Ulster avoid a whitewash

Simon Todd’s superb last gasp equaliser against Munster, saved Ulster from an Inter-pro whitewash, securing only one point on the way.

But, it was a disappointing tournament all-round for Ulster, who were going for a hat-trick of wins in both the Ulster Senior and Under 21 tourneys, to hand the titles to Leinster.

Both sides were outplayed in their opening game by hosts Leinster, the seniors going down 4-1 and the Under 21’s coming out on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline.

And then against Munster, Ulster seniors had to come back from behind twice to secure a draw, with the U21’s securing maximum points against Munster winning 3-2.

Granted Leinster and Munster had full strength squads, and the question is if Ulster’s five ‘Europeans’ had been available, there may have been a completely different slant on the outcome.

Questions must also be asked as to why Ulster don’t include the Dutch pair Mark Gleghorne and Iain Lewers. Albeit they have opted to play for GB, and not Ireland, but that shouldn’t mean that they can’t play for Ulster. Are we not shooting ourselves in the foot, and depriving our supporters the opportunity of watching two superb hockey players, and holding onto the Inter-pro title? Maybe that argument is for another day.

Meanwhile, Ulster used the opportunity to introduce several debutantes, Stephen Arbuthnot, Diarmid Reay, and Fraser Mills into the senior squad, and the step up from premiership hockey to inter-pro level was evident. Paul Cleghorne also made his senior debut, but his international and English premiership experience with Loughborough, shone through.

The pace of the game at this level is unrelenting, and the new self pass rule, which is played the way it is meant to, means that there is no time to take a quick ‘breather’.

Ulster’s performance against Munster was much better than their game against Leinster. After a scoreless first half, in which both defences reigned supreme, the game burst into life just two minutes into the second half.

And it went in Munster’s favour, albeit somewhat harshly as Ulster had been in the ascendency, when John Jermym speared home Munster’s first penalty corner of the game.

Their lead was short-lived, as three minutes later Ulster swung into attack, and as the ball fell to Bruce McCandless just inside the Munster circle, he unleashed a sweetly struck reverse stick shot, which soared into the net for the leveller.

Ulster were now in the hunt for the winner, as they forced Munster on the back foot, but they were still getting little change out of the Muster defence.

In the 62nd minute, with Ulster pushing forward, Munster sprung from defence to score a somewhat strange goal. From the left handside of the Ulster circle, the ball defelected high off a defenders stick to lob over the Ulster defence for it to fall to a bemused Jermyn to simply tap home at the far post.

With the clock ticking down, Ulster threw everything into attack and with two minutes to go, they were back on level terms. Chris Cargo cut down the left to smash in a low hard cross, which was met by Todd diving at full stretch to guide the ball home.

After the match David Scott the Ulster Coach said:

“I think that some of our new guys realised that there is a big step up to this level from club level. They played very well but the speed of the game is a speed they wouldn’t have been used to, and it was a good eye-opener for them, and it is good to get this experience behind them.

“We were well beaten by Leinster in our opening game, and the guys were honest with themselves, and knew they needed to step up. But our performance against Munster was much better all round. Overall I was very pleased with the squad, and the guys attitude was excellent.”

Meanwhile Ulster U21’s squandered a one goal advantage after Neil Hamilton had given them the lead going down 2-1 to Leinster.

And, in the next game Hamilton fired Ulster into a three-goal first half lead, scoring three penalty corners on 13, 17 and 33 minutes. But Munster hit back in the second half, through Dan Hobbs to put the game on a knife edge, with Ulster just hanging onto their one goal advantage to take the points.

Results

Senior Inter Provincial
Ulster 1 Leinster 4
Ulster 2 Munster 2
Leinster 2 Munster 1
Final Positions: 1st Leinster 6pts; 2nd Munster 1pt; 3rd Ulster 1pt.

U21 Inter Provincial
Ulster 1 Leinster 2
Ulster 3 Munster 2
Munster 2 Leinster 3
Final positions: 1st Leinster 6pts; 2nd Ulster 3pts; 3rd Munster 0pts.

Senior One
Armagh 1 Antrim 1
Harlequins 6 Down 1
Cliftonville 0 South Antrim 6
Portadown 0 Civil Service 7

Sussex Regiment Cup
Ballymena 2 Larne 3 (AET)
PSNI 4 Saintfield 4
(PSNI win 3-0 PS)
Parkview 1 Campbellians 2


Fixtures
Tuesday 30th March

Premiership
Instonians V Annadale (7.45pm)

Senior One
Queens V Harlequins (7.45pm)

Senior Two
Larne V Parkview
PSNI V Campbellians
Portrush V Ballymena

ONE 1918 Senior Review

By David Agnew

Senior One

NICS hammered Portadown 7-0 on Saturday, South powered past Ville 6-0 and Harlequins thrashed Down 6-1 – none of those results were unexpected but Armagh’s 1-1 draw with Antrim was certainly a surprise but credit must go to Robbie McMinns men:

A point won or 2 points lost that was the talk going around Ardmore after the City Side played hosts to second in the table Antrim last Saturday, and after being beaten 4 – 0 by the same team the week before Armagh were in no mood to repeat the favour.

With that all important Kirk Cup spot still up for grabs, Armagh needed to step up their game and prove to their Coach Robbie McMinn that all his hard work throughout the season is now paying off, and in the first 5 minutes of the match you would have seen a well structured team on the field and where taking the game to Antrim right from the start.

Unfortunately this style of play wasn’t to last as the game became very scrappy and the game became physical , as much as the game was scrappy Armagh where creating the better chances and went close on numerous occasions only for the Antrim keeper to deny the goal.

On 15 minutes Armagh made the break through when Gregory Croft made space in the D to drive the ball into the net, minutes later Stewart Kirkland was to go very close again finding himself free in the D unfortunately the ball was drove straight at the keeper.

Antrim rarely got through the Armagh defence in the first half however on three occasions it took scrappy defending to clear the ball from around the Armagh goal area, when a touch could have put the ball in the Armagh net. Half Time Armagh 1 Antrim 0.

