Three Rock retain indoor league

Lucas Piccioli’s incredible reverse-stick flick golden goal with just a minute remaining of extra-time retained the Indoor League for Three Rock Rovers, ending a classic decider with YMCA.

The Venezuelan international thought he had won the game for Rovers with a golden goal three minutes earlier when he first-timed home Mitch Darling’s cross but the ball was adjudged to have been slapped.

However, Piccioli was not to be denied a second time , finishing off a late thrust through the YM midfield before beating Iain Walker from the top of the D. It gives Rovers the perfect tonic ahead of their European Club Champion’s Challenge next week in Cambrai, France.

As reigning Tony Byrne Cup champions in 2008, the Rathfarnham club is Ireland’s representatives in European indoor hockey competition and Sunday’s win means they will repeat the journey in the 2009/10 season.

Earlier in the game, YM had fought back from a 3-1 deficit with two goals in the 35th minute. The old master Liam Canning scored a double while current Irish international Andy McConnell got a tidy short corner deflection to build up the lead – Graham O’Neill’s first YM goal the sole response.

But two quick fire strikes put the sides back on terms. First, Will Powderly showed incredible persistence to scramble past Shane Davey under severe duress.

Australian import Jacob Webber followed up with a perfect drag-flick 45 seconds later and the game was tied up.

The first period of extra-time saw lots of running but little goal-mouth action as neither side could apply the finesse needed to nick a winner. Rovers, though, finished the stronger for Piccioli and claim their second Indoor league title.

YM proved the surprise package, qualifying for the last four despite just one win in their first three group games last week. However, a 4-1 win over Avoca and an excellent semi-final win over Corinthian gave them a surprise final berth.

David Robinson was the star of that performance, turning the game on its head with two strikes. Andrew Sutton leveled for the reds at 3-3 but ace strike Webber netted his seventh goal of the tournament to decide the tie.

Rovers had an easier route to the final, ousting Monkstown in a repeat of last year’s final 5-3.

Tony Byrne Indoor League (Sunday) – All played at the NBA
Final: TRR 4 (Liam Canning 2, Andy McConnell, Lucas Piccioli) YMCA 3 (Graham O’Neill, Will Powderly, Jacob Webber)

Semi-finals: Corinthian 3 (Alan Blennerhassett, Chris Pelow, Andrew Sutton) YMCA 4 (Andrew Walker, David Robinson 2, Jacob Webber); TRR 5 (Andy McConnell, Lucas Piccioli, Neil Lyons, Mitch Darling, Colin Huet) Monkstown 3 (Ian Allen, Gavin O’Halloran 2)

*For more pictures from the day, click here

Corinthian and Monkstown top indoor group stages

Two Corinthian wins this morning saw the reds progress into the semi-finals as top of group one in the Indoor League, ahead of reigning champions on goal difference. Andrew Sutton's five put paid to Dublin University as part of 13-0 thrashing.

Glenanne's 8-3 win over Kilkenny - thanks to four goals in six minutes from Paul Fitzpatrick - set up a straight play-off with Corithian for the second semi-final spot after Three Rock had secured their final place with a similar 8-3 win over the Cats.

Corinthian, however, proved much the stronger, leading 2-0 thanks to Andrew Cronje's tap in and Dan Williams corner. They extended the lead to five before Fitzpatrick got a consolation with three minutes remaining but Rixon-Fuller completed the 6-1 rout to take top spot in the group.

They now face YMCA in the semi-final. They eased by Avoca 4-1 to finish on six points and saw Monkstown do them a huge favour. Railway needed just a point to qualify from the final group two game but the Town showed no let up in last week's intensity.

Francis Lee's neat early double set up the 9-3 win. Lee went on to score four in total with Gareth Watkins, Filip Jaros, Ian Allen, Alec Barrett and Brian Groves all getting in on the act to oust last year's cup winners.

It meant Railway were consigned to third in the group and left to rue the last second equaliser against Avoca last week. Those two dropped points ultimately cost them a semi-final place.

