Annadale knock YMCA out of stride

MEN'S HOCKEY:ANNADALE ROCKED YMCA's promising start to the season with a thumping 4-1 victory to record the stand-out first-round win in the Irish Senior Cup at Lough Moss on Saturday to make it look already like Ulster sides will dominate the competition.

Annadale, a side in transitional mode, were too hot to handle for YM in the first half, Fraser Mills continuing his fine early-season form to spin free and unleash a reverse-stick shot past Iain Walker.

Neil Stewart added a drag-flick before YM finally got going in the second half, making a game of it when Marcus Richardson pulled one back. And they piled forward in search of a leveller but came unstuck, conceding twice more in the closing two minutes to bow out of the competition.

YM were followed back down the M1 with their tails between their legs by Corinthian, who lost out 2-1 to NICS in Stormont, seething after seeing three efforts ruled out.

It left Railway Union as the only Leinster winner against northern opposition as they eased past Senior One wildcard entrant South Antrim – included by virtue of their Irish Hockey Trophy last March. Rob Abbott was the day’s top scorer, notching up a quartet of goals.

Monkstown left it late to kill off Fingal as Simon McKeever’s effort 17 minutes from time set up a tight finish but the sky-blues prevailed 4-1 to stay in the hunt for a fourth final appearance in five seasons.

UCD picked off a handy win in Bandon, with Patrick Shanahan among the scorers against his former club in a 5-1 victory.

The second round draw, meanwhile, produced some cracking match-ups. Most notable among them is the pairing of Ireland’s two EuroHockey League-bound clubs, Cookstown and Banbridge. Monkstown’s hosting of Pembroke is a repeat of the 2008 final.

In Europe, Irish international David Ames scored a vital goal in a 3-1 win over Polo de Barcelona to help his Nottingham-based club side Beeston win Pool C of the EHL.

Ulster man Mark Gleghorne made his comeback after over a year out with a heel injury for East Grinstead and scored in a 3-2 win over Grunwald Poznan to see his side advance to the last 16 stage.