.
As President of Hockey Ireland, I was invited to Stormont on Wednesday 24th November, to celebrate the commencement of Ulster Hockey’s 125 celebrations and the launch of Ulster Hockey’s Strategic Plan, hosted by the Minister of Communities, Deirdre Hargey. The theme was ‘The Past, The Present and the Future’ and guests listened to speeches from Joan McCloy, and Terry Templeton who talked about key events in the past, Shirley McCay and Conor Savage the present, and Marc Scott, Ulster Hockey’s Executive Manager who outlined the future with the key elements of the Strategic Plan.
It was very disappointing for the Ireland Women’s Under 21 team when the new Covid variant resulted in the postponement of the Junior World Cup that was scheduled for Potchefstroom in South Africa from 5th – 16th December. So much work has been put into preparing the squad and producing a detailed and amazing online programme of 88 pages. It was an honour to write the introduction for this programme. We hope that it can be rescheduled in the not-too-distant future. The team travelled to Spain instead for a quickly arranged Four Nations tournament in Valencia from Wednesday, December 8 to Sunday, December 12.
I was an observer at Hockey Ireland’s EGM which was held online on Thursday 25th November.
On various weekends, I have enjoyed watching matches closer to home. On 16th October I watched the first half of Irish Trophy game between NICS and Queens at Stormont with Queens leading, then made my way to Lagan College to see the second half of the Irish Senior Cup match Annadale playing Pembroke. There was a good crowd of supporters for both teams, with Queens and Pembroke coming out winners.
With CEO Jerome Pels and Minister of State for Sport, Jack Chambers
On 20th November, I looked in at the EYHL 2 game at Queens Playing Fields to watch the home team play UNIG and come out winners 3-0, then went to Newforge to see a very close game with Pegasus drawing 3-3 with UCD in their EYHL 1 match. On 4th December, on a bitterly cold afternoon at Deramore, I watched a closely contested game between Belfast Harlequins and Muckross, with the home side coming out on top with a winning score of 2-1. On Sunday 5th December, after the online Hockey Ireland Board Meeting, I called into Lisnagarvey Hockey Club to see the Under 21 Interprovincial game between Ulster and Leinster with Leinster coming out the stronger side to take their chances in the circle and win 3-1.
A great crowd of supporters braved a damp and cold afternoon on Wednesday 8th December for the McCullough Cup Final, to watch a close and exciting match between Banbridge Academy and Wallace High School. Wallace took an early lead but Banbridge came back strongly and won this prestigious cup 3-1.
In a post-match chat, I was talking to one of the school Principals who congratulated Ulster Hockey and Hockey Ireland for the continuation of hockey in the current pandemic situation, as events like these are important to be kept running in the school calendar. I arrived home in time to tune in to the webinar for the Olympic Federation of Ireland’s EGM, as the voting delegate for Hockey Ireland.
Last Sunday, 12th December I was delighted to attend the opening of the newly surfaced hockey pitch at Dundalk Grammar School with Trevor Watkins and Shane O’Donoghue. Our thanks go to the Principal, Mr Jonathan Graham and to the Board of Governors for making us very welcome. We enjoyed watching the Senior Girls play against Boyne and must congratulate both teams on a very sporting and skilful game of hockey. A timelapse, showing the tremendous work that had gone into removing the former playing surface, that had lasted 27 years, to the laying of the new pitch, was an excellent idea and a two-minute video, shown during refreshments, summed up the work very well.
From Dundalk I travelled to the Antrim Forum to watch indoor matches and present the winners of the Under 18 Girls’ Tournament, Coleraine with the trophy. My congratulations go to all the teams that took part during the afternoon. I look forward to returning to the Antrim Forum on 28th and 29th December Ireland’s men and women in their international matches against Scotland.
Unfortunately in the build up to the festive season, we are back to online meetings but let us hope that our matches can continue uninterrupted.
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a healthy and enjoyable 2022.
Ann Rosa
19th December 2021
At the opening of Dundalk GS’s new pitch
Ireland’s first Under-21 men’s EuroHockey Indoor Championship II campaign ended with a sixth place finish in Porto, running Denmark close in the final game 6-5.
Coach Kenny Carroll says that while a big result proved elusive, with extremely limited preparation time and the newness of the experience, it was a good place to start as Ireland looks to raise its standard on the boards.
Indeed, Ireland were competitive throughout, pushing their more experienced opponents at different turns while Oliver Kidd was the tournament’s second highest scorer with 11 goals from five games.
** You can see all the goals here**
“Sunday was a big effort against Denmark and unfortunately we end up losing by a goal in the end in a fairly exciting match,” Carroll said.