The second half was to become very physical with cards getting shown right around the field, Armagh continued to make the better chances and the Antrim team was relying on breakaways. Armagh started to win the Penalty Corner tally but they weren't clicking and the Antrim keeper seemed to have all areas covered, Antrim where just as bad as most of the Penalty Corners where hit wide and didn’t trouble the Armagh goal.

Half way through the half Antrim where reduced to ten men for a bad challenge, the advantage Armagh had was short lived as it was levelled up when Davy Warnock was then Sin Binned minutes later. Armagh continued to penetrate the Antrim goal, Kirkland, Bell, Mark Brown, Andy Brown, Warnock, Hutton Warnock and Croft all had chances to finish Antrim off, however poor finishing and the Antrim Keeper made sure the score line remained at 1-0.

Disaster then happened to the City Side and it was their own doing with ten minutes left on the clock and looking to pull off a shock result Paul English played the ball from a Hit out straight to an Antrim forward who played his colleague in, who rounded the Armagh keeper and slotted the ball home.

1-1 was not the end of the day and if you where to ask anyone of the Armagh squad would they have taken a 1-1 at the start, they would have bitten your hand off, however it could of and should of been so much more, but also they could have lost it right at the end as Antrim had two glorious chances to win the match.

The match ended with a Red and Yellow card two minutes from time and they where both handed out to Antrim reducing them to 9 men, however there was not enough time for Armagh to produce a grand stand finish and the game ended Armagh 1 Antrim 1.

Senior Two

In the days only Senior Two game Ballynahinch kept the pressure on PSNI and Campbellians with a 3-1 win over Portrush.

Sussex Regiment Cup

Larne left it late but defeated Ballymena in dramatic fashion when they scored the silver goal in the last minute of extra time (3-2 it finished). They will be joined in the next round by Campbellians who knocked out Parkview winning 2-1 despite missing several key players.

***And finally….one person from each senior league club has got my mobile number. It would be a massive help if you could send through scores, goal scorers and brief match details after every game. Many thanks***

ONE 1918 Senior Spotlight

By David Agnew

Senior One

Once again the focus this weekend in Senior One is on Kirk Cup places as QUB, Armagh and Portadown all battle it out for the last remaining spot in next season’s elite cup competition.

Most neutrals will say that Portadown have little chance of adding to their points tally with a buoyant NICS due for a visit to Edenvilla on Saturday in the Ports last remaining fixture. But the hosts are aiming to put on a decent display with the possibility of a great end to what has been a difficult season.

Armagh are chasing down a 4 point gap and have two games in hand on the Ports so Robbie McMinn’s lads will be fully focussed ahead of Antrim’s visit to Ardmore. Lessons will have been learnt from last weekend’s 4-0 defeat by the same opponents but Antrim will want to finish their own season off in style and make it 5 wins on the trot.

QUB are still in the race and given their recent good run of results they may just fancy their chances of pipping both Portadown and Armagh to the post. They are not in action this weekend though so in true student fashion… I’m sure they will be up early, training hard or watching/scouting their next opponents and then early to bed ahead of their tough Easter holidays from University… I merely jest of course!

Harlequins and Down are due to meet at Deramore as Quins aim to claw their way up to fourth place. Jonny Carren (a returning former Collegians player) is now occupying the Harlequins hot-seat and his playing/coaching CV is extremely impressive. Carren is a Level 3 qualified coach who has been in Australia since 2001 where he gained experience of top-level hockey alongside the likes of Brent Livermore, Jamie Dwyer, Phil Burrows and many more international stars as both a player and later as a coach. Since his return to Belfast in January this year he has been coaching Belfast Harlequins and also secured the Strength & Conditioning Contract for Ulster representatives of the Irish Senior Men’s Team. Quins spokesman Robin Quigley believes that this appointment will be the catalyst for long-term success and of course Premier League status sooner rather than later.

Cliftonville are now out of the race for a Kirk Cup place and South Antrim have claimed third spot so when these two sides meet on Saturday it will purely be for pride.

Senior Two

In Senior Two the only action takes place between Portrush and Ballynahinch and the visitors will be hard to beat given the return to form shown by Grant Hayes in last week’s Sussex Regiment Cup victory.

Sussex Regiment Cup

Ballymena host Larne in what promises to be a close affair while Saintfield face an uphill struggle on their trip to PSNI and Campbellians will fancy their chances of smooth passage into the next round as the league leaders travel to face Parkview.

Predictions
(and as usual my Ports team will be tipped for a win!)

Senior One
Ports 2 vs NICS 1 (stoke the fire a bit)
Armagh 1 vs Antrim 2
Quins 6 vs Down 2
Ville 1 vs South 5

Senior Two
Portrush 1 vs Hinch 4

Sussex Regiment Cup
Ballymena 1 vs Larne 1
Saints 1 vs PSNI 3
Parkview 1 vs Campbellians 4

JUST A NOTE TO ASK IF SOMEONE FROM EACH CLUB COULD TEXT ME SCORE, SCORERS AND BRIEF MATCH DETAILS (INCLUDING CARDS!) EACH SATURDAY EVENING? THANKS. (ONE PERSON FROM EACH CLUB HAS ALREADY BEEN SENT MY MOBILE NUMBER)

Kirk on the move again!

Ulster Hockey’s Kirk Cup final has changed date for an unbelievable fifth time.


The prestigious final between Banbridge and Cookstown, which is normally played on Boxing Day, will now move, for the fifth time of asking, to Sunday 25th April. However, the venue is yet to be decided as Lisnagarvey Hockey Club is unavailable.

“It is regrettable that we have had to change the date yet again,”

explained Ulster Hockey Executive Manager, Angela Platt.

“We simply hadn’t realised that the British Universities Hockey Tournament in England, was clashing with the 10th April date, and as several players involved in the Kirk Cup Final, would also be playing for the Northern Ireland Universities team, we had no choice but to find another date.


"It is very disappointing to have to change the date, as other dates we have pencilled in have been postponed because of the severe weather conditions this season.


“Unfortunately we cannot use Garvey’s excellent facilities, so we are trying to find a suitable neutral venue for the final. We have a couple of alternative venues in mind but we are checking availability at the moment.”

