Railway Union’s women and Lisnagarvey’s men both made it an Irish Senior Cup three-in-a-row at Grange Road on Saturday, although they achieved the feat in wildly different circumstances.
Railway had a comfortable enough 2-0 victory over Monkstown, but Lisnagarvey had to come from two goals down before beating Three Rock Rovers in a penalty shoot-out.
Ryan Spencer was entitled to feel more aggrieved than most come the end of the drama, the Rovers man having scored a hat-trick in normal time only to end up with a runners-up medal.
Just two minutes into the game, he opened the scoring after being set up by Evan Jennings and he doubled that lead early in the third quarter. By then, Rovers goalkeeper James Coffey had thwarted the Ulster club on innumerable occasions, not least from their slew of penalty corners.
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But Lisnagarvey finally got back in to the game through a penalty stroke, converted by Andrew Edgar, before Mark McNellis levelled from a penalty corner seven minutes from time. Rovers thought they had the game won when Spencer completed his hat-trick with just four minutes left on the clock, but 60 seconds later Matthew Nelson made it 3-3 when he turned home a rebound from a corner.
Nelson and his brother Daniel, along with Oliver Kidd, put away their one-v-one penalties to win the shoot-out 3-1, giving Lisnagarvey their three-in-a-row, and their fifth Irish Senior Cup in six years.
In the women’s final, Railway emulated Pembroke Wanderers’ three-in-a-row achievement from the 1940s by getting the better of Monkstown. It was 0-0 at half-time after a cagey opening to the game, but Australian Aisling Utri broke the deadlock in the third quarter with a deft finish from Emma Smyth’s threaded pass.
There was nothing deft about Railway’s second goal in the final quarter, Katie Mullan spinning past the Monkstown defence before firing a rocket past Madeleine Williamson. Monkstown had enjoyed plenty of possession in the game, but could find no way through Railway’s defence, rarely troubling goalkeeper Jade Arundell.
Both Railway and Lisnagarvey now have a double in sight, with Lisnagarvey hosting next weekend’s Champions Trophy. Railway meet Portadown in the semi-finals of the women’s competition, while Lisnagarvey take on Pembroke Wanderers in the last four of the men’s tournament.