“Through the tournament, we improved from match to match which is all you can ask for. We are playing teams who play a lot of indoor hockey and, all in all, it was a successful tournament.
“This team was about getting a team out there and competing with all the logistical difficulties and the preparation time. We couldn’t get indoors until October [due to Covid-19 restrictions].
“We had no issues with Covid which is great coming over and back. It will definitely make these players better and raise the standard locally. We have to start somewhere, our first ever Under-21 indoor team.
“We have another chance next year and should more and more preparation time with more younger players doing indoor hockey, they will get more experience going into the national setup. “
Women’s EY Hockey League
Cork Harlequins 0 Muckross 3 (J O’Brien, S McFarland, R McMullen)
Muckross landed a big win to boost their hopes of getting out of the women’s EY Hockey League relegation places in the new year as they saw off Cork Harlequins 3-0 at Farmers’ Cross on Saturday.
The result leaves them two points off eighth place Belfast Harlequins with Cork now five points off safety with eight fixtures to be played in 2022.
In the driving wind and rain, the Dubliners got off to a perfect start when Emma Mathews nicked possession on the Quins’ 23 and fired the perfect pass to Jane O’Brien in the danger zone and she calmly slotted in a second minute opening goal.
Muckross thought they had a second when Laura Hanlon volleyed in from close range but a corner for an earlier infringement was called instead. No matter, Julia Balcerzak’s hit was never fully cleared and Sarah McFarland scooped in her side’s second from the third rebound for 2-0.
The hosts’ main chances in the first half came from a couple of corners while goalkeeper Katie O’Donnell was alert to block both Beatrice O’Hare and Rachel O’Shea. For the most part, Muckross held sway in that first half and they built on that advantage in the 38th minute when Rebecca McMullen scored an excellent individual effort.
She dribbled right to draw in a couple of tacklers before turning behind her back, broke a tackle and then slipped in for 3-0.
From there, Harlequins threw everything forward but could not get on the scoreboard. Cliodhna Sargent’s cross from the left got no attacking touch before ending in the goal while Katie Moore and Michelle Barry both tested O’Donnell with strikes from the edge.
On the counter, Katie Fitzgerald was denied by Lorna Bateman while the home goalkeeper did well to hold up Kim Baker when through one-on-one. No further goals, though, meant Muckross had a vital win and a strong outlook for what they can do in 2022.
Seven interpro matches were played out across three venues – Cookstown, Rosbrien and Grange Road – as the new format of underage interprovincial championships enjoyed its busiest day of action to date.
In the Under-16 girls competition, Ulster and Leinster South played out a highly competitive battle at Grange Road. Scarlett Taylor scored a thumping penalty corner shot to put Ulster ahead in the third quarter before Molly Finley equalised for 1-1 at the final whistle.
South earned a bonus point when they won the shoot-out; it adds to their opening day draw with Munster while Ulster remain unbeaten in normal time following a success against Connacht last time out.
Munster were too strong for Connacht with a 6-0 success with Anna Campbell scoring twice. Ulster and Leinster lead the way with two wins out of two thus far.
At Under-18 girls level, Ulster came from a goal down to beat Leinster South and make it two wins from two. Isobel Collins’ superb pick-up and strike put South in front at half-time but Ulster made their move in Q3 with Emma Uprichard and Gabriella Scott netting and Darcy McGall put them out of sight to make it two from two.
Bonus point for Leinster Sth East in the shoot out.@ConnachtLe @Munster_Hockey @UlsterHockey @irishhockey @hookhockey pic.twitter.com/H1SQ5pgfNM
— leinsterhockey (@leinsterhockey1) December 12, 2021
Munster were 3-0 winners against Connacht. Rachel O’Shea grabbed an early goal at Rosbrien; Katie Moore put more distance between the sides and Sarah Fitzgerald completed the scoring.
It continues their strong record in the competition, adding to an earlier win over Leinster and a bonus point draw against Leinster South.
Fiona Kelly’s fourth quarter goal saw Connacht win 1-0 over Munster in the Under-21 championship to finish second overall in this three-team competition. Leinster had won against both of the other sides earlier in the season.
On the boys side, Ulster made it two big wins from two in the Under-16s with a 4-1 win at Cookstown against Leinster to back up November’s success against Munster.
The northern province are also two from two in the Under-18 boys competition courtesy of a 5-1 success against Leinster in the second game of the day at the Co Tyrone venue.
The competition continues with the return fixtures starting on January 30 with Munster against Leinster.
