Men's Weekend Preview

Three Rock face a huge test of their mettle this Saturday as Pembroke travel up the mountain looking to reproduce the 4-1 result of October 2007. At that stage in the season, Pembroke looked unstoppable as they peaked early in the season due to the EHL but dropped a few points to draws as the season developed.

Rovers could well be enduring the strain of fighting on so many fronts but do have players back in action with Phelie Maguire back from Belgium for Christmas and Andy McConnell getting back into action. The loss against Railway last week can be absorbed if the Grange Road outfit bounces back but if any mental scars remain, Pembroke could carve out a significant advantage over the Winter break.

Justin Sherriff could grace Grange Road, having played a couple of seconds games in recent weeks, albeit just in the seconds game at 3pm.

Elsewhere, YM will hope to avenge their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Corinthian earlier this term. The two sides are on the up with YM getting to full strength after a spate of injuries and have players fighting for cup final spots. Corinthian, meanwhile, have added South African internationals Darren Kimfley and Andrew Cronje and produced some high-quality, entertaining hockey against Fingal.

The only other match sees Glenanne hosting Railway - the two sides having already played two closely fought matches this term. The Glens have rested their international duo of Stephen Butler and Graham Shaw in recent weeks due to the 14-game rule but will be wary of doing so again after Railway's shock win over Rovers. Their third Irish player, Joe Brennan, falls outside those regulations but his job meant he missed last weekend's games too.

Fingal's match with Kilkenny and Monkstown's short trip to UCD are both off.

Division 1
Glenanne vs Railway Union, 1pm, Glenanne Park; YMCA vs Corinthian, 2pm, Claremont Road; Three Rock Rovers vs Pembroke Wanderers, 1pm, Grange Road
Postponed: Fingal vs Kilkenny, UCD vs Monkstown