IN recovering from a 2-0 deficit and then barely surviving in normal time, Glenanne were forced to dig deeply into their fighting qualities to overcome YMCA and carry off the Leinster Senior Hockey Cup for the first time at Grange Road yesterday.
YMCA, though left with only four members of the side which captured Mills trophy last season, played astutely and with pride. Indeed, they surprised Glenanne with their counter-thrusts in the opening half. Peter Creighton and Keith Lemon launched themselves from the back and the lead was seized in the 22nd minute by Nigel Buttimer from a crisply engineered short corner.
From another attack within minutes, Stephen Barry found space on the left to deliver a centre for Quentin Heaney to turn and strike a cracking second goal.
It was Glenanne who were largely on the offensive, with Alan Browne and particularly the quicksilver Roly O'Donoghue threatening to make a breakthrough. There was much relief when the leeway was reduced just before the interval when the clean-striking Jimmy Shaw had a corner shot parried by Greg Finn and Graham Shaw jabbed home the rebound.
Glenanne, now with Paul Fitzpatrick ranging forward as well as Ciaran Bolger, applied inexorable pressure in the second half. Faced, however, by the redoubtable Creighton and David Bryee, aided by Duncan Lyster, the equaliser did not materialise until the 58th minute. A barrage of corners came to nought but Graham Shaw and Browne combined to earn a penalty stroke and Rory O'Donoghue converted.
YMCA still insisted on making a match of it and almost stole a winner in a final surge which yielded three set-piece chances and ultimately an open goal for Heaney 20 seconds from the final hooter, only for his shot to miss the target.
Glenanne at last started to exert themselves in extra time and they went ahead before the change of ends when Fitzpatrick and Mark Lambe extracted a second penalty for Rory O'Donoghue to put away the conversion again. Victory seemed to be sealed in the 91st minute with Stephen Butler coming off the bench to find the target.
Yet YMCA were not totally spent as the stylish Buttimer potted another corner to keep the jagged joust alive in the closing exchanges. At last, though, a beaming Gerry Agnew was able to join Willie Murray and Nick Koumarianos on the presentation platform.
A more mature Three Rock Rovers side beat Railway Union 4-1 in the under-16 final. It was 1-1 at half-time, with Nick Fitzpatrick giving Rovers the lead after Niall O'Brien had saved from Christian Judd, and a reply coming when Graham O'Meara forced a penalty, converted by Brendan Parsons. Three Rock dominated the second half, especially when Railway lost Gregory O'Meara through injury. Peter McConnell made it 2-1 from a cross by Mark Brooks before Judd added to the tally with two well struck corners.