So, it is fingers crossed this time round, or we could still be playing it in June!

Service Serve Six Of The Best

Irish Hockey Trophy Final
Civil Service 6 - 0 Suttonians

Aaron Gill smashed home a hat-trick as Civil Service brought the Irish Trophy home in-style, as they thumped six goals past Suttonians in yesterday’s Dublin final.

It was just the perfect way to bring the curtain down on their superb season, as they already have promotion to the premiership in the bag.

With less than a minute on the clock Suttonians swung into attack but Service captain Jamie Anderson saved the day clearing the ball off the line.

From there Service never looked back, and on 8 minutes their prolific goal scorer, Gill struck, blasting home an unstoppable penalty corner strike.

With five minutes of the half remaining Service doubled their lead, Patrick Towe following up Gill’s initial penalty corner shot, to slide the ball home to give the Belfast side a deserved lead at the turn.

The second half was one way traffic for Service, as they romped home another three goals to lift the cup, thanks to one a piece from Colin Irwin and Ross Anderson with Gill wrapping up a perfect day all-round with two more goals.

You can view more photographs taken by Adrian Boehm here...

Edgar celebrates in style

William Edgar’s name wasn’t listed in the match programme, but his stunning third senior goal for Annadale, ensured his name would be remembered.

Edgar, who celebrated his 18th birthday last week with twin brother John , produced an outstanding all-round performance, which helped keep Annadale in the title hunt.

He had, at times, the Comber sides defence at sixes and sevens, and if it wasn’t for some marvellous goal-keeping by Andy Coates, he could easily have added to his solitary effort.

Needing a win to keep in the title chase, Annadale started strongly, winning a series of short corners. But Dale’s penalty corner routine, which is normally lethal, was uncharacteristically out of form, and when Stephen McGimpsey took their sixth penalty corner off the line in the 27th minute, Dale were becoming anxious.

However, with five minutes of the half remaining Ian Hamilton steadied the ship, when he hammered home their ninth corner in off the cross bar.

North Down refused to lie down as they went for the equaliser but in the 55th minute when the home side were reduced to 10 men, after McGimpsey was green carded, Annadale struck.

A flowing move from right to left, saw Michael Purcell and Paul Jackson link to set up Jonny Quigley for a superb second goal.

Seven minutes later, Annadale secured victory through Edgar, when he cut along the top of the North Down circle to unleash an unstoppable reverse stick shot, which rifled the ball into the net.

And with three minutes remaining, Scott Caruth scored a consolation goal for North Down, when he showed how to score a penalty corner, with a goal that went in like a bullet.

Premiership Round-Up

It is as you were at the top of the premiership, with all the top three sides winning.

Leaders Cookstown kept their noses in front, thanks to goals from brothers Ian and Stephen Sloan, Ivan Steen and a rare Ewan Butler effort, as they saw off Mossley with Simon Todd scoring for the visitors.

Banbridge went on a goal scoring romp at Donegal, hitting five past Raphoe. Ross McCandless notched up his 38th and 39th goals of the season, Dane Ward, Colin Dowds and Simon Magowan also getting on the score sheet.

And with Annadale winning at Comber, the title is still in the melting pot.

Lisnagarvey secured at least a coveted top five place, for qualification into next season’s IHL, thanks to a late winner from Mark Raphael. But they had to come from behind, after Gareth Russell gave Kilkeel an early lead. But further goals from Timmy Cockram, Peter MacDonnell secured a narrow victory.
Round up

Irish Junior Cup

Both Lisnagarvey and Cookstown crashed out of the Irish Junior Cup semi-finals, as they lost to their southern opponents. YMCA securing a 3-1 win over much fancied Cookstown, and Monkstown seeing off Garvey 3-2.

An Andrew Shannon hat-trick, ensured North Down III’s would be playing Junior 2 hockey next season, after they clinched promotion defeating Inst III 3-2.

Results

Premiership
Kilkeel 2 Lisnagarvey 3
North Down 1 Annadale 3
Cookstown 4 Mossley 1
Raphoe 1 Banbridge 5

Senior One
Portadown P Down
Queens 3 Cliftonville 0
Antrim 4 Armagh 0

Sussex Regiment Cup
Foyle 1 Ballymena 5
Campbellians w/o Omagh
Portrush 2 Ballynahinch 3

Irish Junior Cup - Semi Final
Lisnagarvey II 2 Monkstown II 3
Cookstown II 1 YMCA 3

Junior Shield - Semi Final
Bangor III 4 Armagh II 1
Raphoe III V Cookstown V

Minor Cup – Semi Final
Queens II V Campbellians II
Mossley V 2 North Down IV 1

Irish Hockey Trophy Final
Civil Service 6 Suttonians 0

ONE 1918 Senior Review

By David Agnew

Senior One

Downpatrick were unable to field a team against Portadown on Saturday so the Ports will be awarded another three points which will keep them in contention for a Kirk Cup place as Armagh were beaten 4-0 by Antrim.

QUB though have an outside chance of nipping into that Kirk Cup place following their 3-1 victory over Cliftonville. It should have been so very different as Ville took an early lead and then missed a penalty stroke. The students got themselves back into the game when Richard Kerrigan scored from their first corner of the day and turned the game on it’s head when Neil Matthews finished off a great passing move with a simple tap in. The second half was end to end but Ville couldn’t convert chances into goals whereas QUB netted a killer third goal when Richard Kerrigan converted another corner.

Senior Two

In the days only Senior Two game Larne and Parkview shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw but Larne will be disappointed having missed a stroke in the last five minutes.

Sussex Regiment Cup

Grant Hayes put his name back in the headlines for Ballynahinch as he scored a hat-trick which earnt his side a place in the next round of the Cup and left Portrush feeling bitterly disappointed. David Price and Ricky McKinnon scored for Portrush but the home side also missed a couple of clear cut chances to take the game into extra time.

Ballymena strolled past Foyle winning 5-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Patrick McKeown and a goal each for David McDonald and Matthew Corbett.

Sadly Omagh had to concede their match to Campbellians.

