Glenanne have found themselves in something of a tailspin over the last three weeks in the EY Irish Hockey League. A 3-1 defeat by Three Rock Rovers was followed by a 3-3 draw against Banbridge.
Defeat again at the hands of Rovers in the Leinster Senior Cup on St Patrick’s Day was followed last week by an unsuccessful visit to Banbridge, where the home team won 2-1, Irish player Eugene Magee banging in two goals in the second half.
The wonder of it is Glenanne remain second on the table although they have played a game more than their closest rivals, Lisnagarvey above them in first place and Banbridge, Rovers and to a lesser extent Pembroke all chasing from behind.
With YMCA visiting this week, Glenanne have a chance to straighten the ship. YMCA are struggling with just two league wins so far this season, although they shared the points with Monkstown in a 3-3 draw last week.
Separated
On Saturday in the Merrion Fleet Arena in Rathdown, it is up to Monkstown to try to halt the run of ‘Garvey, who are three points clear at the top of the table. In that respect ‘Garvey may not know which Monkstown is going to turn up. The south Dublin club hit seven goals against YMCA the week before last and then came up with the 3-3 draw seven days later.
The top four clubs are separated by just four points with one point separating second, third and forth positions. That makes Rovers’s game against Pembroke in Grange Road vitally important. A win for fifth-placed Pembroke could pop them back up into contention depending on how the other results fall. With four rounds to go everything remains up for grabs at the top.
Saturday: EY Irish Hockey League –Cookstown v Cork C of I, Cookstown 1.00pm; Glenanne v YMCA, St Andrews 2.30pm; Banbridge v Annadale, Havelock Park, 2.45pm; TRR v Pembroke, Grange Road 3.00pm; Monkstown v Lisnagarvey, Rathdown 4.00pm.
