Watkins and Monkstown posing a formidable threat

HOCKEY:WITH MONKSTOWN sitting on 12 points looking up at three clubs, Pembroke, Glenanne and YMCA, on 13 points, this weekend could rearrange the furniture at the top of the table as Monkstown travel to Alexandra College to meet the leading club YM'.

The match is probably the pick of the lot over the weekend and although the difference on the table is four positions, there is not that much of a gap between the performance of two sides. YMCA beat Monkstown in the Irish Hockey League (IHL) but Monkstown avenged that loss in the Leinster Senior Cup last Sunday.

In that respect, Monkstown may feel that momentum has shifted slightly in their favour. Gareth Watkins is surely Monkstown’s biggest goal threat and he has brought his seasonal haul to 12, including a hat-rick last week, while YMCA will be without Phil Marshall who suffered a mouth injury on Sunday. It initially looked severe but, according to YMCA coach Trevor Dagg, is happily not as serious as first thought.

Glenanne travel over to Park Avenue to face a Railway Union side that is becoming increasingly hard to beat. In recent years Railway have struggled to get themselves up the table but they seem to have developed a sounder defence and teams are now finding them a harder nut to crack.

Even the mighty Glenanne may find Railway a more demanding proposition these days.

Pembroke’s meeting with the students from UCD appears to be easily called. But student sides being what they are, there is occasionally an element of uncertainty about how they will perform. That’s a double-edged sword and certainly Pembroke will turn out at Serpentine Avenue fully expecting to gobble them up.

Likewise Three Rock Rovers should have no anxiety attacks tonight with thoughts of Weston overrunning their defence.

Weston did pick up their first point last week and that should be a source of comfort as they were moving through the season with a big bagel beside their name. That said, Rovers are expected not to slip up here.

WEEKEND FIXTURES

SATURDAY – Leinster Senior League Division one: Fingal v Corinthians, TBC; Pembroke v UCD, Serpentine Avenue 2.0; Railway v Glenanne, Park Avenue 2.0; Three Rock Rovers v Weston TBC; YMCA v Monkstown, Alexandra College 2.0.