Lisnagarvey returned to the top of the men’s EY Hockey League as they won a classic against previous leaders Three Rock Rovers 3-2 at Grange Road.
It was the Hillsborough side’s second win at the Dublin venue in seven days having won there in the Irish Senior Cup the previous weekend, and they were good value for this one despite the close scoreline.
Daniel Nelson and Andy Edgar had them 2-0 up before Rovers caught fire through Ross Canning's rising rocket. Ollie Kidd made it 3-1 before Rovers finished strong with James Walker netting but Garvey held on for the spoils and a two-point lead.
It was the sixth successive round the leadership has changed in this cracking season to date and Garvey goalkeeper James Milliken says, in that context, having the advantage now is a key move.
“It is a significant win but we have to keep our feet on the ground. There’s five games left and a lot of teams playing well – Glenanne going well, Banbridge doing great stuff.
“You have to play well every week, have that as a baseline and not as a peak. Every team is working so hard this year and it is one of the most competitive years we’ve had and it forces you to be better every week.”
The chasing pack all closed the gap with Glenanne – inspired by four Shane O'Donoghue goals – getting the better of UCD 5-2 at St Andrew's while Monkstown eased by the challenge of Corinthian 6-1 with Davy Carson and Lee Cole both getting two goals.
Banbridge, meanwhile, are in a share of fourth spot with Monkstown thanks to their 5-3 win over relegation-threatened Pembroke. Alan Sothern did strike twice for Pembroke to make it six goals in two outings but his side could not build on an early lead with Philip Brown, Jonny McKee, Owen Magee, Josh Moffett and Louis Rowe all weighing in.
It leaves the top five covered by just four points; from those, the top two will advance straight to the EY Champions Trophy finals weekend.
YMCA, meanwhile, strengthened their bid for the last of the playoff spots with a 5-2 win at Annadale. They edged in front 1-0 and 2-1 in the first half through Fionn Marriott and Andrew Meates and while Dale hit back courtesy of Callum Robson twice, the Y found lots of space in behind the Dale defence for Harry McCarthy to score twice and Marriott to get another.
They move five points clear of relegation with Annadale sitting just one point above the drop zone.
Men's EYHL Division 1: Annadale 2 (C Robson 2), YMCA 5 (H McCarthy 2, F Marriott 2, A Meates); Corinthian 1 (P Caruth), Monkstown 6 (D Carson 2, L Cole 2, G Sarratt, M Gibbons); Glenanne 5 (S O'Donoghue 4, G Gibney), UCD 2 (S Byrne, H Lynch); Pembroke 3 (A Sothern 2, G Chambers), Banbridge 5 (Ph Brown, J McKee, O Magee, J Moffett, L Rowe); Three Rock Rovers 2 (R Canning), Lisnagarvey 3 (D Nelson, A Edgar, O Kidd)