Semi-final draw:
5pm: Corinthian vs YMCA
6pm: Three Rock Rovers vs Monkstown

Indoor League results - Tony Byrne Cup
Group 1: Corinthian 13 (Andrew Sutton 5, Sam Lobsey, Rowland Rixon-Fuller 2, Alan Blennerhasset, Miles Warren 2, Chris Pelow 2) Dublin University 0; Three Rock Rovers 8 (Mitch Darling 3, Andy McConnell, Neil Lyons, Liam Canning, Graham Dowling, Lucas Piccioli) Kilkenny 3 (Gary Sharman, John Lazenby, Peter Yeates); Glenanne 8 (Paul Fitzpatrick 4, Stephen Butler 2, Gary Shaw, Richie Shaw) Kilkenny 3 (Peter Yeates 2, Gary Sharman); Glenanne 1 (Paul Fitzpatrick) Corinthian 6 (Andrew Cronje 2, Dan Williams, Chris Pelow, Andrew Sutton, Rowland Rixon-Fuller)

Group 2: YMCA 4 (Jacob Webber 2, Will Powderly, Andy Walker) Avoca 1 (Jamie Scott); Pembroke 6 (Paddy Conlon 2, Craig Fulton 4) Avoca 0; Railway Union 3 (Dave Jenkins, Paul O’Brien, Kevin King) Monkstown 9 (Francis Lee 4, Ian Allen, Alec Barrett, Gareth Watkins, Filip Jaros, Brian Groves)

Standings:

Group One (played/points/goal diff): 1. Corinthian 4 - 10pts, (+23); 2. TRR 2 - 10pts, (+18); 3. Glenanne 4 - 6pts, (+1); 4. Kilkenny 4 - 3pts, (-9); 5. Trinity 4 - 0pts, (-33)

Group Two: 1. Monkstown 4 - 10pts, (+20); 2. YMCA 4 - 6pts (-1); 3. Pembroke 4 - 5pts, (+2); 4. Railway Union 4 - 5pts, (-1) 5. Avoca 4 - 1pt, (-19)

McVicker calls for winter-break for indoor

With the weather this week, the idea of a winter break for outdoor hockey in favour of indoor was once again raised - this time by Irish legend Lynsey McVicker - coinciding neatly with the finals day at National Basketball Arena.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph this week, she said "I definitely think it is worth considering reverting back to indoor hockey over here and taking a mid-winter break from the outdoor game."

Her former Ireland colleague Clare Parkhill recently had a successful stint with her English club Bowden Hightown in the national finals in Birmingham - receiving an airing on satellite television.

Four Ulster sides had initially agreed to take part in this year's competition, planned for a three-day tournament starting on Friday, February 6. This date for National Basketball Arena was booked for the event in March 2008 but the subsequent organisation of an ISC round meant the competition had to be separated over two Sundays.

The travel involved for the Ulster sides, in addition to IHL and ISC commitments, saw their withdrawal but the IHA would seem to be keen, too, on re-introducing the indoor game to the national schedule. They will hold their first meeting this evening in this regard.

In on-pitch action, last year's finalists, Monkstown and Three Rock Rovers, hold the major initiative going into the finals day of the 2009 Indoor League today at the National Basketball Arena. The tournament offers one of the three places in European club competition currently available to Irish clubs with the winner decided on Sunday night in the final at 7pm.

Reigning champs Rovers lead the way in Group One thanks to two impressive wins over Trinity (11-3) and Glenanne (8-3) and lead the way on seven points. The tournament is serving as perfect preparation for their trip to Cambrai, France next week to represent Ireland in the European Indoor Club Champions Challenge.

Corinthian are next best with a win and a draw, with their passage to the last four likely to be determined by their face-off with Glenanne in the final group game.

In group two, Monkstown lead the way with Railway second. Their match at 12.40pm will prove crucial, though. A win for the Town could open up the possibility for any of the groups remaining participants to snatch a semi-final spot.