***And finally… one person from each senior league club has got my mobile number. It would be a massive help if you could send through scores, goal scorers and brief match details after every game. Many thanks***

ONE 1918 Senior Spotlight

Senior One

Just three fixtures take place in Senior One this weekend and it’s the race for the last Kirk Cup place which takes centre stage.

Down are facing up to the prospect of Senior Two hockey again next season but they will travel to Edenvilla determined to prove a point. Their hosts Portadown had been on something of a good run until they slipped up against QUB last time out so this game could go either way. A win for Portadown will keep them in contention for that coveted Kirk cup place but nothing will be taken for granted.

QUB will fancy their chances of bagging another three points as they host Cliftonville at The Dub. Home advantage is always a bonus for the students so Ville will be hoping for a master-class from player-coach Julian Stevenson to keep their Kirk Cup hopes alive.

Armagh have the toughest assignment as they travel to take on Antrim at The Forum. I’m not sure what the history books say about Armagh’s participation in the Kirk Cup but from my own memory it must be quite some time since they last took part in Ulster’s elite cup competition. As it stands they have a great chance of claiming the remaining qualification spot and this alone may serve as a key motivator going into a tricky game against the league runners up.

Senior Two

In Senior Two the only action takes place on Friday night as Larne host Parkview. Both sides suffered disappointing defeats last time out so this one could be an exciting affair.

IHT Final

Good luck to NICS who face Suttonians in the Trophy final! Hopefully they can add to their already impressive season by bringing this trophy to the North once again.

Sussex Regiment Cup

Foyle will be hoping to build on their good form against PSNI last weekend as they host Ballymena while Omagh have the unenviable task of travelling to face league leaders Campbellians. In the remaining fixture Portrush host Ballynahinch who will see the cup as their best chance of glory this season now that promotion appears to be just out of reach.

Predictions
(and as usual my Ports team will be tipped for a win!)

Senior One
Ports 2 vs Down 1
QUB 4 vs Ville 2
Antrim 3 vs Armagh 1

Senior Two
Larne 2 vs Parkview 2

IHT Final
NICS 5 vs Suttonians 0

Sussex Regiment Cup
Foyle 1 vs Ballymena 2
Campbellians 5 vs Omagh 2
Portrush 1 vs Hinch 3

JUST A NOTE TO ASK IF SOMEONE FROM EACH CLUB COULD TEXT ME SCORE, SCORERS AND BRIEF MATCH DETAILS (INCLUDING CARDS!) EACH SATURDAY EVENING? THANKS. (ONE PERSON FROM EACH CLUB HAS ALREADY BEEN SENT MY MOBILE NUMBER)

Bann have treble in sights

Banbridge Academy 3 Campbell College 0

Banbridge Academy completed the schools hockey double, when they added the Burney Cup to the McCullough Cup, defeating Campbell College 3-0 in yesterday’s final at Hillsborough.

But the scoreline somewhat flatters the red-hot favourites Bann, as Campbell pushed them all the way to the final whistle, and if they had just taken one or two of those chances, it could have been all so different.

Many pundits had predicted that the County Down school was going to bury their Belfast opponents in an avalanche of goals, but that never materialised, as Bann were simply not allowed to get into top gear.

The first half never really got the pulse racing, with much of the play contained between both 25’s. Campbell’s defence was rock solid with Charles McComb producing a captain’s performance, as he was in outstanding form.

In the 24th minute the first clear cut chance fell to Campbell. With Bann down to ten men, after Phillip Doyle was sin-binned for his second offence, Campbell swung into attack. James Cox put Andrew Williamson clear, but Andrew Mooney spotted the danger, and sprinted of his line to block the shot pushing the ball round the upright.

However, five minutes later Bann at last found away past the Campbell defence, and from their first penalty corner of the game, Stephen Dowds slotted the ball home with precision, to give them a hard-fought half time lead.

Three minutes after the turn, man of the match Owen Magee, was unlucky not to double Bann’s lead when he sliced into the Campbell circle to unleash a ferocious shot which flew over the cross bar.

It was then Campbell’s turn to hit a purple patch, as they went for the elusive equaliser, and in the 42nd minute John Lyness and Williamson split the Bann defence to see the latter shoot wide off the target.

And two minutes later Hector De Courcy-Wheeler stopped the ball brilliantly on the line from McCombe’s fourth penalty corner.

Then disaster struck Bann, when their Irish Under 18 international, Dowds pulled up injured with a ham-string injury, and looks likely to miss next week’s All-Ireland Schools championship in Dublin.

With Bann again down to ten-men after Philip Brown was sin-binned, Campbell still couldn’t make the extra man count, and in the 58th minute Hugh McShane forced his way along the Campbell by-line to slip the ball to Josh Moffett, who found himself plumb in front of an empty goal for a simple touch home for Bann’s second.

Campbell’s bubble had burst, and two minutes later when Bann were awarded a hotly disputed penalty stroke, after Owen Magee seemed to be up ended in the circle, up stepped Brown who dispatched the stroke into the net, to take the ‘Burney’ back down the A1 to Banbridge Academy.

After the game Academy captain, Dowds said:

“I don’t think the scoreline reflects on the game, Campbell pushed us and gave us a great game. I think our second half performance just won it for us.

“They really surprised us, as we had played them earlier on in the season, and it is obvious they have put a lot of work in since then, and they definitely have improved.

“But this is great achievement by all the players they put the work in, and winning the Burney Cup is great for the school, and a great way for me to bring the curtain down on my school playing career.”

Campbell’s captain, McComb knew his side had come close to causing an upset. He said:

“It was a very close final, and everyone in the team gave a very good account of themselves, and the players can be very proud. But congratulations to Banbridge they played very well, and hopefully Campbell College can move forward from this.”

Banbridge Academy (from) - Andrew Mooney (GK), Michael Anderson (GK), Daniel MacAuley, Phillip Brown (VC), Matthew Bell, Philip Doyle, Hector De Courcy-Wheeler, Michael Duggan, Hugh McShane, Ciaran Kelly, Niall Kelly, Ben Cosgrove, Joshua Moffett, Stephen Dowds (C), Owen Magee, Matthew Knox.

