Agnew pulls out stops for Avoca

MEN'S HOCKEY: A miner's lamp was presented to Monkstown on Saturday night by members of Chesterfield hockey club from Derbyshire.

The lamp has a vigorous flame, akin to thriving Monkstown's spirit - and the light has not gone out for their local rivals Avoca following their 2-1 defeat of Trinity In the Leinster Senior League relegation play-off at Serpentine Avenue.

Avoca's win was due in large measure to the agility of their 42-year-old president and stand-in goalkeeper, Peter Agnew. "I'll have a few love bites alright," said the former international figure, referring to the bruises that would appear after he had defied Trinity in the opening half and again in a final flurry as the students went close to forcing extra time.

A substantial weight was lifted from Avoca's shoulders when they scored twice within two minutes just after the interval. First, Dan Bolger connected with a cross from Vaughan Hartland and then Hartland's influential fellow New Zealander Michael Gunn made a solo thrust to increase the lead.

Trinity, though, were not giving up. They were meeting stoic resistance from such redoubtable volunteers as Nigel Kingston and Galahad Goulet but a breakaway from a corner saw David Johnston combining with Paul Tuthill to slot home a reply.

Michael Harte continued to force the pace in midfield and it seemed that Trinity's resourceful captain Christian Judd would not be denied an equaliser. But Agnew regenerated inspiration from yesteryear, notably in keeping out a last-ditch drag flick from Judd, to save Avoca from the drop - assuming that Naas (the second-division runners-up) can be repulsed next Sunday.

Railway Union, who will replace Trinity in the first division, completed a league and cup double in beating Bray 3-1 in the Neville Davin Trophy final at Serpentine Avenue yesterday. Karl Kinch and Brendan Parsons (2) scored for the winners before Bruce Thompson was outflanked for the only time as Mark Brooks surged clear for a well deserved consolation goal.