Indoor League – The Tony Byrne Cup (Sunday, February 8)
Group 1: Corinthian v Dublin University , 9.20am; Three Rock Rovers v Kilkenny, 10.10am; Kilkenny v Glenanne, 11.50am; Corinthian v Glenanne, 1.30pm
Group 2: YMCA v Avoca, 8.30am; Pembroke Wanderers v Avoca, 11am; Railway Union v Monkstown, 12.40pm

Semi-finals: Winner Group 1 v Runner-Up Group 2, 4.50pm; Winner Group 2 v Runner-Up Group 1
Final: Indoor League Final, 7pm

Favourites still on track in Leinster school's cups

Leinster schools kingpins Wesley and St Andrews remain in contention in each of the boy's school's Cup competitions so far after a couple of rounds.

In the first round, Wesley's seniors had the toughest test thus far with an impressive Kilkenny outfit within seconds of a famous win. Their subsequent replay last Wednesday was postponed due to snow in the Dublin mountain's foothills and so is currently set for next week. The winner advances, to meet John Scottus.

St Andrew's, meanwhile, have made it into the final four with wins over St Columba's and Sandford Park. They will play the winners of King's Hospital and Newpark, victors over Andrew Shekleton's Dundalk Grammar - a second round tie that succumbed to the weather, too, last Wednesday.

In the junior competition, High School and Kilkenny's had respective wins over St Mark's and John Scottus. The Rathgar school is due to play Wesley next Wednesday while the Cats travel to North Dublin to face Sutton.

In the bottom half of the Junior draw, Mount Temple beat Newpark to set up a tie with Sandford Park while Columba's will play St Andrew's in the last eight after a good win over Dundalk.

The minor draw sees second round ties between Wesley and St Killians, Newpark versus John Scottus or St Mark's and Sutton Park and Mount Temple in the last eight. St Andrew's, however, have been forced to a replay by KH.

Finally, the U-13 draw has seen Wesley beat Mount Temple and Dundalk to reach the last four. Sutton play St Killian's on Tuesday for the right to play them.

Following Kilkenny's win over John Scottus, they play Sandford Park on Monday. Newpark, meanwhile, set up a coastal derby with St Andrew's with a win over High School.

On the girl's side, the junior title will be up for decision next Thursday with Alex looking to add to the senior Premier League title recently obtained. They beat Mount Anville 6-5 on strokes last week after normal time ended 1-1. They will play St Andrews in the final after they won by a single goal against Loreto, Beaufort.

*For more pictures from the schoolgirl semi-finals from the Evening Herald's Lindie Naughton, click here

Cold snap puts paid to majority of matches

The February cold snap meant that just three of the 16 scheduled Irish Senior Cup matches took place today while Trinity and Bray's Women's division one tie was also off today.

Garryduff saw the only men's game with Pembroke getting the better of Cork C of I 2-1 thanks to goals from Maurice Elliott and Alan Giles either side of the half-time whistle. Jonny Bruton pulled one back with a wonder strike in the last 60 seconds but, in truth, Pembroke were good value for the victory.

Ronan Gormley and Paddy Conlon controlled the midfield battle in the face of David Hobbs and John Jermyn while Tim Lewis and Conor Harte's long game gave the 'Broke a constant threat.

Indeed, their dominance was emphasised by CI being unable to win a single corner to Pembroke's half-dozen. From an early one, Alan Sothern drew a great save from Mark Ruddle.

But Pembroke hit the front on 27 minutes when a long ball out of defence was allowed to run right through to Gordon Elliott, who squared for Maurice Elliott to force it over the line from close range.

They doubled the lead 17 minutes after the break - with Bruton in the sin-bin - when skipper Alan Giles rebounded after Conor Harte's first phase flick was saved.

Back in action, Bruton blasted in reverse but the holders progressed, becoming the only side tonight to have a quarter-final place.

The women's side of the competition saw twice the amount of games - it still meant that three quarters of fixtures were off, though.

Reigning champs Pegasus made it through thanks to goals from former international Arlene Boyles, Fiona McIlwaine and Hannah Clarke to dispose of fellow IHL side Randalstown. Development player Rebecca Dallas got one for Town in a 3-1 defeat.