Men
Under-16: Leinster 1 (Hugo Faulkner) Ulster 4 (George Palmer, Robbie Brown, Lukas Moles, Tom Archbold)
Under-18: Leinster 1 (Mark Smyth) Ulster 5 (Daniel Murray 2, Ben Pollock, Ewan Cruickshank, Louis Rowe)
Women
Under-16: Connacht 0 Munster 6 (Anna Campbell 2, Caoimhe Gaffney, Maya Dullea, Miah Bourke, Aoife Kavanagh); Ulster 1 (Scarlett Taylor) Leinster South 1 (Molly Finley), Leinster South win shoot-out
Under-18: Connacht 0 Munster 3 (Rachel O’Shea, Katie Moore, Sarah Fitzgerald); Ulster 3 (Emma Uprichard, Gabriella Scott, Darcy McGall) Leinster South 1 (Isobel Collins)
Under-21: Connacht 1 (Fiona Kelly) Munster 0
The men’s EY Hockey League is set for its last pre-Christmas twist with four of the top five meeting each other on week ten of the competition.
Third hosts first as Lisnagarvey welcome Glenanne to Comber Road with the latter returning to the top last weekend courtesy of Shane O’Donoghue’s 15th goal of the campaign on the buzzer against Annadale. Remarkably, he has scored their last five goals across league and Irish Senior Cup.
Garvey left St Andrew’s empty-handed on the opening day of the season as David Lawless produced a fine debut between the posts and they had a goal ruled out. The Glens used that result to kickstart a run of five successive wins and while they had a stumble, they have ground out three wins in succession by a single goal.
The Ulster side, meanwhile, took out their scoring touch on Newry in midweek in the Kirk Cup with hat tricks for Ben Nelson and Troy Chambers in an 11-0 success. Ollie Kidd is in Portugal for the U-21 Euro indoors.
Banbridge host Monkstown in a contest between fifth and fourth. Louis and Charlie Rowe both picked up the McCullough Cup this week with Banbridge Academy to add to their impressive seasons to date with their club on a good run of 10 points from the last 12 on offer.
On day one, Town grabbed a late equaliser through Geoff Cole’s cracking goal to make it 1-1. The south Dublin side have only lost once this season on the national stage but four draws has kept them just off the top three thus far.
At Serpentine Avenue, Pembroke meet YMCA having won two of their last three games. While the Dublin 4 side remain in the relegation zone on goal difference, they are back in the frame and a win here would lift them level on points with sixth-placed Annadale. Player-coach Alan Sothern is still under assessment over an injury which will keep him out of this one.
YM won the first meeting 5-3 as they regularly found the highest forward in behind the back; they had to wait until last weekend for the second win of the campaign. Ross Henderson was a key influence that day and he returned last week after a month out. The Y will be without Harry McCarthy and Ben O’Grady on Irish Under-21 indoor duty.
Three Rock Rovers meet UCD for a third time this season in a meeting between the top scorers and the highest conceders with the former scoring 13 times in the previous two ties across the Mills Cup and EYHL. They will, however, be without the emerging Ben Ryder while Mark Samuel and Ben Johnson are injury concerns.
Annadale’s match against Corinthian has been pushed back to late January.
There is also a series of Irish Hockey Challenge fixtures with Galway hosting Limerick in Group 1, Midleton face Naas and Waterford against Wicklow in Group 2 and Saintfield playing Armagh in Group 3.
On the women’s side, Cork Harlequins and Muckross face off in the one EYHL game on the agenda, a huge battle with both sides needing to get their first win on the board if they are to have a chance at bridging the gap to the safety of eighth place.
Harlequins welcomed back Cliodhna Sargent for their tie against Pembroke to the fold last Saturday and she brings a wealth of experience to their young side.
The two sides drew on day one of the season with both sides scoring near identical goals from penalty corners from the injection area, Michelle Barry and Laura Hanlon hitting the net.
Since then, Muckross have had the tighter defence but both sides have found the going tough in front of goal, scoring five goals between them since that contest.
It is the last 16 phase of the women’s Irish Hockey Challenge from nine different counties aiming to make it through to the final eight line-up.
