Glenanne take their chance

MEN'S HOCKEY: JUST TWO matches in the second round of the Irish Hockey League (IHL) survived the weekend elements, with the other four either postponed or abandoned due to frozen pitches.

Annadale can consider themselves the most unfortunate team of the round, as their match against Cookstown was halted in the third quarter when they were 4-1 up.

Monkstown, too, were leading against Lisnagarvey, Stephen Cole scoring in the first quarter, when their match was abandoned. The slippery conditions at Rathdown gave the umpires no option but to call time on the game.

The Irish Hockey Association will confirm today whether the abandoned games will have to be replayed from the start, rather than resumed from where the teams left off, but the indications are that the former option will apply.

Glenanne and Banbridge took full advantage of their rivals being out of action to go top of Pool A and B, respectively, with wins over Munster's IHL representatives, Cork Harlequins and Church of Ireland.

Having lost to Pembroke Wanderers in round one, Harlequins were in desperate need of taking something from their game against Glenanne, and after going a goal down to a Stephen Butler drag flick they gave themselves hope when Dan Hobbs levelled from their first short corner of the game before the break.

Butler, though, restored Glenanne's lead with another brilliantly executed short corner, and helped make it 3-1 when Enda Tucker turned home another Butler corner strike that came off the post.

Gary Shaw completed the scoring for Glenanne, with their fourth goal clinching a bonus point to put them three points clear of Pembroke, with an extra game played, at the top of Pool A.

The Pool B game between Banbridge and C of I was a much tighter affair, with the Ulster side having to come from a goal down after Stephen Parker touched home a cross from the right on 16 minutes.

The form of both goalkeepers - Gareth Lennox (Banbridge) and Mark Ruddle - ensured goals were hard to come by, but the hosts finally equalised through Stephen Dowds in the 41st minute when Ross McCandless got the winner with a drag-flick in to the top-left corner. But C of I took a bonus point from the game, keeping them in contention in Pool B.

• The Fingal v Three Rock Rovers tie has been re-arranged for January 18th, with dates yet to be confirmed for Cookstown v Annadale, Instonians v Pembroke Wanderers and Monkstown v Lisnagarvey.