Coaches: Steven Dawson, Simon Jess, Aaron Appleton
Manager: Mark Cordner

Campbell College - Justin Hool (GK), Darren Rodgers (GK), Charles McCombe (C), Stephen Johnston, James Clark, Richard Johnston, Aaron Saunders, Aaron Robinson, Jordan Linter, Josh Mackay, John Lyness, Chris Ashenhurst, Mathew West, Andrew Williamson, James Cox, Jamie Ireland

Coaches:Ronnie Smyth and John Rea
Manager; Damian Styles

Umpires: Eamon McFerran and Colvin Beattie

Premiership title in the melting pot

The ONE 1918 Premiership was blown wide open, after leaders Cookstown lost to Banbridge and Annadale inflicted a 4-1 defeat on Lisnagarvey.

It promises to be one of the tightest run-ins to the end of the season, and with Instonians winning at Raphoe, the title could go to any one of four teams.

Two goals a-piece from Peter Caruth and Conor Allison saw Annadale come from behind to stun Lisnagarvey, who blasted seven goals home last week against Three Rock in the IHL.

John Gray opened the scoring for Lisnagarvey after only 11 minutes, tucking home a cross from Mark Daniels.

But, in the 23rd minute Annadale’s Irish International Caruth, carved his way into the Garvey circle to level it with an unstoppable reverse stick shot which flew into the net.

Seven minutes after the restart, Timmy Cockram was put clear by Mark Raphael but Johnny Moore spotted the danger and was quickly off his line to smother the shot.

Annadale were always dangerous on the break and Caruth put them ahead on 55 minutes as he smashed home a cross from Gareth Kidd.

And minutes later in a carbon-copy of their second, Kidd again cut along the by-line only this time to spot Allison lurking at the far post with a pin-point pass for him to guide the ball home.

Two minutes later, Annadale wrapped up the points, Allison grabbing his second when he was put clear by Ian Hamilton sending his shot past David Williamson.

After the game Annadale coach Andy Smyth said:

“I wasn’t too sure what to expect today, especially after Garvey won seven nil last week and we were poor against Cookstown. But the guys put in a brilliant performance, and that will shake things up a bit. I just hope that our game against Cookstown isn’t played at a silly time as it could be a very important game for both sides.”

A solitary Dane Ward goal gave Banbridge three very valuable points against Cookstown, in an uninspiring game to keep the Havelock Park side in the title race.

Two goals from Steven Redpath and one each from Chris Kirk and Stuart McWilliams, left Raphoe at the foot of the table, and it now only seems that a miracle will stop the Donegal side dropping out of the Premiership.

Results

ONE 1918 Premiership
Raphoe 2 Instonians 4
Lisnagarvey 1 Annadale 4
Banbridge 1 Cookstown 0

ONE 1918 Senior Review

By David Agnew

Senior One

NICS celebrated promotion to the Premier League in style on Friday evening by beating Downpatrick 10-0 at Comber Leisure Centre. Aaron Gill bagged another hat-trick and took centre stage with a stunning display paving the way for Posnett (2), Johnston (2), R Anderson, J Anderson and Towe to add to their own goal tallies for 09/10.

Antrim will now finish in second spot after a convincing 5-1 victory over Newry at the Forum while South Antrim were held to a 3-3 draw by a resurgent Harlequins side. Adam Glass gave South the lead from a mis-hit penalty corner in the first half but Quins roared back and forced Paul Montgomery into some smart saves before the interval. The visitors equalised from a penalty stroke dispatched by Stevie McGrath and then took the lead when Chris Lemon hit the back of the net. Craig Campbell equalised for South during a period of end to end action but Carren was set to be a hero for Quins when he gave his side a 3-2 lead and what looked like being all three points. Quins seemed to sit deep and try to defend their lead rather than press forward for more goals and this proved to be costly as Campbell popped up again for the home side to equalise with the last hit of the game – it’s hard to say whether either side will be happy after this encounter.

QUB took all three points from their clash with Portadown at Edenvilla despite the home side having the vast majority of possession. Ports couldn’t find a cutting edge in the final third and were made to pay the ultimate penalty when the students scored three goals against the run of play making Gareth Titler’s penalty corner conversion somewhat trivial in the end.

Armagh have given themselves a great chance of qualifying for the Kirk Cup following a 5-1 victory over Cliftonville who have lost their way in recent weeks. Gregory Croft (2), Bell, Warnock and McRoberts scored for the Orchard County men with S McMillen grabbing only a consolation goal for Ville.

Senior Two

Hats off to Foyle who pushed PSNI all the way on Saturday only to lose out 4-2 in the end. Having taken an early lead the home side looked set to claim their first ever points but PSNI have a strong squad and had too much firepower over the 70 minutes.

Omagh put on a fantastic display to beat Larne 3-0 Jake Martin and Mark Campbell (2) were the heroes!

Performance of the day though in Senior Two came from Portrush who hammered seven goals past Parkview without reply – Lewis Green (2), Brent Smith (2), David Price,Eoin Sayers and John Dillon all helped themselves to a moment of glory during an impressive team display.

***And finally… one person from each senior league club has got my mobile number. It would be a massive help if you could send through scores, goal scorers and brief match details after every game. Many thanks***

Senior One Spotlight

By David Agnew

Senior One

Match of the Day in Senior One this weekend is South Antrim versus Harlequins at Laurelhill with both teams capable of flowing attacking hockey on their day. South will go in as favourites given their impressive season so far but Quins are on the up and will pose a real threat as South aim to secure their top three finish.

Staying at the top end of the table, Antrim host Newry at the Forum and it’s probably the visitors who have most to gain from a win as they try to block the charge of South into 3rd position which the border club currently occupy.

With a Kirk Cup place still up for grabs Cliftonville’s visit to Armagh will be worth watching as will QUB’s trip to Portadown. All four sides can still finish in 6th position so there is still plenty to play for at this late stage of the season.

Unfortunately Downpatrick now look certain to finish at the foot of the table and a visit from high flying NICS on Friday evening will not help their cause.

