Quarter-final: Avoca 1 (Stephen Brownlow) YMCA 9 (Mikey Fry 2, Jacob Webber 2, Andy Walker 2, Warwick Armstrong 2, Keith Benson)
YM reached their second semi-final of the season with a comprehensive mauling of division two's Avoca, continuing their impressive form since the turn of the year. Mikey Fry was in fine fettle, being at the centre of a lot of their good work, helping to build a 6-0 half-time advantage.
The recently returned Andy Walker (pictured) netted twice too.
Stephen Brownlow got one back from the penalty spot after Stephen Barry took one to the body whilst on the line at a short corner but YM eased another three goals in with the rarity of a Keith Benson strike thrown in. The left-back netted a corner rebound.
Second Round: Skerries 2 (Felix Nacken, Alan Early) Pembroke Wanderers 6 (Michael O'Connor, Gordon Elliott, Florian Richter, Conor Harte, Alan Giles, Martin Cronin)
Skerries gave a decent account of themselves in the Mills Cup second round as Pembroke finally made their first appearance in a domestic cup this season. They opened up a 3-1 lead before Alan early pulled one back to put a modicum of pressure on the Serpentine Avenue-outfit.
Pembroke, however, brushed that off with some elan to add the necessary goals to make the game safe with Martin Cronin scoring on his first team debut.
Elsewhere, Corinthian will find out if they are maintain their place in the Mills Cup on Monday night. They have lodged an appeal over their dismissal from the competition due to a registration issue. This will be heard on Monday evening. Glenanne await the reds should they be successful. If not, Dublin University will make the trip to St Mark's.
Elsewhere, Corinthian will find out if they are maintain their place in the Mills Cup on Monday night. They have lodged an appeal over their dismissal from the competition due to a registration issue. This will be heard on Monday evening. Glenanne await the reds should they be successful. If not, Dublin University will make the trip to St Mark's.
Tuesday:
Quarter-final: Three Rock Rovers vs Monkstown, 7.45pm, Grange Road
37 comments:
The YM result shows the gulf in class between div 1 and 2, did i also hear that TRR beat bray 9-0 last week.
Why do division 2 sides bothering entering the cup? it seems a waste of time for both teams.
'Why do div 2 teams enter the cup'?
Div 2 teams enter the cups because it gives them the opportunity to play against a higher standard of opposition a couple of times a season!
Occasionally there are a few upsets and more often than not they tend to give a relatively good account of themselves. Granted, Avoca got hammerred by a far superior team but they gave Fingal a good run in the Neville cup earlier in the season (narrowly losing 3-2)
If the above comment is serious you may as well take the the same opinion about everyone outisde the top 5 in Div 1
YM are'nt a top 5 team!
they soon will be
That first comment is pure ignorance. Judging by that reckoning why would a Div 2 team bother trying to get promoted??!! And why do Railway, Kilkenny, UCD, or YM bother showing up to play TRR, Pembroke or Glens.....they're just going to get a kicking....
I dont think its ignorance, as i also don't understand why div 2 teams want to get promoted.
A team that is outside the so called big 5 (YM) hammered div 2 opposition.
Maybe the cup should have division 3 sides in it too? Just so they can have an outing against 'a higher standard of opposition'!
The more 1st XI teams we have competing at high level in Leinster the better.
I can't understand talented players playing 2nd XI year in year out when they could be making 1st XI teams elsewhere. Where is your ambition?
Don't come back singing about IJC or how some 2nd XI teams could compete in Div 1.
You are not playing at Senior Level full stop.
I dont think it is a lack of ambition that people stay and play seconds, they probably have aspirations to play for that 1st team. Lets face it you can go play 1st team hockey elsewhere but that does not necessarily mean that your standard of hockey will improve. That is why the top 4 division 1 teams have quality 2nd teams because the people playing on those teams dont want to move for the sake of playing ones when they can stay and compete for competitions like the IJC which is a quality competition .