The Ulster Elks join Pegasus in the quarter-final draw with a 5-2 win over Lisnagarvey with New Zealand international Frances Kreft getting hat-trick. Emma Clarke was also on target.

Men's Irish Senior Cup

Cork C of I 1 (Johnny Bruton) Pembroke 2 (Maurice Elliott, Alan Giles)

Women's Irish Senior Cup

Randalstown 1 (Rebecca Dallas) Pegasus 3 (Arlene Boyles, Fiona McIlwaine, Hannah Clarke); Ulster Elks 5 (Frances Kreft 3, Emma Clarke, Louise Wright) Lisnagarvey 2 (Lauren Wilson, Nicola Jess)

* If you're missing your hockey fix for this week, click here to see some more action from last week's games

Hong Kong beckons for Irish Masters

Ireland’s veterans look certain to accept an invitation to take part in the 2009 International Masters Hockey Tournament in Hong Kong next October. A squad has been put together since last December and with the hope to begin training in earnest in March.

A get-together is planned at Lisnagarvey next month but, while the guts of the squad is already together, potential recruits aged over 40 on December 31, 2008 can still stake a claim to play in the competition by contacting Sam Ireland (sam.ireland@btinternet.com).

They should have played at a senior level (senior Ireland/Interprovincial/Leinster senior league) and still be in good physical shape.

This is a serious undertaking and looking at the teams who have already announced they are playing (Australia, New Zealand, Germany etc), the standard will be very high.

Women's ISC and league preview

The complete opposite of the men's competition, none of the seven remaining Leinster sides need to leave the province this weekend in the second round of the ISC. Indeed, six of the ties see provincial derbies with just Pembroke's hosting of Belfast Harlequins and Cork C of I's long journey to Ballymoney see long journeys.

Pembroke have lacked consistency this term but are still unbeaten on home turf in all competitions and with Louisa Moore up front always have a chance of nicking a goal or two. Jayne Coyne, meanwhile, was impressive last week against Hermes.

They will need to keep Harlequins' Claire Coey, Sarah Wilkinson and Kelli Thornton under wraps with Jenny McDonough pulling the strings.

In the local derbies, Leinster league leaders Railway Union have the chance to make up for their recent draw with Old Alex in the league. Loreto play UCD fresh from their colours victory and well-used to playing in sub-zero conditions after freezing day at Belfield on Tuesday.

Corinthian, meanwhile, will hope home advantage can overturn the 5-0 defeat at St Mark's a few weeks back. Amanda Walker was the star in the 3-2 win over Victorians in round one though Siobhan Burke will have her work cut out to keep the Glens roving forwards at bay. Mary Waldron is out, though, with a nasty fractured knee-cap while Louise Kennedy is also confined to the sidelines.

The rest of the draw encompasses two all-Ulster ties. On recent form Ulster Elks, despite playing in division two, are probably favourites to topple Lisnagarvey having reached the Winemark Shield final and knocked out Ards in the previous rounds.

Armagh -with four recently announced Ulster U-21s - travel to Lurgan.

In division one, Bray face both the student sides within three days beginning with Trinity on Saturday. It it the more important of the two games, going a long way to deciding who gets the jump away from the relegation places. A trip to UCD follows on Monday.

ESB Women's Irish Senior Cup (Saturday)
Round Two: Loreto vs UCD, 2pm, Beaufort; Ulster Elks vs Lisnagarvey, 1pm, UUJ; Railway Union vs Old Alex, 2pm, Park Avenue; Randalstown vs Pegasus, 2.30pm, Antrim Forum; Corinthian vs Glenanne, 3pm, Whitechurch; Lurgan vs Armagh, 2.30pm, Brownlow; Ballymoney vs Cork C of I, 2.30pm, Joey Dunlop Centre; Pembroke Wanderers vs Belfast Harlequins, 3.30pm, Serpentine Avenue

Leinster League Division One

Saturday: Bray vs Trinity, 12.30pm, Loreto Bray

Monday: UCD vs Bray, 7pm, Belfield

Men's Irish Senior Cup preview

Few home comforts for Leinster sides this weekend in the men's ISC as the league's top three all hit the road. Pembroke's is the biggest task, travelling to Garryduff to take on Cork C of I in one of three All-IHL clashes.

