Excellence at both ends propelling Midleton

Midleton’s firepower – they’re averaging five goals a game – has put them in with a great shout to claim the men’s Division 3 title, but they’ll face a tough fight from pace-setters Cork Church of Ireland D. The east Cork side have matched Clive Seale’s corner work with Marc Hornibrook’s brilliance from play; the former has 10 goals to his credit while Munster U18 hitman Hornibrook is the division’s top marksman with 18 in 10 games. Fellow Munster stars Alex Simonin (midfield) and Daniel Moore (goalkeeper) have merged with more experienced players such as Quinton Classen, David Tait, Gary Alcorn and Alan Bryan to form a potent unit that has 9 wins from 10 games, their sole defeat coming in a 2-1 reverse to C of I.

Midleton earned themselves some notoriety on the airwaves in being named as Hector’s Team of the Week on 2FM – but with the C of I defeat coming in that week, they’ll be keeping a lower profile for their remaining three games. They are two points behind at the summit, but have a game in hand. With the league splitting, that sees them meeting C of I D at home while having to travel to Bandon C – who aren’t mathematically out of it – and Limerick B. They have already defeated the new Division 3A’s basement side, UCC C, 3-0. C of I D only just scraped by the students 3-2 a fortnight ago, but will be pleased with how a side mostly comprised of U18 players is progressing. Munster stalrets Simon Wolfe and Philip Brownlow have notched 26 goals between them in this division while David Whitaker and Clyde Buttimer have also been vital performers for them. Seven points off the leaders but als0 with a game in hand are Bandon C, who have goalkeeper-turned-poacher Ian Hosford and Philip Peters in fine goalscoring nick, claiming five apiece, with Ronnie Beare on four. Their success has been built on a miserly defence that has shipped just 11 goals in 9 outings – and was improved in a 5-0 defeat of UCC C last weekend – but they will be seeking to improve their record against the league’s top teams in order to challenge in the final reckoning. Next up are Limerick B, who have typically been excellent at home – taking points off C of I D and Bandon C – but less convincing on the road: witness an 11-2 hammering at the hands of Midleton and a 6-1 defeat at C of I last weekend. Munster Junior Tom Clarke is a key performer with Jonothan Powell (6) the main goal-getter, but they have little to play for but pride unless they can win all their remaining games.

Propping up the bunch are UCC C, who replaced original incumbents Ashton B after the Blackrock Road side opted to stay in Division 3B, and have predictably found the going touch. Mark Horgan’s poaching instincts in the circle have yielded seven goals for him while Aiman Asyraf continues to perform miracles between the sticks, but goalscoring has been a problem; just 17 in 11 games, and five of those came against a severely-depleted Quins D outfit. There were signs of improvement in two narrow losses to C of I D – 4-3 at home and 3-2 away – but the students, recently boosted by the return of defensive totems Craig Whyte and Paul Gleeson, are likely to focus their efforts on a McLean Cup semi-final away to Bandon C. Leading the way in Div 3B are Ashton B, who can rely on the versatility of talisman Ian Buckley, an intervarsity-winning goalkeeper who can also perform an excellent distribution role at the back as a sweeper. C of I E have Dermot Judge, Ivan Coombes and Barry Crowley on hand to guide through some of the youngest of their starlets since the club scrapped their sixth team, while it’s been Jekyll and Hyde seasons for Quins D and Catholic Institute B. Quins can beat anyone on their day, particularly when Stephen Dale, Stuart Egner and Stuart O’Sullivan are available, while Insta’s best results have come when the likes of Cathal Duggan and Dara Crowe can move down from their Division 1 side, though Riyad McCormack (7) has been a regular source of net-busters. That leaves Belvedere, who have endured a miserable campaign since getting off to a horrible start against UCC C, giving up a two-goal lead to go down 3-2 to a side they hadn’t lost to in 10 previous outings. Lack of player depth and availability is a serious issue for the Ballincollig outfit, who have sadly seen their men’s membership dwindle in recent seasons, though Paul Desmond, Simon O’Leary and Derek O’Sullivan are keeping them competitive. One win in ten – a 5-1 success over C of I E at the beginning of the campaign – tells its own story, although the presence of a brand new UCC D team should prevent them getting the wooden spoon; they recently recorded a 5-0 Barber Cup success over the fledgling students. College’s fourths have entered midway through the season on the back of a raft of new beginners joining the club in the past two seasons, giving them the distinction of being the only men’s club in Munster to expand this term. The John Cudmore-coached side is mostly filled with freshers who took up the sport in October; of them, David O’Farrell already has four goals to his name across Divisions 2 and 3, plus an Irish Junior Cup appearance under his belt, while Ross McNulty, David Landers, goalkeeper Matt Hinwood and James Reidy are among those who could be set for some fruitful careers in hockey. Thanks to Glenn Casey (Midleton) and Alan Wolfe (C of I) for their help in compiling this report. The Division 3A table is available here and the Division 3B table is available here.