Lisnagarvey and Three Rock Rovers prevail to set up thrilling Senior Cup final

Hockey: league leaders Lisnagarvey eye treble glory as they face in-form Rovers in final

The two in-form teams Lisnagarvey and Three Rock Rovers set up an eye-catching Irish Senior Cup final as they completed a pair of brilliant wins each over a hectic double weekend.

Garvey’s was the far tougher schedule as they followed up Saturday’s hard-fought 2-0 league success against Monkstown with an equally battling 3-1 success against Glenanne.

James Corry and Jerome Saeys exchanged early goals but a great counter effort from Andrew Edgar meant Garvey had the edge for most of the second half, sealing the deal via Andrew Williamson.

It keeps them in the frame for a possible treble with a Champions Trophy playoff place assured and they lead the EYHL table by three points with three rounds to go.

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It is quite the performance from Erroll Lutton’s troops who saw Sean Murray, Paul Gleghorne, Michael Robson and Neal Glassey all depart for pro teams last summer. The trust in the rising teenage stars at the club has been repaid in spades.

Blistering form

For Rovers, they were in blistering form, making it 10 wins in succession in all competitions. On Saturday, they hammered Pembroke – their nearest rivals for the fourth and final Champions Trophy spot – 8-1 before backing that up with a 5-0 win in Garryduff against Cork C of I.

C of I, nonetheless, can reflect on a decent weekend as they gave their hopes of a great escape a huge boost on Saturday when they held on to beat Cookstown 3-2.

The win halves their gap to Cookstown and YMCA to three points with their first win in the competition since November 2017.

John Jermyn returned to fire home the first goal and further efforts from Stephen Parker and French exchange student Thomas Chamuleau had them three up before the Tyrone side fought back but ended up a goal short.

Stephen Findlater

Stephen Findlater

Stephen Findlater is a contributor to The Irish Times writing about hockey