MEN'S HOCKEY: In their tigerish 1-0 victory over off-colour Pembroke Wanderers at St Marks on Saturday, Glenanne showed that they remain more hungry for success. They are virtually certain to regain the Leinster Senior League title from Pembroke, needing three points at the most from their last three games (against Aer Lingus, Corinthians and YMCA) to secure the laurels.
Spurred by Alan Browne, Glenanne closed down the Pembroke attackers more effectively than in any of their top level matches over the last three seasons. The home defence, with Joe Brennan at his sharpest, was breached only once, early in the second half, when it seemed that Allan Kershaw's lobbed shot was entering an open net, but David Shaw appeared magically to take the ball off the line.
That snuffed out Pembroke most vigorous offensive, following which Glenanne surged forward assertively to plunder the crucial goal as Roly O'Donoghue burrowed through the cover for John Goulding to score from close range.
As Glenanne went on to reflect the trend of the match by increasing the short-corner tally to 3-0, there was no way back for Pembroke.
Corinthians' outside hopes were also wiped out earlier in the day in a 1-1 draw with UCD - a heartening result for the students. Monkstown strengthened their claim for a top four finish with a 3-1 defeat of Aer Lingus.
The Youth Interprovincial Championships at Villiers School, Limerick, was abandoned yesterday because of snow. Ulster were declared champions at both under-18 and under-16 grades, based on the first series of matches on Friday and Saturday.
The Ulster Seniors had beaten Munster 3-0 and Leinster 3-1 while their Juniors took the honours on goal difference from Leinster. Although the weather spoiled the tournament, reputations - gained notably at club level - had been well established for the selectors to name talented Irish sides for the European Championships in Rotterdam in July.
The Leinster under-18s, though, as title favourites, will have been disappointed with the Limerick results. Held scoreless by the fine goalkeeping of Munster's Chris Daunt, they took the lead against Ulster through Phelie Maguire from a short corner but the well drilled Northern Province made better use of their chances with goals from Simon Magowan (2) and Steve Arbuthnot.
Leinster were determined to salvage some prestige from their two scheduled matches yesterday but were frustrated by the elements. At least, energy will have been conserved for the key Senior Cup tie between St Andrews and Wesley on Thursday.