Senior Two

In Senior Two Portrush should claim all three points from the visit of Parkview and PSNI will have too much firepower for struggling Foyle. In the remaining fixture Larne and Omagh clash for the second week in a row.

Campbellians look set for promotion so all eyes will be focussed on the battle for second place between PSNI and Ballynahinch as the season comes to a close.

Predictions
(and as usual my Ports team will be tipped for a win!)

Senior One
South 3 vs Quins 2
Antrim 4 vs Newry 2
Armagh 3 vs Cliftonville 3
Portadown 2 vs QUB 1
Downpatrick 0 vs NICS 5

Senior Two
Portrush 3 vs Parkview 1
Foyle 0 vs PSNI 5
Omagh 1 vs Larne 1

JUST A NOTE TO ASK IF SOMEONE FROM EACH CLUB COULD TEXT ME SCORE, SCORERS AND BRIEF MATCH DETAILS (INCLUDING CARDS!) EACH SATURDAY EVENING? THANKS. (ONE PERSON FROM EACH CLUB HAS ALREADY BEEN SENT MY MOBILE NUMBER)

Weekend Roundup

Irish Hockey League

Timmy Cockram blasted Lisnagarvey clear at the top of Pool B, in the Irish Hockey league hammering five goals past Three Rock Rovers.

It was sweet revenge, as Rovers put Garvey out of the Irish Senior Cup last week, and this result means that Garvey are now firmly on course for the IHL play-offs.

The Hillsborough side were simply unstoppable, as they romped seven goals past Rovers, Peter MacDonnell and Greg Thompson scoring the other goals.

Two goals from David Ames and Ian Hutchinson gave Cookstown a 3-1 win over Annadale, and a slim hope of qualification for the play-offs, but Annadale’s third defeat, means their IHL dream has ended.

Banbridge squandered a 3-1 advantage against Corinthian in Dublin, as they ended up drawing three-a piece, and now face an uphill challenge to qualify for the finals. Ross McCandless, Dane Ward and an own goal, secured a point for Bann.

Instonians lost ground on their push for the play offs, after they went down to Pembroke Wanderers 3-0.

Irish Hockey Trophy

Civil Service are Dublin bound after they reached their first Irish Hockey Trophy final, when they edged out Antrim in a closely fought game.

Twice Antrim came back to level the match. Aaron Gill put Service into the lead, but Neil McCullough levelled it for Antrim. Colin Irwin restored Service’s lead after the turn, however Antrim were back in it, when Stuart McIlroy squared the game.

But with five minutes remaining, Peter Johnston smashed the ball home to put Service into the March 21 final, where they will meet Suttonians, who conquered Belfast Harlequins 2-1, with Steve McGrati the only scorer for Harlequins.

Irish Hockey Challenge

This season’s Irish Challenge competition decended into a complete farce, after the favourites and current holders Campbellians withdrew, when their Dublin opponents, St Brendans decided to play the semi-final of a national competition, on a grass surface.

With St Brendan’s refusing to change their decision, the Belfast side felt they had no other option but to withdraw. And Ulster interest in the competition ended, when Larne went out in the other semi final to Limerick 3-0.

Premiership/Senior Round up

Mossley eased their relegation worries, when they reversed last week’s scoreline against Raphoe, to win 3-0. First half goals from Simon Todd and Chris O’Flaherty and another goal in the second half from Andy Coulter, gave Mossley three welcome points and left Raphoe at the foot of the table.

Down look destined to return to Senior Two after Queens smashed six goals past them, to leave them at the bottom of the table. Chris Barnes bagged five of PSNI’s goals, as they also knocked six past Ballymena.

Results

Irish Hockey League 3rd Round

Pool A
Instonains 0 Pembroke Wanderers 3
Cork Harlequins 3 Monkstown 2
Corinthian 3 Banbridge 3

Pool B
Cork CofI 1 Glenanne 4
Cookstown 3 Annadale 1
Lisnagarvey 7 Three Rock Rovers 0

Irish Hockey Trophy
Civil Service 3 Antrim 2
Belfast Harlequins 1 Suttonians 2

Irish Hockey Challenge
St Brendans V Campbellians (Campbellians withdrew)
Limerick 3 Larne 0

Premiership
Mossley 3 Raphoe 0

Senior One
Down 1 Queens 6
Cliftonville 0 Portadown 5

Senior Two
PSNI 6 Ballymena 2
Omagh 1 Saintfield 0

Linden heads back to Lisburn

Bathed in glorious spring-like conditions, in front of a large crowd, South Antrim retained the One1918 Linden Cup, defeating Armagh 4-1 on penalty strokes.

Ulster Union officials could only be impressed by the huge turn-out, and it must give them food for thought when to play next year’s final, and possibly move away from the traditional New Year’s Day date.

It was a repeat of last season’s final, and Armagh were in no mood to be second best this time round. With only 11 minutes on the clock, Gregory Croft edged them in an early lead, when he drove home their first short corner.

However, their lead was short-lived, as two minutes later Chris Henry was on the end of a well worked short corner routine, tucking the ball home from close in.

With the teams still locked a goal-a-piece at half time, the game burst into life, when Ward Phillips sliced into the Armagh circle to unleash an unstoppable shot past Ryan O’Neil, to put South Antrim ahead.

It was all South Antrim, as they peppered the Armagh circle. But completely against the run of play, Armagh hit back when David Warnock collected a cross from the right, to slam the ball home with a sweetly struck reverse stick shot.

Even though Armagh were back on level terms, it was all South Antrim as they went for the elusive winner, and when Armagh went down to 10 men, after Chris Gardener was sin-binned, South Antrim couldn’t make the extra man count, and extra time it was.

Even a period of extra time couldn’t separate the teams, during which the game was suspended, to allow David Warnock to be taken to hospital after he sustained a serious neck injury.

So it was down to the dreaded penalty strokes, and with Armagh missing two of their first three, it was down to Mark Campbell to make a name for himself, which he duly did, dispatching the ball into the Armagh net to deservedly give South Antrim the Linden Cup crown.