In the stand-out fixture of the round, Pembroke's quintet of internationals take on another side laden with Irish experience but are fretting over the availability of Ronan Gormley who had severe bruising on both his hands last weekend.

Conor and David Harte, as former Quins' men, will relish the trip while ace striker John Jermyn faces his former club mates. His shoot-out with Alan Sothern (pictured, above right) could be one of the features of a potentially high-scoring encounter.

For Rovers, they travel outside Dublin county limits for the fourth successive week though they have three wins in a row, capped by their impressive 5-2 victory at Lisnagarvey. Charlie Henderson is back in action after a January break while Gavin Bourke is nearing a return too.

Glenanne, meanwhile, will go into their tie with Ulster Podium Senior One champions North Down as clear favourites. Their defence withstood Instionians finest last week so will expect to have too much for a second-tier side.

On home turf, Fingal are still hopeful David Bane might make a comeback from a debilitating foot injury. He has yet to play in 2009 and, therefore, been unable to create an appetising link up with Derek O'Gorman. The Kilkenny-man is not yet back to full fitness but has shown glimpses of what he is capable of.

They host Cookstown at the airport whose defence of Iain Hughes, Euan Butler, Ian Hutchinson and Colin Donaldson held Alan Sothern at bay last week and their sand-based experience could stand to them.

Corinthian could be an interesting outside bet to do some damage in the competition. They play Railway Union in both sides first run-out of the ISC. The reds beat Railway 6-0 three weeks ago and subsequently racked up nine against UCD, with goals spread around eight players.

In Ulster, Lisnagarvey and Annadale face off at Hillsborough while Mossley and NICS do battle at the Glade. In the outstanding round one tie, Raphoe compete with Banbridge in Donegal for the right to play Cork Harlequins.

All matches, though, are likely to be subject to weather reviews on Friday s per IHA guidelines. Whitechurch Park was under three inches of snow on Wednesday night while Thursday night's weather reports around the greater Belfast area were not too positive.

Men's Irish Senior Cup (Saturday)

Round One: Raphoe vs Banbridge, 2.30pm, Royal and Prior

Round Two: Mossley vs NICS, 2.30pm, The Glade; Corinthian vs Railway Union, 1pm, Whitechurch Park; Lisnagarvey vs Annadale, 2.30pm, Hillsborough; Bangor vs Three Rock Rovers, 2.30pm, Bangor; North Down vs Glenanne, 2.30pm, Comber; Cork C of I vs Pembroke Wanderers, 2.30pm, Garryduff; Fingal vs Cookstown, 1.30pm, ALSAA

IHA to review competition rules

In a statement released this morning, the IHA has announced it will "undertake, as a matter of priority, a review of all Irish competition rules, in full consultation with clubs" thereby avoiding a further appeal from Annadale.

The move comes off the back of the controversial ruling which saw Annadale's appeal against the decision to replay in full the IHL match against Cookstown at Coolnafranky rather than continue the game from when the game was abandoned - 4-1 in the third quarter.

Anndale - under the IHA constitution - had the right to further appeal to Just Sport Ireland under their dispute resolution service. However, they decided not to pursue this course of action, which had the potential to be time consuming and detrimental to the image of the IHL and Irish hockey in general.

In conciliation, the IHA agreed to Annadale's proposal to review their current rules, adding in their statement: "Both parties are pleased to have resolved this situation and look forward to the continued success of the Irish Hockey League."

*For more pictures from Eoin Tyrell from the Cork Harlequins vs Annadale game, click here

UCD storm to Colours victory

For the second year running, UCD easily claimed the annual Colours title. They won by a comprehensive 6-2 margin - this year's title being settled with only eight ties counting toward the end tally.

At a snow-swept Belfield, the overall title was already decided after the second series of games with UCD 5-1 ahead in games won. The ladies' 1sts triumph over their Trinity counterparts pushed them over the winning post with a comfortable 2-0 victory.

