Dublin, Sunday October 27: Division 1 Round 5 of the Men’s EY Hockey League, and Round 6 of the Women’s saw some remarkably interesting matchups with potentially season defining results.
EY Hockey League Division 1 Men
In the Men’s EYHL This weekend saw Round 5 produce wins for Corinthians, and Pembroke Wanderers while Three Rock Rovers and Lisnagarvey maintained their 100% records at the top of the table. Banbridge dropped a point against YMCA but still have a game in hand.
Avoca took on Corinthians in the early match at Newpark. A Gregory Williams hat-trick put the visitors 3-0 up and a brace from Luke Adams reduced the deficit for Avoca to a single goal. Avoca hopes of levelling and taking the game to a shootout were snuffed out in the closing minutes when Max Caulwell put the game to bed with his counter-attacking goal.
A brace each from Matthew Aughey and James Lorimar set Lisnagarvey on their way to a 7-0 win against UCD in Belfield. The hosts kept things competitive in the first half, trailing by just 2 goals, but Garvey turned up the heat in the second half eventually pulling away to a comfortable win.
Three Rock Rovers beat Monkstown 3-1 to maintain their place at the top end of the table. Three Rock led after just 10 minutes but had to wait until the final quarter to extend their lead, grabbing two goals in quick succession thanks to Jodie Hoskins and Ben Johnson. Lee Cole added another penalty corner goal to his tally in the final minute to bring the scoring to 3-1.
YMCA and Banbridge played out a 3-3 draw with Banbridge eventually grabbing the bonus point in the shootout. Banbridge looked to be on course for another win having overturned a one goal deficit to lead 3-1 but YMCA had other ideas, eventually drawing level thanks to an Ian Perrott goal on the death. Johnny McKee and Peter Brown’s successful efforts were enough to give the defending champions the second point on offer.
Annadale hosted Pembroke Wanderers in the late game of the day in CIYSM Sports Complex. The home side briefly lead through Harry McMullan, but Pembroke proved too strong, eventually winning 5-1, with ex-Ireland international Alan Sothern grabbing four goals.
After the weekend Lisnagarvey and Three Rock stay top of the table with 15pts each, while Banbridge remain in pursuit on 11pts and have a game in hand. YMCA are fourth with 10pts, and Corinthians leapfrog Monkstown to fifth on 7pts. At the bottom, UCD and Annadale are still without a point after 5 games, with Avoca just above them on 3pts. Pembroke climb to 7th on 5 pts.
EY Hockey League Division 1 Women
Loreto dropped their first points of the season against Catholic Institute, UCC continued their good run of form, securing another bonus point draw, and UCD, Ulster Elks and Pegasus all securing wins against strong opposition.
Pegasus managed a narrow 1-0 victory away from home against Railway Union, to pile further woe on the home side’s challenging start to the season. Lucy McKee scored the only goal of the game in the 37th minute.
UCC raced into a 2-0 lead against Pembroke Wanderers at the Mardyke but two goals from Rachel O’Brien secured a draw for the visitors to force the bonus point shoot-out. Despite taking the lead 1-0 in the shoot-out through Milla Fulton, Julia McCarthy’s stroke after the fifth effort was enough to get a bonus point for the students.
UCD got their first win of the League campaign partially thanks to two Mikayla Power goals on her return to the squad in a 4-0 win over Ards.
Ulster Elks put a significant dent in Old Alexandra’s title challenge hopes as they secured a 3-1 victory in Jordanstown. The win means Elks jump to third in the table, just a point behind Catholic Institute in second.
Catholic Institute and Loreto played out a 1-1 draw at Rosbrien. Rachel Kelly put the visitors one up after 7 minutes and a Róisín Begley 41st minute equaliser took the sides to the bonus point shootout. It was 2-2 after both sides took their five allotted shootouts with Christina Hamill eventually producing the defining moment to secure the bonus point for Loreto.
Loreto, with 17 points stay top of the table, widening the gap to 5pts. Catholic Institute remain second on 12pts with Ulster Elks and Pegasus hot on their heels with 11pts each. Old Alex slip to fifth on 10pts, with Ards just below them on 7pts. Despite their win UCD remain bottom on four points, with UCC, Pembroke and Railway Union above them on 6pts each.