Pulling out two good performances against quality opposition in less than 24 hours proved beyond Bandon this weekend, as they came home empty-handed from the men’s Irish Hockey League wildcard playoffs for the third year in succession.
Unhappy at having to hit the road yet again, Ger Burns’ men were nonetheless given a boost by Friday night’s encounter between Lisnagarvey and YMCA, which ended in a 1-0 victory for the Ulstermen thanks to a trademark Timmy Cockram drag.
Bandon's Darren Beamish attempts to shut down former school-mate Jason Lynch of Lisnagarvey. Picture: Adrian Boehm
They would have taken encouragement from the fact that YM looked toothless in attack – getting away just one shot in anger, four minutes from time – and knew that their Sunday morning showdown with the Dubliners would be a winner-takes-all affair.
But first came the challenge of IHL semi-finalists ‘Garvey, who had hammered Cork C of I the week before as well as routing Three Rock – Bandon’s Irish Senior Cup vanquishers – 7-0 earlier in the season.
But Andrew Kingston’s charges put in a focused and determined performance, limiting ‘Garvey to a first-half Cockram drag, before Johnny Gray and Mark Raphael hit the insurance strikes in the second period, with Rob Smith replying for Bandon in a 3-1 defeat.
However, everything unravelled the following morning against YM. Bandon started slowly and found themselves four down by the break, with YM eventually going on to win on a facile 8-0 scoreline pockmarked by doubles from Mikey Fry, Luke Chadwick and Andrew Walker.
It means Munster’s hopes of having three IHL representatives for the first time have again been dashed, with Bandon’s lack of game-time against high-ranking opponents once again telling.
For the full set of Adrian Boehm’s pictures from Bandon vs Lisnagarvey, click here.
Post Author:
alangood
6 Replies to “YM collapse leaves Bandon empty-handed”
Having attended the Men’s Wildcard Tournament this week end it strikes me there are some major anomalies in the manner in which this Tournament is placed in the ranking of Irish Fixtures.
The first game was played on Friday night in Pembroke Wanderers albeit in an excellent venue with all the facilities of the Club at the disposal of the squads.
On Saturday & Sunday the Tournament moved to Three Rock Rovers. The Clubhouse on both days was closed preventing those spectators who attended from availing of any facilities. Indeed given the stringent requirements of PA systems etc. for IHL games the silence in Grange Road was deafening. Why did not these matches take place in the National Hockey Stadium ? Do Under Age Irish Training Sessions take precedence over the Tournament that Qualifies Teams for our Premier Club League.
When Bandon queried why the Wild Cards could not be played in Munster they were informed by the IHL Committee that it would be more beneficial for supporters and the image of the sport to run the Tournament in Dublin in conjunction with the Irish Cup Finals.
Therefore it would seem to follow that the final game in the IHL Qualifier would be played in Belfield at 10.30 a.m. on Sunday morning prior to the ESB Senior Women’s Cup Final.
Instead it was banished to the serene silence and closed Clubhouse of Three Rock Rovers somewhat remote from yesterday’s centre of Hockey activity. Is our spectator base that big that we can afford to split it between two locations on the same day? Playing the game in Belfield would have indicated the importance of this Tournament to the Players and Supporters of the Three Clubs as it seems it’s significance doesn’t matter to the IHL Committee. In addition the Tournament was not enhanced by the inconsistency of the Umpires whose performances added to the lack lustre approach to the overall organisation of this event.
It was the same at the inter-pros. The TRR ground should never ever have a tournament of any significance.
But it will, as the world is now centered in Dublin and the rest of the hockey world can happily go down the tubes in Ireland.
Its a disgrace
Anon, why would you be so short sited and talk about hockey going ‘down the tubes in Ireland’ simply because IHL qualifiers were played in Dublin? I’ve never heard such sour grapes.
Do you believe that playing the matches in Cork, or indeed Ulster would have seen a different outcome?? Unfortunately for you, the fact of the matter is that the best teams in Ireland will now take part in next seasons IHL. Full stop. To use the fact that the matches are played in Dublin as some kind of excuse both before and after the event itself only highlights the fact that your minds were not focussed on the job at hand. I have to agree that Three Rock, and the lack of any club spirit/someone opening the clubhouse and taking advantage of what was a relatively sizable crowd on both days is a joke considering the facilities they have been blessed with, but that is another matter altogether. I also agree with the umpiring comments.
So, to summarise;
1) Agree with view that it should have been played in UCD to coincide with the cup finals.
2) Agree with view that the umpiring was poor and lacked any kind of consistency/common sense.
3) Any argument re the fact that the games were played in Dublin is sour grapes and somewhat embarrassing that this would even be raised. As a Dubliner, i can safely say i would have relished a trip to Cork or Belfast for the weekend in order to qualify for the IHL,but it’s no surprise that all the major national finals are played in Dublin. It has the best facilities and is the capital city after all, so why not embrace this instead of the moaning..
Garvey Better, sorry, but no stand facilities.
C of I better place to watch by a mile.
