Banbridge moved into top spot on their own at the head of the men’s EY Hockey League as they dug out a 2-1 win over basement side YMCA, showing the small margins between top and bottom.
Both sides saw penalty strokes saved in the tie but Johnny McKee did score one early in the tie to put Banbridge in the lead. They remained one clear for long periods until David Rae made the game safe. Grant Glutz pulled one back in the closing minutes for the Y.
Glenanne remain the only unbeaten side in the division with a 6-2 win over Pembroke. The game was level at half-time at 2-2 after Shannon Boucher and Keith O’Hare scored two corners each.
The Glens pulled away in the second half when Gary Shaw finished off a fine move, David Keogh netted a stroke and Brad Venter shot a rocket into the top of the goal in the third quarter. Jason Rogan completed the victory.
Three Rock Rovers returned from their Euro Hockey League exploits full of confidence to beat Lisnagarvey 4-1 with something to spare at Grange Road. Corner goals from Luke Madeley and Conor Empey made it 2-0 at half-time before Mitch Darling guided in the goal of the game.
Matthew Nelson pulled one back with 90 seconds to go but Mark English’s reverse on the final whistle closed out the Rovers win.
Monkstown got their second win from three games with a comprehensive 6-1 win over Cookstown at Rathdown. Davy Carson’s hat-trick helped turn a 2-1 half-time lead into a strong victory.
They will play Three Rock on Thursday night in their back match; whoever wins will move into a share of top spot with Banbridge.
Saturday also saw the opening day of EYHL Division 2 with Pool A and B taking on wildly different dimensions. In Pool A, Bangor came back from 2-0 down against Bandon to win 3-2 thanks to Rhys Cunningham’s goal. Railway Union and UCD drew 0-0.
While that group was close fought, Pool B saw Instonians win 8-0 against UCC while Corinthian were 6-2 winners over Kilkeel on the Mourne coast.
EY Hockey League - day 4 results: Cork C of I v Annadale - postponed; Banbridge 2 (J McKee, D Rae) YMCA 1 (G Glutz); Three Rock Rovers 4 (L Madeley, C Empey, M Darling, M English) Lisnagarvey 1 (M Nelson); Glenanne 6 (S Brownlow 2, G Shaw, B Venter, D Keogh, J Rogan) Pembroke 2 (K O’Hare 2); Monkstown 6 (D Carson 3, G Sarratt, R Quirke, R Nichols) Cookstown 1 (J Haycock)
EYHL Division 2, Pool A: Bangor 3 (M Willis, C Barnes, R Cunningham) Bandon 2 (F O’Leary, D Jennings); Railway Union 0 UCD 0
Pool B: Instonians 8 (M Watt 2, S Kelso 2, W Robinson, B Palmer, B Rose, W Carey) UCC 0; Kilkeel 2 (A Niblock, G Russell) Corinthian 6 (I Stewart 2, J Perdue 2, A Sutton, J Roberts)
