Pembroke let it slip in Europe

HOCKEY:Pembroke were left heartbroken as a Marcin Michniak's deflected goal 30 seconds from time dumped the Dublin side out of the Euro Hockey League in Antwerp. Needing only a draw to qualify for the second round of the inaugural European competition, Pembroke threw away a 2-0 half-time lead to Polish side KS Pocztowiec Poznan.

Player/coach Craig Fulton said he was devastated by the Polish side's late show.

"I'm really disappointed, we had the opportunity to finish it out but we didn't do it. We played for 69 minutes and had our chances, but we just didn't do it."

Prior to the match, Fulton said the mood in the camp was extremely positive after picking up a bonus point in Friday's 3-2 loss to Egara - a favourite for the overall title.

Egara took the first qualifying spot on Saturday, beating Poznan emphatically 7-2 with a hat-trick from Edouard Tubau.

Friday's bonus point, therefore, meant a draw with Poznan would be enough for qualification.

Fulton added: "We outplayed them for long periods in the second half and played some of our best hockey."

And the Dubliners carried that form into the first half against Poznan, taking that 2-0 lead, with Ian Symons on target from a short corner and Fulton scoring from a rebound after initial efforts by Justin Sheriff and Alan Sothern.

The match turned, though, early in the second half, when a Symons' drag-flick crashed against the crossbar. From the breaking ball, Poznan counter-attacked to score through Krysztof Wybieralski.

From a potentially unassailable three-goal lead to a nervous 2-1 lead, Pembroke found it difficult to get back into the game and conceded again with 10 minutes left.

In the tense final moments, David Harte saved from a penalty stroke while captain Paddy Conlon was given a two-minute suspension over a disputed penalty corner.

With Pembroke down to 10 men, Poznan launched their late show to knock Wanderers out of the competition at the first hurdle.

Back home in Leinster, Fingal shaded their vital encounter with Monkstown in the race for All-Ireland league qualification.

Mick McGuinness scored the vital goal for the airport side, just 20 seconds after Monkstown had got back on terms through a brace by Gareth Watkins.

The match was also a notable milestone for Tony Doyle - a late goalkeeping call up - who joined the small band of division one players to also be a grandfather.