Pembroke 0 YMCA 0
YMCA took Pembroke’s Leinster league destiny out of their own hands as Iain Walker produced a masterful performance between the posts, notably denying a 58th minute Craig Fulton stroke.
Perhaps struggling from the after effects of two tough games last weekend and an early morning Irish team gym session at 6am on the morning of the game, Pembroke started off in a sluggish manner. YM earned the only corner – comfortably saved by David Harte – of a first half played predominantly between the 25s.
Dave Robinson went off early in the second half with a very nasty looking shoulder injury as Pembroke began to pile on the pressure. Iain Walker stood up well to bat away Alan Sothern’s first corner – the first of six to go unconverted. Alan Giles’ delicate dink from five yards spun just wide of the post before Gordon Elliott shook the goal with a hammered volley as the YM goal lived a charmed life.
Richie Pedreschi charged down another Sothern corner before Patrick Good – in an effective six minute cameo – drew a full-length save from Walker. He also helped win the stroke, breaking into the circle and flipping the ball past Walker only for Paddy Conlon's push to hit the body of Stephen Walker (pictured, right) – who had an excellent game marshalling Sothern – on the line.
But Iain Walker read Fulton’s intentions to go high to his right, having faced off numerous times in Ireland training sessions, and deflect over the bar.
And Luke Chadwick’s run created a three-on-one with just Harte to beat. Seemingly beaten, the Irish international recovered astonishingly to block the chance at the second attempt. The point means Pembroke now need a favour from elsewhere while if either Corinthian or Glenanne win all their remaining games, the league will be theirs.
Men’s Division Two
Navan 0 Bray 1 (Simon Cox)
Simon Cox’s second half strike gave Bray a deserved 1-0 win to lift the Co Wicklow club off the bottom of the table for the first time this year with their second win on the bounce. They created four decent chances, dealt with excellently by Emmett Moore, before the former Monkstown hitman popped up ten minutes from time to seal the win.
23 comments:
Glens still have to play 5 of the top 6, this is Corinthians league to lose now.
Fair play YMCA. Great performance. League is wide open with only a few to play. Most exciting finish in a while. Looking at the games remaining my money is on Glens to win the league on goal difference. Corinthians will be the unlcky losers, think they'll get a draw with the Glens and win their remaining two games leaving them on 45pts. Think Glens and pembroke will draw and Pembroke will win the rest of their games leaving them on 44pts. While aside from those two draws the glens will win their remaining fixtures and win the league with 45 points on goal diff.
Hopefully my maths is right.
8 internationals in the gym 6a.m yday morning for pembroke after tough weekend = never good for Pem. maybe having so many internationals has its negatives too! YM to be fair tried to play in the 2nd half but couldnt- they resorted to flinging overheads long and over end/side lines. but they got a valuable point
cant blame the gym session for tiredness as ian walks would have been there as well on doubt.
were PW at full strength? sounds very much like it with sothern Harte Fulton all playing.
Would I be right in saying that if two teams finish on top of the league on equal points it is decided by a playoff?
10.59 - I think the seven outfielders in the difference and two matches to none over the weekend might have played a part in any 'sluggish' performance.
Thought Pembroke should have used their bench a bit more, that new lad didn't seem to get on at all and Good didn't play much too. Not many subs on Sunday either putting a lot of pressure on the forwards to stay sharp for long runs on the pitch.
Yes a playoff is played if tied on points. Not sure if it's 1 leg or 2 leg. Prob a nuetral venue
Walker went to the gym but at 1pm
not 6am,the Pembroke boys choosing to go earlier to have more recovery time I would say,and as was said above,two games to none over the weekend and the difference in freshness needed to perform outfield to in goals is massive.
GO ON WALKS!!!
Walks went a 1.00... He missed Home and Away!!??
Some pathetic excuses here.I imagine they are not coming from actual Pembroke people.'i went to the gymy wimmy at 4am so my legsies are a bit tiredy'. The fact is once again Pembroke have the best squad in the country by a country mile (may aswell say the word 'country' again),yet they have failed to pick up 3 points where most would have expected them to.Take nothing away from YM's performance though.If they had a hitman upfront they would win trophies.Obviously most teams playing Pembroke ride their luck a bit,but the fact is YM a golden opportunity to take all 3 points in the end.
I agree with 1.26, The excuses are pathetic! We got the same rubbish comments a few weeks a go when Fingal turned over Glenanne. Its laughable to think that people on here are assuming Pembroke drew because a few of there squad went to the gym the morning of a match, seriously, get real!
Fair play to YM.
True Glenanne still have to play 5 of the top 6. But crucially they play 4 of those games at home. There remaining fixtures by my calculation are:
YMCA (h)
Fingal (h)
Pembroke (h)
Monkstown (a)
Corinthian (h)
Three Rock (h) - this fixture is down as an away game but the return fixture in October was reversed to Grange Road.
Furthermore, Glens have dropped the least amount of points out of anyone in the division which is probably the easiest way to read it given the imbalance in games played.
With 5 of their last 6 games at home you've got to fancy Glens for the title but the other two are well in it as well.
So what if a few Pembroke lads had to go to the gym early doors, the whole YMCA squad barely got a few hours kip the night before the game, as the indian, policeman, construction worker & cowboy kept woke them up when they got home from the club!!!
That was a really poor attempt at a joke.
Great Result for YMCA. Walks is a class act! I want to have his babies.
Daggers doing great work with a very young squad. More to come from them me thinks.
Go on the Bray. Simon Hitman Cox strikes again
Any body know the result of the U21 Cup match between YMCA U21 and Corinthians U21
Ym corinthan u21 match hasn't been played yet
times are changing pembroke on the rack!!! out of the league and ISC!pressure is really on them to win the ihl now!
No doubt Bogger did a role call at 6am in the gym and then popped off for a nap !!!
Well done YM
I wouldn't go writing anyone off yet,especially a team of pembrokes quality.games they have lost or dropped points in this year have been almost all one way traffic. I wouldn't worry about them,you don't suddenly become a bad team overnight.
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