Holly Jenkinson(pictured) and Orla O'Shea's first half goals put them in a comfortable position and, from there, Mary Logue's side battened down the hatches to deny Trinity any route back into the game, scarcely giving up a chance.

It meant the men's 1sts was a dead rubber. UCD won it, too, former Three Rock players Robbie McFarlane and Luke McSharry putting them 2-0 up before Andy Grey pulled one back in the second half for the greens.

Results:

Men's: 1sts: UCD 2 Trinity 1; 2nds: UCD 2 Trinity 0; 3rds: UCD 0 Trinity 3

Women's: 1sts: UCD 2 Trinity 0; 2nds: UCD 1 Trinity 3; 3rds: UCD 2 Trinity 1; 4ths: UCD 2 Trinity 1; 5ths: UCD 3 Trinity 0

UCD hold aces for hockey colours

UCD go into today's hockey colours with Trinity as clear favourites to retain their title after their massive 7-2 victory last year.

In the main games, UCD's recent run of form means they are likely to be too strong for David Bane's side, even in spite of their first league win of the year last Saturday. League form, though scarcely counts for much though as the pair have played out two tight games this year with the Belfielders coming away with a win and a draw.

Last time out, UCD raced into a 4-0 lead before Trinity rallied to pull three back. On the men's side, UCD have the advantage of playing in a higher division though just one point may leave Ben Grogan's side lacking in confidence.

Their opponents, though, can hardly fall back on a wealth of league form as they lie mid-table in division two. Indeed, last year was one of the very rare occasions that UCD won the men's firsts game, coming from a goal deficit to win 3-2.

Elsewhere, UCD's strength usually comes on the women's side with a dominant record in recent years, with many of their junior league sides performing a couple of divisions ahead of their city-centre counterparts. Trinity's men have a similar advantage but with four men's games compared to six women's, the balance of power should rest with the southsiders.

In an interesting twist from previous years, the men's fourths could be the deciding game as the tenth game to tip off rather than the regular showcase men's firsts game - a match which attracts the loudest support in Irish hockey.

Schedule:

10am: Men's 2nds (Water-based); Women's 2nds (Sand-based); Women's 3rds (New pitch)

11.30am: Women's 1sts (Water); Women's 4ths (Sand); Women's 5ths (New)

1pm: Men's 1sts (Water); Men's 3rds (Sand); Women's 6ths (New)

2pm: Men's 4ths (New)

Irish Hockey Challenge draws

Mullingar's reward for their big win in Omagh sees them face another trip up North, this time to Saintfield. The side, inspired by Tom Bowers, beat Omagh 3-0 away and now face a side placed one below the Tyrone side in Ulster's Podium Senior Two league.

On the women's side, division five high-flyers Naas have a home-tie against Greenfields second team. The Kildare side lead the division from Railway by a point with a game in hand over Railway Union III and will relish bringing the Galway girls to Caragh Road.

Elsewhere, division nine meets fourteen as YMCA host Monkstown in a battle of two 100pc sides.

Men’s Irish Hockey Challenge, Semi Finals (March 7):
Down v Campbellians; Saintfield v Mullingar

ESB Irish Hockey Challenge, Quarter-finals (February 21):
Naas v Greenfields II; YMCA v Monkstown; Fermoy v Wexford II; Clonmel v Athlone

Men's IHL: Glenanne 3 Instonians 0

Glenanne v. Instonians IHL 1.2.2009 from JWay on Vimeo.


Glenanne 3 (Stephen Butler 2, Shane O'Donoghue) Instonians 0
Glenanne moved to a dominant position in Pool A of the Irish Hockey League with a slightly flattering 3-0 bonus point victory over Instonians in Glenanne Park today.

Although they were deserved winners, some fine saves from Steven Doran and another wonderful defensive performance from Joe Brennan were enough to secure a vital winning bonus point.

Glens went a goal up in the first quarter - Stephen Butler’s dragflick was prevented from hitting the backboard by Mark Gleghorne’s body and the Irish international dispatched the stroke easily.