I'm not talking about those few players that are breaking into the 1st team obviously.
I'm talking about players who've been playing 2nd string to a 1st XI for most of their careers when they could be competing against them. The same ones posting to this site praising themselves for IJC and Div 3 glory! I mean come on, grow a pair and compete at Senior Level.
How can anyone argue against having more competitive 1st XI teams?
in response to the bloke that said "The more 1st XI teams we have competing at high level in Leinster the better.
I can't understand talented players playing 2nd XI year in year out when they could be making 1st XI teams elsewhere. Where is your ambition?
Don't come back singing about IJC or how some 2nd XI teams could compete in Div 1.
You are not playing at Senior Level full stop"
its a little thing called LOYALTY. I love my club and wouldn't want to play anywhere else. OK i ONLY play seconds and probably could make some of the "lesser" first teams but am happy where I am and if i can't play 1st's there don't want to play anywhere else. You are probably one of these people that change club every year because you SHOULD be making the 1st's. Get real and get some loyalty to a club.
Senior 1 should be cut 8 teams as it is in the north.
Reasons:
1.Too many matches due to AIL
2.League would be more competitive and standard would improve.
3.Senior 2 is short teams
Interested to hear peoples views on this!
I'm all for loyalty, but not when it stifles your potential.
2nd XI players slagging off lower Div 1/Div 2 1st XI teams should take a long hard look at themselves before blowing their mouths off.
At least those teams are out there potentially competing with the best of them. While you languish in Junior competitions.
Clontarf and Suttonians have beaten division 1 teams in cup competitions this season. Thats why division 2 teams bother entering the cup
clontarf and suttonians do me a favour! they wouldn't be competitive in division 3. Division 2 should be like the cricket is going, they should allow 2nd teams to be promted into a league with lesser first teams as im sure several of the top 2nd teams (ym,rovers,broke,corinthians and dare i say it monkstown)would be in the top 5.
'At least those teams are out there potentially competing with the best of them. While you languish in Junior competitions.'
I'm sorry but the use of the word languish contradicts what you are saying. You are annoyed that players don't have ambition to better themselves and play in the first divison on a 'lesser' team. The thing is, languish means 'to be or become weak, to lose strength, to exist or continue in miserable or disheartening conditions and to pine away in longing to be picked for a first team.
Players in the likes of Pembroke, YM, Monkstown and CHC, where the 2nds teams always have a chance of winning the league, or the IJC, ACTUALLY, if you could imagine it, enjoy going out and playing against good teams like themselves and winning matches that are never a guarantee. Surely that would be more fun that being at the lower end of the 1st division and being beaten week in, week out. I don't think that is enjoyable, and I personally don't see it as ambitious.In fact, I would hazard a guess that the person that wrote that comment likes to believe that they are of a first division standard when in reality, would never make it onto a team in the top 6 of the table.
You see, these 2nds team players are ambitious. They want to win cups and leagues. They can win cups and leagues. They are loyal to their club. They want to better their club by winning. Surely one would 'become weak, lose strength, and exist in a miserable and disheartening condition' if they were to stay in the first divison and have no hope.
Loyalty is great, but there's players out there playing division 3 that would be among the best in division 2, and would be fine players in division one. Players that are in division 3, but are playing for the top teams in divion 1, have little chance getting moved up to firsts level there. I don't see why they dont go to the clubs that are in the bottom half in the table. If not for their sake, it would make for more intense competition for relegation, and would possibably move teams that are on the brink of the top higher up in the league.