Result

Linden Cup Final
Armagh 2 South Antrim 2
(South Antrim won 4-1 on PS)

Farce!

One of Irish Hockey’s major cup competitions descended into complete farce on Friday when reigning champions Campbellians sensationally withdrew from the 2010 Mens Irish Hockey Challenge at the Semi-Final stage.

Drawn against Leinster club St Brendans in Saturday’s planned Semi-Final, it was anticipated that the match would be played on St Brendan’s regular (synthetic) Home surface at RCSI.

However, St Brendan’s demanded that the fixture be played on a GRASS surface adjacent to their clubhouse in Phoenix Park.

Throughout last week, the Irish Hockey Association made every attempt to persuade the Dublin club to play the match at their regular Home venue at RCSI; however St Brendans refused to budge, citing competition Rule 9.5.1.

This states that

all Cup Competition matches shall be played on a synthetic pitch, except for the Challenge which may be played on the home club’s own surface

This wording was originally drafted by the IHA to accommodate clubs such as Saintfield, who regularly play all their home fixtures on a shale pitch.

It is however unlikely that in their wildest dreams, anyone at IHA HQ would have expected rule 9.5.1 to be cited in favour of a grass surface.

The Campbellians club has released the following statement:-

Mens Irish Hockey Challenge 2010.

It is with deep regret that Campbellians Hockey Club has been forced to withdraw from the 2010 Mens Irish Hockey Challenge competition at the Semi-Final stage.

As reigning champions Campbellians were fully committed to retaining the MIHC title this season; and are disappointed that the opportunity to do so has been removed.

The club fully understands the dilemma faced by the Irish Hockey Association in attempting to resolve the issue of the Semi-Final of a 2010 national cup competition being staged on a grass surface; and remains grateful to those IHA officials (in particular Competitions Committee Chairman John Smyth) who have done their utmost to achieve a commonsense outcome during the past week.

Whilst our position remains that Senior Hockey in the 21st Century should ideally always be played on a synthetic surface, the Campbellians club fully supports the fundamental spirit of IHA Competition Rule 9.5.1 (not to exclude from the national Challenge competitions those clubs who regularly play their home fixtures on a shale surface).

It is however our contention that a Grass pitch can in no conceivable manner ever be construed as a “regular” home surface in this day and age.

Consequently, the fundamental spirit of Rule 9.5.1 has clearly been cynically abandoned.

Nowadays, the inclusion of studded boots within each player’s personal kitbag is something which is neither expected nor practised.

No player in Senior hockey will reasonably expect to ever have to play a match on a grass surface (not least the Semi-Final of a national competition).

To have equipped the Campbellians 1stX1 squad with studded boots suitable for a grass surface, would have cost in excess of £1,000.

To expect any club to incur such expenditure for a one-off fixture is entirely unreasonable.

The Campbellians club also has a clear duty of care in respect of the health and safety of its players.

To have contested the fixture on a grass surface without suitable footwear would have posed a number of significant health and safety risks.

Given the above, the Campbellians Club unfortunately had no alternative but to withdraw from the competition; and does not expect to receive any form of censure from the Irish Hockey Association in respect of this decision.

We do however expect that the Irish Hockey Association will regard this entire fiasco as a clear opportunity to examine (and ultimately re-draft) Rule 9.5.1, in order that such a ridiculous situation may never again arise.

All right thinking members of the Hockey fraternity will no doubt be wholly disappointed by the manner in which St Brendans have chosen to interpret Rule 9.5.1.

They have unfortunately done a great disservice to the promotion of our sport across the island of Ireland.

Hockey is the clear loser in this instance.

Campbellians Hockey Club.

Friday 5th March 2010.

Campbellians would have been hot favourites to again reach the Final, particularly as St Brendans could not have fielded two of their key players (red-carded in the quarter final meeting with Ballynahinch).

Consequently, the latter stages of the competition have now been thrown into disarray, and the final outcome of the 2010 Mens Irish Hockey Challenge will now struggle to ever achieve any serious degree of credibility.

Hopefully the IHA will indeed take this opportunity to re-write the rule book in order to ensure that such nonsense may never happen again.

Feast of Hockey for fans

By Phil Allen

Hockey fans can look forward to a feast of hockey this weekend, as they are simply spoilt for choice where to go.

First up, it is round three of the Irish Hockey League, with crucial games both north and south. Then it is the semi-final stage of the Irish Trophy and the Irish Challenge, with Ulster teams involved in all the semi-finals.

Next, there is Premiership and Senior league action, with one or two relegation battles to be sorted out.

And, finally on Sunday, it is the Linden Cup final between Armagh and South Antrim, and let’s hope they can get it played this time round.

If that is not enough hockey, you can also catch live World Cup action on the ‘box’ from India.

So there you are, take your pick.

Irish Hockey League

Defeat this week in the Irish Hockey League for Lisnagarvey could mean another season without any silverware in the trophy cabinet at their Hillsborough headquarters, and that simply by Garvey standards is unacceptable.

Last week, Garvey squandered a two goal advantage to let their same opponents this week, Three Rock Rovers, progress to the semi-finals of the Irish Senior Cup.

So, Garvey can exact revenge on Rovers by winning, and winning in style, securing a bonus point and keeping their IHL dream alive. They currently top Pool B and a win would put them on course for the May play-offs.

Meanwhile, in the all-Ulster clash between Cookstown and Annadale, defeat for either side could mean they miss out in the finals for another season.

In Pool A, second placed Instonians welcome the current Irish champions, Pembroke Wanderers to Shaws Bridge. In the same fixture last season, Wanderers were strolling to a comfortable win, when Inst staged a remarkable comeback to level it, but they will hope to go one step further on Saturday.

Inst have to decide this week whether to go for youth or experience and bring back Nigel Skillen in goal or go with Ulster Under 21 keeper Alastair Thom, who has been in outstanding form between the sticks the last couple of weeks.

Banbridge head south for their third pool game against Dublin side Corinthian. Both sides crashed out of the ISC last Saturday and a win for Bann could see them back in the reckoning for the play-offs.

