Lisnagarvey eye treble with Irish Senior Cup success

‘Garvey, who won the EY Hockey League and EY Champions Trophy finals, now have Monkstown standing in the way of a national clean-sweep.

They are hoping to land a 25th title but they face a Monkstown side who pushed them to the limit last Saturday in the Champions Trophy semi-final.

Indeed, the Dubliners had one foot in the final with three minutes to go courtesy of Jeremy Duncan’s second half goal. But a stunning late salvo from Andy Williamson and Matthew Nelson with just seconds to go saw the Hillsborough side nab a 2-1 victory from the embers.

They followed up a day later with a shoot-out win over Banbridge in the final; having won the regular league season on goal difference from Three Rock Rovers, it shows how tight the margins are in the men’s top five but Garvey seemingly hold that vital mental edge in a clinch.

And they could conceivably win five titles if they win the Ulster Kirk Cup and the EuroHockey Club Challenge I in the Czech Republic in June.

“To win these two trophies and a massive test against Monkstown, to have that opportunity for the treble is fantastic,” said Daniel Nelson in the wake of the Champions Trophy.

“An Ulster Cup final and a European trip after that! Everyone thinks our season is almost done but we still have a month to go!”

Pembroke are also targeting similar success in the women's game.

They will be first on court on Saturday, and will be looking to repeat last Sunday’s comprehensive success against Catholic Institute in which they produced a wonderful display of tight defence allied to a speedy counter-attacking.

A feature has been the spread of goalscorers, 16 different players weighing in with none scoring more than six. It’s a stat which makes it difficult for opponents to know