The costs now are growing for the sport and having to travel to every tournament is a bit of a bind. The costs are not equally shared by all the participants.
Finals I agree should go to the best facility and that probably is one of the two venues mentioned above. TRR is a terrible place, the pitches are poor and the bar is seldom open. UCD is ok but not as good as the above.
Actually having been to Cork I have yet to find ONE PERSON that acknowlages Dublin as the capital and as for Belfast….
there seems to be lot of complaining about the wildcard. Easy fix, don’t enter and allow the the ulster and leinster sides straight in the the IHL. situation fixed
Was in TRR for the IHL semis & wildcard playoffs this weekend… absolutely great set up, perfect place for this type of tournament, well organised, great buzz all weekend…. may not have been set up properly previous wkend for men’s wildcard playoff but top notch this one, much better than Belfield… big crowds, carpark well organised, pints were three quid, food was good & reasonablly priced, saw some great hockey, particularly men’s semis… congrats to all involved in organising…
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Having attended the Men’s Wildcard Tournament this week end it strikes me there are some major anomalies in the manner in which this Tournament is placed in the ranking of Irish Fixtures.
The first game was played on Friday night in Pembroke Wanderers albeit in an excellent venue with all the facilities of the Club at the disposal of the squads.
On Saturday & Sunday the Tournament moved to Three Rock Rovers. The Clubhouse on both days was closed preventing those spectators who attended from availing of any facilities. Indeed given the stringent requirements of PA systems etc. for IHL games the silence in Grange Road was deafening. Why did not these matches take place in the National Hockey Stadium ? Do Under Age Irish Training Sessions take precedence over the Tournament that Qualifies Teams for our Premier Club League.
When Bandon queried why the Wild Cards could not be played in Munster they were informed by the IHL Committee that it would be more beneficial for supporters and the image of the sport to run the Tournament in Dublin in conjunction with the Irish Cup Finals.
Therefore it would seem to follow that the final game in the IHL Qualifier would be played in Belfield at 10.30 a.m. on Sunday morning prior to the ESB Senior Women’s Cup Final.
Instead it was banished to the serene silence and closed Clubhouse of Three Rock Rovers somewhat remote from yesterday’s centre of Hockey activity. Is our spectator base that big that we can afford to split it between two locations on the same day? Playing the game in Belfield would have indicated the importance of this Tournament to the Players and Supporters of the Three Clubs as it seems it’s significance doesn’t matter to the IHL Committee. In addition the Tournament was not enhanced by the inconsistency of the Umpires whose performances added to the lack lustre approach to the overall organisation of this event.
It was the same at the inter-pros. The TRR ground should never ever have a tournament of any significance.
But it will, as the world is now centered in Dublin and the rest of the hockey world can happily go down the tubes in Ireland.
Its a disgrace
Anon, why would you be so short sited and talk about hockey going ‘down the tubes in Ireland’ simply because IHL qualifiers were played in Dublin? I’ve never heard such sour grapes.
Do you believe that playing the matches in Cork, or indeed Ulster would have seen a different outcome?? Unfortunately for you, the fact of the matter is that the best teams in Ireland will now take part in next seasons IHL. Full stop. To use the fact that the matches are played in Dublin as some kind of excuse both before and after the event itself only highlights the fact that your minds were not focussed on the job at hand. I have to agree that Three Rock, and the lack of any club spirit/someone opening the clubhouse and taking advantage of what was a relatively sizable crowd on both days is a joke considering the facilities they have been blessed with, but that is another matter altogether. I also agree with the umpiring comments.
So, to summarise;
1) Agree with view that it should have been played in UCD to coincide with the cup finals.
2) Agree with view that the umpiring was poor and lacked any kind of consistency/common sense.
3) Any argument re the fact that the games were played in Dublin is sour grapes and somewhat embarrassing that this would even be raised. As a Dubliner, i can safely say i would have relished a trip to Cork or Belfast for the weekend in order to qualify for the IHL,but it’s no surprise that all the major national finals are played in Dublin. It has the best facilities and is the capital city after all, so why not embrace this instead of the moaning..
Garvey Better, sorry, but no stand facilities.
C of I better place to watch by a mile.
The costs now are growing for the sport and having to travel to every tournament is a bit of a bind. The costs are not equally shared by all the participants.
Finals I agree should go to the best facility and that probably is one of the two venues mentioned above. TRR is a terrible place, the pitches are poor and the bar is seldom open. UCD is ok but not as good as the above.
Actually having been to Cork I have yet to find ONE PERSON that acknowlages Dublin as the capital and as for Belfast….
there seems to be lot of complaining about the wildcard. Easy fix, don’t enter and allow the the ulster and leinster sides straight in the the IHL. situation fixed
Was in TRR for the IHL semis & wildcard playoffs this weekend… absolutely great set up, perfect place for this type of tournament, well organised, great buzz all weekend…. may not have been set up properly previous wkend for men’s wildcard playoff but top notch this one, much better than Belfield… big crowds, carpark well organised, pints were three quid, food was good & reasonablly priced, saw some great hockey, particularly men’s semis… congrats to all involved in organising…