Sothern strike gives Pembroke edge

Men's Division One
Pembroke 3 (Alan Sothern 2, Alan Giles) Glenanne 2 (Stephen Butler 2)
First blood to Pembroke as Alan Sothern got a touch to Mick O'Connor's amazing reverse-stick cross to win the showdown between the province's two leading lights. Three more points on the board but the significance of Glenanne's unplayed back matches mean the Tallaght club could be a massive 15 points behind the reigning champions when next they take the field.

As it was, the goal came against the run of play as Pembroke made the best of their chances while Glenanne held sway in possession and territory stakes but missed the vital incisions.

The hosts's skipper Alan Giles began the scoring, finishing off a great move initiated by Andy McConnell. Maurice Elliott led slide two decent  chances as Pembroke were in the early ascendancy, one saved by Stephen Butler and the next by Stephen Doran. But the Glens grew back into the game with two Butler drags going close, the latter rebounding to Johnny Goulding but David Harte saved well.

They got on terms, though, on half-time from a third corner as Butler bashed in. It came in the wake of Adam Pritchard's sin-binning as a loose ball ran behind him and Alan Lewis zipped in and took a hefty tackle just inside the 25. And Ireland's all-time top scorer made it 1-1 at the break as both sides harrangued the umpires over various perceived injustices on the walk to the dug-outs.

Alan Sothern dragged in a corner in the second half to restore the 2-1 lead before Ronan Gormley hit a post . But the next ten minutes was all Glenanne with Butler - the game's dominant force - scoring a corner of his own. No further goals in a niggly affair, however, left the Glens open for the sucker-punch and it came when Mick O'Connor fired an absolutely brilliant reverse-stick cross which left Sothern the opportunity he lapped up to take an eighth successive league win.

Three Rock Rovers 11 (Peter Blakeney 4, Pierre de Voux 2, Garry Ringwood 2, Sven Galjaardt, Patrick Shanahan, Pieter Steins-Bisschop) Clontarf 2 (Luke Hayden, Tom Noonan)
Peter Blakeney inspired Three Rock to their most clinical performance of the season to bring his tally to six in the two games since returning from injury. He whipped in a spectacular reverse with the first shot of the game, set up by Sven Galjaardt's pin-point cross. He doubled up soon after, driving past three tackles before bumping a forehand shot in. Luke Hayden finished off Tom Noonan's great work for 2-1 but Blakeney served up his hat-trick in the 19th minute, found by Mick Maguire's reverse-stick cross - 3-1 at half-time.

The lead was stretched to 7-1 by Pierre de Voux, Sven Galjaardt and Patrick Shanahan's delightful individual effort before Noonan got one back. But Garry Ringwood's late double - one from the spot - and Pieter Steins-Bisschop got his first for the club completed the scoring.

Corinthian 5 (Barry Glavey 2, Darren Kimfley, Brian Doherty, Chris Pelow) Railway Union 4 (Kevin Wong, David McCarthy, Peter English, Paul O'Brien)
Corinthian maintain their place in second place with a thrill-a-minute tie against Railway Union of ever-changing dimensions. The reds looked well set at 2-0, bursting into gear via Barry Glavey and Darren Kimfley, the latter rounding the Railway keeper to put his side in the box seat. Glavey would later prove the hero with a stunning fifth for Corinthian, reversing into the goal's stanchion - the single goal to separate the sides.

But Railway showed they have the nous to unlock the reds defence in their 3-3 draw earlier this term and were back in the game in the simplest of fashions when Corinthian failed to deal with a lengthy overhead. The ball rebounded Kevin Wong's way and the teenager held his composure to half-volley his first division one goal. David McCarthy repeated that feat soon after a decent move saw him unmarked in the circle.

Corinthian re-established their lead when Brian Doherty dragged in on the half-time whistle for 3-2. Peter English returned the favour to tie at 3-3 before Pelow and Glavey strung out a 5-3 advantage. Kevin O'Brien and Andrew Holmes both spent time in the bin but Railway were not done and Paul O'Brien completed a move for 5-4. And a draw was inches away on the final hooter penalty corner. The first effort was blocked but Mark English smashed a shot which Peter Yeates came within inches of touching in against his former club.

YMCA 2 (Mikey Fry, Jacob Webber) Fingal 1 (Stephen Thompson)
YM moved into a tie for fifth spot as they held off Fingal's late charge to stay in the mix for an IHL place in 2010/11. They dominated the early proceedings as the northsiders struggled to deal with a low-lying sun at Alexandra College. The Y flew out of the blocks, Mikey Fry scoring from a breaking ball in the circle. It was the sole reward, though, for their early endeavour as the airport club developed into the game with chances going each way by the half's end.

Eamon Bane's miscue from inches out should have had Fingal on terms after the break but a Jacob Webber drag-flick created a significant 2-0 wedge between the teams. Paddy Gahan went close before Stephen Thompson scored from second phase penalty corner in the 61st minute. But, despite late pressure, YM held on for their second home league win of the season.

* For Adrian Boehm's photos of Pembroke vs Glenanne, click here while photos from Three Rock Rovers vs Clontarf, click here