What club players is the 'expert 'talking about . A closer look at the leagues might just open his eyes . The bottom two teams in Div 1 are restricted ...Kilkenny for obvious reasons and UCD also for more obvious reasons ...so top Div 3 or 2nd team players from the top clubs now have a choice of joining the others from the bottom half of Div 1 which is at the moment Corins /Fingal ,Railway , & YMCA .. So lets look at who is top of Div 3 ...Corins, Monkstown, YMCA, Rovers ... Joining Corins and trying for a place that has just added two serious international overseas players doesn't seem to be a clever option ...Joining Fingal may be an option but travel issues arise if we are talking about youngish guys who may not have a car ...Monkstown are in the IHL so why would the best of their second team leave and miss being involved in that ...the guys on YMCA 2nds are by definition not good enough to make the first team which are below Railway, Fingal , so its garbage to suggest that they should move . If YMCA are as people suggest beginning to get it together then they should hang in there .. So that just leaves Railway ...I cant come with any reason not to join Railway ..I have no connection with any of these clubs by the way ...what say you now Mr Expert ...unfortunately a lot of people play hockey for enjoyment and to play with their mates , and not because their whole life depends on playing to the absolute tops every week . Some people have enough stress in their work enviroment without adding intense competition 3/4 times a week , because that what it takes now ( training ,fitness/matches ) ..
Hey "languish definition guy". You sound afraid. "If I leave I'll end up losing all the time". Who knows with an influx of players into a team, you might just do better than you think. Winning or losing aside, at least you can say you were there and you competed with the best of them.
"Team choice guy": I'll grant you the Kilkenny/UCD argument. But the Corinthians/YM/Fingal/Monkstown reasons are not reasons; just excuses. Next season there'll be two more Northside teams in Div 1. Plenty of options.
At the end of the day, people won't move clubs unless they want to and no-one is gonna force them.
However, Div 3 guys slagging off bottom Div 1/Div 2 sides is not on.
You're a 2nd string player who's not good enough to be on your 1st XI side and not courageous enough to try at another club. So quieten down.
Ridiculous argument, I'm guessing written by somebody with few other commitments in life than hockey & maybe a few exams thrown in every once in a while to pass the time. The only 'important' decision u make every year, is whether to come back a few weeks earlier from your 3 month holiday, so that you don't fall too far behind in pre-season...
Fact is, most seconds are a mix of young talent going up and older talent coming down. This is beneficial for the young guys on the rise and sometimes it may be apathy but other times, things in life take over and one day you'll find that hockey isn't the most important thing in your life. It'll even come for you!!
If people want to change their attitude towards training, spend more time doing stuff outside of hockey but still stay involved helping their clubs & hanging around with friends they've had for many years, why can't they do that??
Clubs would find it very difficult to make plans if people were just changing clubs every year.
Loyalty is key for clubs to function and your comments are just plain ignorant & not so worldly-wise...
pure and utter nonsense. stick with the exams mate!!! let divison 3 clubs be promoted into division 2 to streghten the gap between 1 and 2. there are better players in divison 3 than 2 period.
this is not an issue with division 1. if you in there you deserve to be there, but its the same clubs up and down, except bray (well look what happened to them
Stephen if you're going to allow division 2 teams be criticised please allow for division 1/3 teams to be also. i made a comment about ym dropping off and finishing mid table like last year but you didn't post it. could you please be impartial rather than letting some people shout their mouths off. Regards...
People go on about how good the third division is. I don't see it ive played many games in the first, second and third divisions and the weakest was the third. Im not saying it doesn't have good players in it because some of them are excellent but the only people who take it seriously is the guys who will never play firsts everyone else treats it like a practice match. The difference between the third and second division is that the games in the second division actually matter.
Great game against Pembroke on Sunday they are a credit to the sport, Competitive and fair shook hands with us afterwards and wished us all the best for the rest of the season. Class Act
As per comments Re division 1,2,3 when playing against a team from a higher division it gives you a chance to experience a level of hockey that you will not get every week in your division, as with all sports there are cup fixtures with lesser teams eg FA Cup final last year Portsmouth v Cardiff. I thoroughly enjoy playing against top teams as do the rest of my team mates.
Once again it is players hiding behind the anonymous profile on this site that like to stir things up, GROW UP leave your name and club then we could have a real debate.
