With Lisnagarvey seemingly strolling to the men’s Hockey League title and Annadale all but relegated, it looks like the battle to avoid the relegation playoff is where the real action will be in the last five rounds.
To that end YMCA held on for a vital 2-1 win over local rivals Corinthian for their second win in three outings. While they remain in ninth, the guts and intensity show that Jason Klinkradt's young side have a wealth of appetite for the fight. They trailed to Craig Mackay's baseline flick after just seven minutes but penalty corner goals from Grant Glutz and Ben Campbell swapped things around before half-time.
The reds endeavoured to push on in the second half, but even when YMCA were down to eight players to three sin-binnings they could find no way through.
Indeed, YMCA created the best chances, with Ross Henderson hitting the bar and Campbell denied a seemingly open goal from the same move.
It would have moved them up a place but for Alan Sothern’s amazing late salvo against Monkstown. While Pembroke have been misfiring this term, the striker has been in typically awesome form, racking up 16 goals in his last six games, with two of them coming in the last three minutes of a 4-4 draw.
Title aspirations
The Ballsbridge club had been going well at 2-1 at half-time, but a Gareth Watkins hat-trick put Monkstown on course for another win before Sothern's heroics. It puts a further dent in Monkstown's outside title aspirations, particularly as Lisnagarvey beat Three Rock Rovers 4-3 at Grange Road. They are five points clear with two games in hand.
After a stunning start to the season UCD are in danger of being dragged into the playoff reckoning after they fell to a fifth successive defeat and now have just a four-point buffer.
Josh Moffett’s double gave Banbridge a 2-1 win in that tie, with students’ coach Michael Styles frustrated to see his side play well only to be kept out by an on-form Luke Roleston.
Glenanne recorded their second successive 6-4 win, with two goals in the last 10 minutes, when accounting for Annadale. Dale are now 11 points adrift with only 15 points left to play for, while the Glens move up to fifth place and have ambitions to bridge the six-point gap between them and Three Rock in the Champions Trophy slots.
