Imperturbable Instonians need no more than a draw against Harlequins at Belfield today to remain all-Ireland club champions. Only if the Cork side were to beat the Ulstermen would there be a chance of Pembroke Wanderers taking the title by defeating Lisngarvey in the final game of the tournament.
This is the scenario following yesterday's matches, in which a stunning save by Tim Hogg enabled Instonians to finish with a 2-1 win over Lisnagarvey.
Intense Ulster rivalry resulted in a scoreless first half, but midway through the second period Robbie Taylor put on a full press to send Kevin Lunn through to give Lisnagarvey the lead.
Almost immediately, however, Paddy Brown equalised following a short corner, while nine minutes from the end Brown delivered a pass for John Atkins to make a diving connection to sink what may well be a crucial goal. In the dying stages, Lisnagarvey stormed into the attack in a bid to stay in the reckoning, but Daniel Clarke's point-blank shot was blocked brilliantly by Hogg.
Pembroke revived their slim hopes with a 3-0 defeat of Harlequins. The Leinster champions made a crisp start and were two up within 15 minutes. Francis de Rosa rifled home the opening goal following a free by Stephen Stewart, before a penalty was converted by Paudie Carley after good work by Simon Kershaw and Stephen Stewart.
Harlequins resisted sturdily and, indeed, went on to register a short-corner tally of 14-3 but, compared with their set-piece efficiency in the 2-2 draw with Lisnagarvey on Saturday, were frustrated by the combined efforts of Charlie Henderson, Colin Kelly and De Rosa. Instead, Pembroke boosted the margin in the 48th minute when Kershaw linked up with Carley to score neatly.
Pembroke, in succumbing 2-0 to Instonians in the opening match, had engineered a couple of clear breaks without reward but, overall, goalkeeper Henderson was far busier than Hogg and ultimately Instonians' winning margin was a just reflection of the number of opportunities they created. The masterful Neil Cooke put away a penalty before the break and, after considerable Pembroke pressure had been subdued, Mark Irwin increased the advantage with the help of a deflection.
Harlequins attacked vigorously through Paul Lombard against Lisnagarvey to deserve a 2-0 lead, Eddie O'Leary and Dave Eakins putting the finishing touches to corners at the start of each half. But with Daniel Clarke coming on to galvanise the Ulstermen's attack, and Julian Stevenson buzzing effectively in midfield, a point was salvaged despite the defiance, notably, of Alan Bateman. Colin Clarke converted a penalty, while Daniel Clarke levelled matters following a corner.