Saturday 11th December 2021
Men
EYHL Division 1: Banbridge v Monkstown, Havelock Park, 4pm; Lisnagarvey v Glenanne, Comber Road, 2.30pm; Pembroke v YMCA, Serpentine Avenue, 4pm; Three Rock Rovers v UCD, Grange Road, 1pm
Irish Hockey Challenge
Group 1: Galway v Limerick, Dangan Sports Ground
Group 2: Midleton v Naas, Midleton College, 3.30pm; Waterford v Wicklow, Newtown, 2pm
Group 3: Saintfield v Armagh, Saintfield Cricket Club, 2.30pm
Women
EYHL Division 1: Cork Harlequins v Muckross, Farmers’ Cross, 12.45pm
Irish Hockey Challenge – Round 2: Athlone v Weston, Athlone RC, 1pm; Blackrock v Wicklow, Blackrock 2.30pm; Clonakilty v Gorey, Clonakilty, 2.30pm; Enniscorthy v Cork Wanderers, Astro Active, 12.30pm; Greenfields 2 v Bangor, Dangan, 2.15pm; NICS v Mullingar, Stormont, 1pm; NUIG v Portrane, Dangan; Wexford v Kilkenny, Loreto Wexford, 2pm
Hockey Ireland is delighted to announce the relaunch of our Performance Coach Development Programme (PCD) for female coaches. The programme, which was originally due to run in 2020, was suspended due to Covid-19.
The aim of this pilot programme is to support and develop more female coaches to coach at performance and high-performance levels within Ireland.
The programme, funded by Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport Programme, will run for 2022 and is open to female coaches who are coaching at senior club or interprovincial level. Coaches will work with a team of experienced mentors across the 12-month period with a focus on developing key aspects of performance coaching both on and off the field.
Hockey Ireland is looking to engage an initial 6-10 female coaches for this mentoring programme with options to further develop through our core coach education programmes and potentially through EHF-led programmes such as Coaches 4 Europe and the Top Coaches Programme.
Phil Oakley, HI’s national coach education manager, said “Traditionally, we have seen very few female coaches working at performance level. Within EYHL 1, there have been seasons with only been one female club head coach. Within a sport with over two thirds female participation, this should be significantly higher. Our aim is to provide mentoring support and development opportunities and create a pathway for increased numbers of female coaches at performance level.”
Applications are being sought from female coaches who are coaching competitive hockey regularly at senior club or interprovincial levels. Coaches must hold a minimum of a Hockey Ireland Level 1 coaching qualification and be Safeguarding certified.
If you would like to apply, please contact Phil Oakley on phil.oakley@hockey.ie and include a detailed description of your coaching experience to date and outline your future coaching ambitions. The deadline to register your interest is Wednesday January 5th 2022.
Men’s EYHL Division Two round-up
Cork C of I came back from 2-0 in the closing quarter to land what could be a vital draw against Instonians in the hotly contested Pool A of the men’s EY Hockey League Division 2.
For a long time, they tailed to Ben Palmer’s second quarter drag-flick and they were in further trouble when the experienced Chris Kirk popped up with a second in the fourth quarter for a 2-0 Inst lead.
But Ian Balding and Jonny Bruton nabbed late goals to make it 2-2 and add it to their 5-0 opening day win over Rathgar to sit on seven points at the head of the group.
Inst are on seven as well with Railway Union one point worse off on six thanks to their 4-1 success against Rathgar at Park Avenue. All four goals came from the stick of Mark English, bringing his tally in all competitions so far this season to 39 goals.
Pool B is shaping up to be an incredibly tight one with Kilkeel entering the fray with a 0-0 draw against Cork Harlequins. Quins had drawn with Clontarf on the first day of this three-team pool to leave the win column blank for everyone so far.
The Mourne men survived a couple of early corners before going on to have a trio of their own before half-time, one of which hit the post. Into the second half, neither side were able to nail one of their set pieces and so the laurels were shared.
In Pool C, Bandon and Cookstown have two wins from two but both were pushed all the way by Mossley and Portrane, respectively.
In west Cork, Bandon eventually shook off the Newtownabbey side’s challenge 5-3. Captain Fionn O’Leary had them two to the good at half-time only for Simon Todd and Jordan Robinson to level the game by the end of Q3.
Ian Perrott added a pair for Bandon to keep their noses in front but a second from Todd kept the game up for grabs at 4-3 with time running out. Bandon, though, got the vital clinching goal from Ethan Hamilton Foott in the last three minutes to lift them to 10 points.
At Portrane, Ryan Millar got the only goal for Cookstown in the final throes of the third quarter for a 1-0 success for the Co Tyrone side. Portrane take a losing bonus point for their efforts.
Men’ s EYHL Division 2 results
Pool A: Cork C of I 2 (I Balding, J Bruton) Instonians 2 (B Palmer, C Kirk); Railway Union 4 (M English 4) Rathgar 1 (S Madeley)
Pool B: Kilkeel 0 Cork Harlequins 0
Pool C: Bandon 5 (F O’Leary 2, I Perrott 2, E Hamilton-Foott) Mossley 3 (S Todd 2, J Robinson); Portrane 0 Cookstown 1 (R Millar)