Irish Hockey Trophy

It’s the all-Ulster semi-final between Civil Service and Antrim that whets the appetite. It’s a repeat of last season’s semi which Antrim edged 5-4.

Service look to have already the Senior One title in the bag, and have the Irish Trophy fixed firmly in their sights, after missing out last season.

But Antrim, may just have other ideas, as they lost 6-5 to North Down in the final last time around and are determined to rectify that matter.

In the other semi-final, Belfast Harlequins face a tough test when they welcome Dublin side Suttonians, who are top of Division Two in the Leinster league.

Irish Hockey Challenge

Challenge Cup holders Campbellians make the trip to Dublin, where they take on St. Brendan’s in the first semi final.

Campbellians, who are undefeated this season, are poised to step up into Senior One, and look too strong for a side who are languishing in the bottom half of Division Four in the Leinster league.

Larne make the long trip to Limerick this week for the other semi-final clash. Limerick thumped four goals past Portrush in last week’s quarter-final clash, and a Larne side who are struggling to find any form this season, will do well to make it an all-Ulster final.

Premiership and Senior League

If Raphoe can repeat their result last week against Mossley this Saturday, the Premiership relegation battle will go into the melting pot.

Another win this week for Raphoe will see them leap frog from the foot of the table over Mossley and go one point behind Bangor, with two games in hand over the seasiders.

The County Donegal side looked down and out but they are far from it, and will be determined to stay in the top flight.

It is a bottom of the table clash between Down and Queens in Senior One. Defeat for Down will mean a quick return to Senior Two, as they were only promoted last season.

In the other game in Senior One, it is just a matter of who can finish higher in the table, Cliftonville or Portadown?

PSNI will be hoping they can take the runner-up slot in Senior Two, as Campbellians have the title all-but in the bag. They should see off this week’s opponents Ballymena, with Parkview looking too strong for Foyle, and Omagh and Saintfield sharing the spoils.

Linden Cup Final

South Antrim and Armagh will try and play the Linden Cup Final, at the third time of asking, this Sunday (2.30pm).

Already postponed twice because of severe frost, both sides are hoping that the weather pundits have it right this weekend, and the game should go ahead.

As far as league encounters this season, it is one each in games, but in their last meeting South Antrim smashed five past Armagh without reply.

The Lisburn based side are hoping for a top four finish, to book a place in the Kirk Cup next season, when they can take on a couple of the ‘big-guns’ of premiership.

For Armagh, under the experienced eye of coach, Robbi McMinn, it has been somewhat of a disappointing season, with only three wins under their belt.

Lifting the Linden would go some way to make up for their disappointing season, but South Antrim look favourites to complete the double over Armagh, after they defeated them 3-2 in last season’s final.

ONE 1918 Senior Spotlight

By David Agnew

It’s great to see the blog back in action and it’s just in time for a great weekend of action involving Senior League sides! 

Senior One

All Senior One action this weekend involves teams in the bottom half of the table and match of the weekend is the clash between Down and QUB on Friday evening which is a must win for Down and must not lose for QUB.  Both sides have put in impressive shifts recently – QUB drawing with Harlequins and Down narrowly losing out to Antrim – but with so much at stake the form book gets ripped up and this result could go either way.  

In the only other Senior One game Cliftonville host Portadown in a rare 4.00pm start at Belmont Road.  The Ports have been on something of a good run recently with a point at South Antrim and all three from the reverse fixture with Ville a few weeks back but they are only too well aware that their hosts are capable of a much better performance than the 5-0 score-line reflected on that occasion. 

Senior Two

In Senior Two PSNI host Ballymena as they aim to continue their resurgence since the arrival of Chris Barnes.  Only three points now separate them from Ballynahinch who occupy second place in the league.   

Foyle continue to search for their first point and this week they travel to face Parkview who will be hoping to heap even more misery on Ulster Hockey’s newest men’s club. 

In the remaining fixture Omagh host Saintfield and will have to be in good form if they are to get anything from this clash with one of Senior Two’s most improved sides this season. 

Irish Hockey Trophy

It’s a clash of the Senior One titans at the semi-final stage of the IHT as NICS face Antrim in what promises to be a rip-roaring encounter!  On such a special occasion league form means nothing and the neutrals could be in for end to end action and plenty of goals as both sides know how to tuck them away. 

Harlequins have a great chance to reach the final and make it an all Ulster affair as they face Dublin based Suttonians in the other semi-final.  Suttonians are capable of scoring goals against the best of Ulster’s Senior League sides but they also concede plenty so here’s hoping Quins can hit their stride early and fly the Ulster Hockey flag with pride. 

Irish Hockey Challenge

Campbellians and Larne represent Ulster in the IHC semi-finals facing St Brendans and Limerick respectively.  Again I’m right behind the Ulster sides and hope to see all Ulster finals in both competitions. 

Linden Cup

Last but by no means least we come to the much talked about and eagerly anticipated Linden Cup Final between Armagh and South Antrim.  The game has now been moved to Havelock Park Banbridge and it will be interesting to see how this change of playing surface affects the standard of hockey on offer.   

South have had a great season so far and look set to finish in the top three which is a remarkable achievement and improvement from last season.  Armagh have also taken huge strides forward this season and they have been boosted by the new year return of Gregory Croft who is capable of turning any game on it’s head.

Good luck to both sides and may the best team win!   

PS a note for the older hands in both teams…….this auld water based malarkey……watch out for the bobbles and go for the straight bat! LOL

Predictions

(and as usual my Ports team will be tipped for a win!) 

Senior One

Down 3 vs QUB 3

Ville 1 vs Ports 2 

Senior Two

PSNI 3 vs Ballymena 1

Parkview 2 vs Foyle 0

Omagh 1 vs Saints 2 

IHT (I’m gonna back all the Ulster teams!!)

NICS 5 vs Antrim 3

Quins 4 vs Suttonians 2 

IHC (I’m gonna back all the Ulster teams!!) 

St B 2 vs Campbellians 3

Limerick 1 vs Larne 2 

Just a quick note to ask if someone from each club could text me score, scorers and brief match details (including cards) each saturday evening? thanks.  (One person from each club has already been sent my mobile number)