Alan Early (Skerries)
well then, allow the top two sides come up from divison 3 and send the bottom 2 teams from div 2 down.
you will see that there 5 clubs there that can compete and win div 2
Stupid arguement for top 2nds players to move. The standard of the top 8 teams now in Div 1 is very high as we hav seen in recent weeks(RU beating TRR) so if a player is playing in a 2nds team he probably wont get into another 1st team bar ucd or kk, and as already said this is pretty much an impossibilty in both cases. The only other option is Div 2 which is a similar standard to div 3.
Players are in 2nds teams because there are 16 players in the club better than them, they cant be worldbeaters
good point. allow div three top side or top two be promoted and bridge the gap between div 1 and 2 because there will be better players playing in that league
i dont agree that there is 16 better players in a 1s team because nowadays 14 are generally taken and younger guys who are not better are given opportunities to develop and see what div1 is like
A lot of Div 1 teams use cup matches v Div 2 teams as practice matches..same deal!
I'd say the TRR guy who ended up in the Euro Hockey League squad ,when Andy McConnell broke his hand ,must be really annoyed that he didnt move to another club during the pre season ... ..you have also chosen to ignore the fact that a lot of the better teams need bigger squads due to Internationals not being available from time to time with the nett result that a lot of their second string do actually get the chance to sample Div 1..
.Get yourself on the Leinster Branch if you feel so strongly about the matter . If you think you are right well do something about it .. dont keep saying everyone else is wrong ...
Please see the below which i posted in November 2008.
I would love top see Div 3 teams in Div 2 infact i think a restructure of the leagues should be undertaking this year, bring top 2 up from div 3 and 1 from Div 5 no relegation this year after that follow last automatic relegation to div 5 and 2nd last plays top of div 3 for a position in div 2 that would leave us with 12 teams in the league and playing against the likes of Pem,Glennane etc will only raise the standard of the league. Earlo
November 25, 2008 1:24 PM
Good Night, Good Luck and **** Up We welcome division 3 teams Earlo
one of the main reason some seconds players dont move on to senior clubs is loyalty...something that is in short supply in some leinster hockey clubs these days.
very short supply.
Hey just in relation to some of the arguments re: 2nd players, I'd just like to say that i take the 2nds as seriously as the 1st' its not just a run around for me..i play as hard and i enjoy it as much!! And i dont just play cause i cant make the 1st xi infact I have started almost every game this season for the 1st!!
Maurice Elliott (PWHC)
If you bring 2nd teams into divison 2 what happens if a 2nd Team win the Div 2 can they get promoted into Div 1.
If NOT then what happens the team that is meant to get relegated do they get to stay in Div 1.
If YES, suppose you could bring up the highest ranked 1st team.
I think its a good idea but i dont see the Leinster Branch doing it
Well done Maurice.15 starts.Should be commended.
2nd teams cant be promoted into div1. but if a 1st team gets relegated the 2nd team drop to div3 if they are in there
im with mossy, take 2s very seriously.
waz (ymca)
having marked mossy plenty of times i know he takes his hockey seriously and i am happy to see someone work hard in div 3 and then be making an impact in a top div 1 side.
in recent weeks the same things have happened at my club and the benefit of a strong second side is being realised.
donal, mhc
'I can't understand talented players playing 2nd XI year in year out when they could be making 1st XI teams elsewhere. Where is your ambition?'
Although this has since become a boring topic, I would like to point out that it is a lot of younger players ambition to make a 2nds team.
For example,chc 2nds have a team which is a mixture of people who may well make the firsts team one day,as well as people who were previously on the firsts. But for some, the 2nds is as high as they will climb.
To play with the likes of Gribbs, Willy and Colm, who are players of a high standard, as well as win nearly every game and have hopes for some trophies,for any player , surely that is just showing where ambition can take you. If I moved club and played 1st division hockey on any team I could make, would that be as awarding?
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