The score stayed the same until half time but Instonians had the better second quarter. Mark Gleghorne had two dragflicks blocked down by Graham Shaw while Doran was sharp to react to a Mark Irwin strike.

The game turned at the beginning of the second half when Glenanne notched a quickfire double. Butler fired home his fourth goal of the league so far with a low dragflick and before the crowd had settled down again the lead had been added to.

Alan Browne surged down the left hand side and found Irish Under 18 International Shane O’Donoghue who found the net with a sharp reaction shot.

The home side, playing in their first IHL home match, gave the initiative straight back to the visitors as Butler received a two minute sin bin straight after the goal. The Belfast side could not take advantage however.

Gleghorne flashed a reverse shot across goal much to the relief of the sizeable crowd. The ill discipline did not stop there as the fourth quarter saw ten minute stints in the bin for Butler and Irwin for an altercation in the middle of the pitch.

The game opened up subsequently and Doran made the save of the match with an acrobatic hand stop from Gleghorne.

The resulting short corner saw Butler – minutes before his yellow card – sweep Chris Barnes dragflick off the line to keep Glens bonus point lead intact.

Glens were not redundant down the other end either. Richie Shaw – who did well from the bench – could have done more to reach a pass from his cousin Graham while the latter put a switched short corner wide from a Joe Brennan assist.

With the result of the match confirmed, the IHL point scoring system allowed for more drama at the hooter. The away side won a corner and had the chance to deny their opponents a bonus point but Doran got down low to deny Gleghorne and Brennan reacted quickest to clear.

Glenanne stay top of Pool A and are now five points clear of Instonians and Annadale, although the latter have a game in hand.

* Words thanks to David O'Malley, pictures from Adrian Boehm to follow later this week.

Women's IHL: Hermes 2 Pembroke 0

Hermes 2 (Jenny Burke, Aoife McCarthy) Pembroke 0

Hermes retook top spot in group two from Cork Harlequins, looking good value for their 2-0 win over Pembroke. It maintains their 100pc record but a lack of bonus point means they are not quite in the clear just yet.

They created six corner chances in the first half while Nikki Evans and Jenny Burke looked dangerous while, on the break, Louisa Moore was always a threat for the purples. Neither broke the deadlock, though. Indeed, it wasn't until late in the third quarter that Evans - after a number of crucial Jane Coyne interventions - finally won the decisive corner.

Burke knocked it in and within two minutes Aoife McCarthy secured three points from another penalty corner switch. Pembroke won their first dangerous set-piece in the 67th minute but failed to convert and missed out on a bonus.

* For more pictures from this game, check out Deryck Vincent's pics here. Also, the Evening Herald's Lindie Naughton was there, her pictures are here. Check out Thursday's Herald to see her match report.

Last year's indoor finalists lead the way

Last year's finalists, Monkstown and Three Rock Rovers, took the early initiative on the opening day of the indoor league, with 13 games producing nearly 120 goals at the National Basketball Arena.

Rovers lead the way in Group One thanks to two impressive second half performances against Trinity and Glenanne. Other than that, they struggled to create any major fluidity and in both those games went in at 3-3 at half-time. Indeed, they trailed to the students 3-2 after Henry Butler's double and French recruit Alex Borgoltz scored three in a minute to have Rovers in trouble.

A hat-trick from Andy McConnell, though, saw them ease clear. A similar situation occurred against a tiring Glenanne after they were pegged back three times before Colin Huet showed his class in the pivot with a brace, as did Lucas Piccioli and Mitch Darling.

Corinthian are next best with a win and a draw, the latter due to Chris Pelow's hat-trick against Rovers. Their passage to the last four looks likely to be determined by their face-off with Glenanne in the final group game next Sunday.

In group two, the Town showed the most impressive form of the day, smashing Avoca 11-1 with Gareth Watkins quadruple and YMCA 6-1 before coming back from 2-0 down against Pembroke to level late on. Alec Barrett and Filip Jaros - who represented the Czech Republic in the World Cup - were their key men, both holding the midfield well.

