Pembroke complete incredible year

A controversial first Irish Hockey league season drew to a close at Grange Road as Pembroke completed a near perfect year with their fourth title in a month.

The competition, itself, drew largely positive feedback at a meeting with club representatives prior to the main action of the day.

Finals’ weekend proved a well-run success off field while the on-field fare hit some exceptional highs, fulfilling the brief to ‘entertain, entertain, and entertain’.

However, a couple of teething problems have been generated in the competition’s inaugural year as players, technical officials and administrators came to terms with a new set of rules and a new, higher set of standards of hockey and how it is governed.

In the wake of the refixture issue concerning Cookstown and Annadale and the semi-final timing glitch, the final almost inevitably would have a few major talking points unto itself.

Pembroke took the title by ousting their keenest rivals, Glenanne, in a similar vein to the women’s final – by virtue of the new penalty one-on-one shoot-out**.

But while the women’s shoot-out was run off without major incident, the men’s version produced enough intrigue to fill an entire blog.

Pembroke’s player-coach Craig Fulton netted the crucial, sudden death goal before the game’s key player, David Harte, stood tall to deny 16-year-old Shane O’Donoghue’s effort and a 2-1 win.

Serious questions were raised at numerous points during the shoot-out as to the decider’s rules and format, specifically when technical delegate Nigel McCullough was called to adjudicate on Graham Shaw’s penalty.

Harte saved the effort but a concerted appeal by the Glenanne bench that the goalkeeper had left his line too early left McCullough declaring a retake though the Glens claimed a penalty goal was warranted.

Harte saved again as both sides struggled to score from the one-on-one situation where players have eight seconds to score.

Stephen Butler’s blasted effort was easily dealt with by the Pembroke keeper but the ball rebounded into an area the attacker could easily have retrieved. He did not collect the ball again, allowing the clock to time out.

Fulton then missed in cruel circumstances, rounding Steven Doran successfully only to slip with the goal-gaping from three yards out, managing only to push the ball into the sideboard as he fell.

Shaw’s effort came and went while Justin Sherriff also failed leaving the last round of three in the hands of young O’Donoghue.

He showed immense composure to net but Alan Sothern was fouled by Doran, a penalty goal awarded to bring on Fulton’s sudden death strike.

The Glens had further concerns that Pembroke players had encroached too early on the circle to celebrate when Harte made his fourth save from five one-on-one charges but it was to prove just a footnote in a fascinating battle.

David Keogh had given Glenanne the early impetus but Wanderers’ hitman Alan
Sothern struck his 57th goal of the club season to make matters level by half-time.

As the temperature rose in the second half, Paddy Conlon produced a breath-taking steal to deny Graham Shaw a shot on an empty target before both Stephen Butler and Conor Harte were sin-binned to make it ten-a-side.

Justin Sherriff’s off-ball skirmish with Joe Brennan also saw him sit out five minutes for a yellow but the score remained 1-1 going into the fourth quarter.

Stu Loughrey broke that deadlock with a wonderful strike, taking Tim Lewis’ overhead in his stride to take Richie Shaw out of the game before battering low under the advancing Steven Doran.

Parity, though, was reconvened within three minutes with another beautiful goal as Butler’s drive was redirected high into the net by Eddie O’Malley with 11 minutes on the clock.

The Glens momentum was temporarily stalled as Gary Shaw was the fourth player to take an enforced rest for breaking down a quick free but his side finished regular time stronger.

Only for David Harte’s sheer brilliance would the title be now resting in Glenanne Park as O’Donoghue was denied from point blank range.

He could not have struck his reverse much sweeter but an outstretched stick batted away to safety. Harte followed up with a diving block from Butler’s drag-flick to ensure extra-time and ultimate glory.

It left Alan Giles – whose involvment in the semi-final or final was slightly curtailed due to injury – to pick up a fourth title of the year to confirm their status as the outstanding club side in Irish hockey this year.

Pembroke: David Harte, Conor Harte, Ronan Gormley, Colin Kelly, Tim Lewis, Paddy Conlon, Craig Fulton, Alan Sothern, Gordon Elliott, Justin Sherriff, Stu Loughrey Subs: Scott Lowrie, Michael O’Connor, Maurice Elliott, Alan Giles, Ken Treacy

Glenanne: Steven Doran, Joe Brennan, Alan Browne, Richie Shaw, Gary Shaw, Graham Shaw, Paul Fitzpatrick, Stephen Butler, John Goulding, Brendan Parsons, Shane O’Donoghue Subs: David Shaw, David Keogh, Jonathon Kane

* For Adrian Boehm's pictures from the game, click here and Tom Daly's pics are here; for Stephen West's pictures, click here and for Rob O'Connor's pics, click here

**On Monday, I spoke to a number of officials looking for clarification on the penalty shoot-out's rules as numerous 'rules' were proposed by the players. According to the officials, the eight-second timer starts at the time the whistle is blown and not when the player first touches the ball and so the goalkeeper is allowed leave his line.