C of I put one foot in semi-finals

Cork C of I need just a draw from their final Irish Hockey League Pool B encounter with Three Rock Rovers to advance to the semi-finals after they survived a late scare to see off Lisnagarvey 3-2 at Garryduff today. C of I had the best of the opening half, with Nigel Buttimer and Andy Herbert working a nice one-two in the circle that took out ‘Garvey keeper Davey Williamson on 13 minutes, but Herbert couldn’t get a touch on the vital pass. The hosts only managed to win a single corner throughout the entire game, but John Jermyn made sure it counted, dragging low and hard to the backboard on 28 minutes to put C of I in front.

They doubled that advantage three minutes after the break when David Hobbs found Jonny Bruton with a quick free, and the pacey forward surged into the circle before shooting under Williamson. C of I were cruising at this stage, perhaps a little too much as ‘Garvey began to play themselves back into contention, forcing eight corners in the second half alone. Adam Pritchard’s speed off the line helped him block down a Mark Daniels effort, while C of I keeper Mark Ruddle saved well from Mark Raphael after Timmy Cockram had broken down the left. ’Garvey finally gave themselves a lifeline on 49 minutes, Peter MacDonnell doing superbly to dive in at the far post to deflect home a cross from Jason Lynch, who was returning to play his old club at their Cork base for the first time. Lynch thought he’d pulled ‘Garvey level 60 seconds later when he slotted home a rebound after Ruddle had saved from Raphael and Cockram, but umpire Kieran Bolger had already blown for a short corner, much to the chagrin of the visitors. Instead it was C of I who scored next, David Hobbs flicking in from 15 yards as he finished off a stunning length-of-the-field breakaway move that also involved Jermyn and Bruton on 58 minutes. But ‘Garvey weren’t done yet; Ruddle produced a brilliant diving stop to deny Cockram, before getting in the way of Raphael’s attempted lob after a Karl Burns slip had let the ‘Garvey skipper in one-on-one with the C of I stopper. Cockram produced a trademark drag-flick to reduce the deficit once more on 67 minutes, and a draw looked on the cards as he shaped up for another with 30 seconds to go. But Pritchard was once again out like a bullet to avert the danger, and help C of I put one foot in the semi-finals.

They will now meet a Rovers side who put a huge dent in Banbridge’s hopes of advancing with a flattering 4-1 win on Saturday. Peter Blakeney’s reverse gave them the lead 40 seconds before half-time, but Bann bossed the third quarter, only for Lucas Piccioli to hit another against the run of play for Rovers. Simon Magowan pulled one back for Bann in a high-octane final quarter, before twice being denied by Charlie Henderson. Michael Maguire slotted home from a corner switch before Mitch Darling secured the bonus point in the dying minutes. In Pool B’s dead rubber, Monkstown recovered from going a goal down to defeat Fingal 4-1, which will give the Rathdown side a significant psychological fillip as the duo race for a place in next season’s IHL. Elsewhere, Alan Sothern’s 16-minute hat-trick helped Pembroke Wanderers throw Pool A wide open as they defeated leaders Glenanne by the odd goal in nine in a thriller at Serpentine Avenue. Sothern notched three between the 6th and 22nd minutes of the first half in another wide open battle between Leinster’s top two, but Stephen Butler’s flicking prowess – one from the spot and another from a corner – helped Glens reduce the deficit to one by half-time. John Goulding’s deflection tied it up on 39 minutes, but Tim Lewis re-established Pembroke’s lead before Justin Sherriff’s peachy lob with two minutes to go sealed it. However, Butler still had time to crash in another corner to complete his hat-trick and give Glens a potentially vital bonus point. Nonetheless, there are now five teams in contention for the two semi-final spots following Glens’ first loss.  Cookstown’s hopes of being one of those took a serious dent on Saturday however, as Cork Harlequins held them to a 2-2 draw at Coolnafranky. Despite missing half a dozen first-teamers, Quins offered a decent blueprint in how to stifle the Ulster kingpins. They took the lead through Colin Ross via a short corner breakdown, only for Timmy Smyth to hit back in similar fashion five minutes later.

David Best put the hosts in front in the third quarter, and the damage could have been worse for Quins as Stephen Cuddy struck an upright. But despite being down to 10 men three times, Quins claimed a share of the spoils through Eddie Dore’s straight strike from a corner. Annadale gave their own chances of advancing a shot in the arm with a 2-1 win over Instonians at a bitterly cold UUJ. Peter Purcell roofed in the opener on six minutes after Fraser Mills had mugged an Inst defender, but the visitors went close to reeling in that lead when Mark Gleghorne – fresh off the plane from his trial in Holland – hit a post. Gleghorne eventually did find the net on 42 minutes, but Ian Hamilton’s 62nd minute penalty stroke, coming after Instonians netminder Nigel Skillen fouled Peter Caruth, settled it in the ‘Dale’s favour. That win sets up what could be a winner-takes-all clash between the ‘Dale and Pembroke in round five, pending the result of the Belfast side’s refixed clash with Cookstown a couple of days beforehand.