Hook Hockey

Ryan Town’s golden hero; men’s cup final wrap

Railway Cup final
Monkstown II 4 (Frank Ryan 2, Ross Watkins, Zac Dutton) Pembroke II 3, after golden goal extra time
Monkstown’s second team claimed the Railway Cup after a titanic battle with Pembroke as Frank Ryan grabbed the golden goal to eventually take the tie.

Early on, the Rathdown side got off to the perfecr start as neat work down the right saw Ross Watkins turn in the first. Shortly afterwards a fine ball from Lee Cole found Andrew Gaw on the 25 and, with a jink and a trick, he laid a beautiful cross for Frank Ryan to make it 2-0.

Pembroke pushed back with Justin Sheriff to the fore and were rewarded on the half-time whistle with a corner goal. They carried that momentum into the second half, netting twice to move ahead 3-2.

But the sky-blues forced a couple of corners from which Zac Dutton converted the third with a low drag to send the game to extra-time.

Five minutes in, Ryan took on the ball deep in Pembroke territory and beat a couple of players before cutting in from the by-line to beat one last defender and slot home an excellent, mazy winner.

Inter Cup final
Fingal III 4 (Conor Wheeler 2, Marcus O’Brien, David Gash) Three Rock Rovers IV 2 (Kristian Johnson, Phil Shearer)
Fingal’s third eleven claimed the Leinster Intermediate Cup with a barn-storming second half performance to deny Three Rock Rovers at Serpentine Avenue last Saturday.

They twice fought back from a goal deficit to oust their southside rivals, making it their second Inter title in three seasons for the ALSAA club.

They fell behind early on as Kristian Johnson reacted quickest to a broken down penalty corner, punching the ball into the goal from close range.

Marcus O’Brien responded quickly but a lucky Phil Shearer strike restored Three Rock’s advantage, spinning on the ball for an intended cross which took a hefty deflection into the goal. But the lead was short-lived once more as Conor Wheeler burst through to complete the second equaliser before half-time.

After the break, Fingal began to turn the screw with William Daunt to the fore, effecting a series of turnovers high in Three Rock territory as they were unable to break the shackles.

Packed defence meant clear chances were hard to come by but they got the lead for the first time as Wheeler again shot through a forest of sticks, catching a Rovers’ defender’s lunge to see the ball ramp into the top corner.

It was a lead the side never looked to give up and they closed out the victory when O’Brien went on a brilliant run down the right wing and picked out the waiting David Gash at the back post and he duly tapped in an insurance goal for a 4-2 lead.

It concluded a productive year for Barry Maxwell’s team as a late season charge saw them rise to third in the division six table, just one place outside the promotion places behind Athy and YMCA.

Junior Cup final
Bray 3 (Jayson Kenney, Cian Hussey Adam Brennan) Portrane II 0
Bray’s rebuilding project bore early fruit last Saturday at Serpentine Avenue as they picked up the Junior Cup with a strong win over Portrane’s second team.

Jayson Kenney started the scoring when he got on the end of a ball from Sean Brennan that deflected off a Portrane stick and dropped to Kenney who tucked it in about midway through the first half.

Cian Hussey nabbed the second from a narrow angle to beat the keeper on the far post with Brennan again involved n the build-up. And the clincher cam with five minutes remaining as Adam Brennan scored, deflecting a hit by John Lush into the D into the top corner.

After a tough year last season, pulling out of division two midway through the campaign, Bray added the cup win to a third place finish in division seven. Of the side that played in the cup final, only Steven Jones remains from the Division One days while Cian Hussey, Lorcán Miller, Sean Brennan, Jerome Anglin and Stewart Collier have div two experience.

But this cup was rich reward for the core members of the squad who stuck together when things were rough, coping with a mass exodus. A number of young players are now coming through, namely Adam Brennan, Barry Duff, Miller, Jack Lacey-Curtis and David O’Brien who are all under 18.

Taking on the season, the club embarked on an extensive pre-season fitness regime last July when club member Gavin Coyne of GC Fitness put the side through their paces. The return of John Lush to the club after living in New Zealand was a further boost along with the addition of Kenney who provided not only goals but also a weight of experience.

Galtrim Cup final
Glenanne 4 Monkstown 4, Glenanne won 4-3 on penalty strokes
The Galtrim Cup final went to penalty strokes for the second year in a row and again it was Glenanne who walked away with the trophy.

After a thrilling 4-4 draw in normal time, Darragh Murphy slotted home the decisive stroke after Daire Hughes had stepped up to save Monkstown’s fifth and final effort. David O’Malley gave Glens the lead after 12 minutes as he capitalised on a defensive miss-trap to sweep the ball home.

However former Glenanne man Alan Lewis was causing problems up the far end and he played a big role in regaining the initiative for ‘Town’ – roofing a dragflick to equalise and then sweeping home on his reverse a few minutes later.

Murphy drew the sides level before the break as he capitalised on fortuitous bounce to slam home at the near post and Glenanne were ahead immediately after the break when Stuart Ronan lofted a reverse in to the left hand corner.

The frenetic pace to the game continued and a switch short corner was scrambled over the line to make it 3-3 before Eddie O’Malley Snr. matched his son’s earlier effort to crack home what looked to be the winner.

A late equaliser prevented that but Glens regained the trophy in the end. The two clubs have won the last seven editions of the competitions with yesterday’s winners now 4-3 ahead over that period.

Minor Cup final: Three Rock Rovers V 2 Navan II 0
Walters Cup final: Three Rock Rovers 4 Pembroke 1