Railway - with guests Kevin King (England) and Bjorn van der Dussen (Holland) - were frustrated not to build further on their early 6-1 win over YM as they drew 4-4 with Avoca, sucucmbing to three late goals. Belgian-import David Bronner - who joins Bray outfield - got an equaliser two seconds before the buzzer for the Blackrock side for that draw and Railway subsequently drew by the same score with Pembroke.

It leaves them with a key battle against Monkstown next week. Pembroke can draw level despite an 8-4 thumping by YMCA. Fielding seven internationals, Pembroke looked all at sea in their first run-out but got to grips with the game as time went on to record two draws. The late concessions against Monkstown may prove vital while injuries to Ronan Gormley and Craig Fulton are an added headache.

Avoca and YM also have outside chances of going through.


Pembroke V. Monkstown Indoor 1.2.2009 from JWay on Vimeo.


Men’s Indoor Hockey League
Group 1: Kilkenny 2 (Tom Manning, Hugh Kelly) Corinthian 7 (John McInroy 2, Alan Blennerhassett 2, Rowland Rixon-Fuller, Dan Williams, Sam Lobsey); Dublin University 4 (Keith Crawford 2, Cian O'Reilly, Henry Butler) Kilkenny 10 (Peter Yeates 4, Derek O'Gorman 3, Tom Manning, Gary Sharman, Hugh Kelly); Three Rock Rovers 3 (Andy McConnell, Lucas Piccioli, Garry Ringwood) Corinthian 3 (Chris Pelow 3); Dublin University 3 (Henry Butler 2, Alex Borgoltz) Three Rock Rovers 11 (Graham Dowling, Mitch Darling 2, Andy McConnell 3, Garry Ringwood 2, Neil Lyons, Alan Bothwell, Colin Huet); Glenanne 6 (Brendan Parsons 2, Gary Shaw, Joe Brennan 2, David Shaw) Dublin University 0; Glenanne 3 (Gary Shaw, Brendan Parsons, Paul Fitzpatrick) Three Rock Rovers 8 (Peter McConnell, Mitch Darling 2, Andy McConnell, Lucas Piccioli 2, Colin Huet 2)
Group 2: Railway Union 6 (Paul O'Brien, Ger O'Brien, Kenny Carroll 3, Bjorn van der Dussen) YMCA 1 (Josh Purcell); Avoca 4 (Enda Gallanagh, Ezra Handelman, Rory Kirwin, David Bronner) Railway Union 4 (Kenny Carroll, Eoin McArthur, Killian Fitzgerald, Paul O'Brien); Avoca 1 (Ezra Handelman) Monkstown 11 (Fran Lee, Alec Barrett 2, Filip Jaros 2, Gareth Watkins 4, Ian Allen); YMCA 8 (Andy Walker 2, Jacob Webber 3, David Robinson 2, Stephen Barry) Pembroke Wanderers 4 (Alan Sothern 2, Craig Fulton, Alan Giles); Pembroke Wanderers 4 (Paddy Conlon 2, Alan Sothern, Alan Giles) Railway Union 4 (Kenny Carroll, Paul O'Brien 3); Monkstown 6 (Ian Allen 2, Gareth Watkins 2, Fran Lee 2) YMCA 1 (Trevor Dagg); Monkstown 2 (Filip Jaros, Alec Barrett) Pembroke Wanderers 2 (Alan Sothern 2)


Glennane V. TRR Indoor 1.2.2009 from JWay on Vimeo.

Standings:
Group One (played/points/goal diff): 1. TRR 3 - 7pts, (+13); 2. Corinthian 2 - 4pts, (+5); 3= Kilkenny 2 - 3pts, (+1); Glenanne 2 - 3pts, (+1); 5. Trinity 3 - 0pts, (-20)
Group Two: 1. Monkstown 3 - 7pts, (+15); 2. Railway Union 3 - 5pts, (+5); 3. YMCA 3 - 3pts, (-4); 4. Pembroke 3 - 2pts, (-4); 5. Avoca 2 - 1pt, (-10)