MENS HOCKEY: The Irish Senior Cup semi-finals on March 23rd could hardly be more potent as Pembroke Wanderers, Instonians and Cork C of I go into the hat with Glenanne or Harlequins in next weekend's draw.
There was keen resistance from Annadale, Corinthians and Raphoe in Saturday's three quarter-finals, but the visiting sides prevailed relatively convincingly.
Pembroke swooped into an early lead through Justin Sherriff at Lough Moss. Ronan Gormley increased the margin before Ian Lewers replied for Annadale, leaving Stephen Stewart to seal victory with the visitors' third well-polished goal.
It seemed initially that C of I were going to out-play Corinthians as Colin Hanna and Alastair Dunne steamed into open space to gain a 2-0 lead at Whitechurch Park, but James Benson ensured that the home side gained considerable parity in mid-field, enabling Colin Stewart to make it a little tight at the finish (2-1).
Mark Irwin put Instonians ahead at Raphoe, and although William Kilpatrick equalised immediately, the Donegal side conceded second-half goals to Clarke Kennedy and Arron Gill, as well as a short-corner brace from Chris Barnes in the dying minutes.
In the fourth round tie in Cork, Tully Moore (returned to Australia today) popped Avoca into a surprise lead against Harlequins, who responded sharply with two set-piece strikes from David Eakins, as well as a finely constructed goal finished off by Eddie Gash.
Meanwhile, Glenane - awaiting Harlequins' visit to Dublin next weekend to complete the semi-final lineout - made certain of the Leinster League title by beating Aer Lingus 5-2 on Saturday as well as reaching the Mills Cup final yesterday. It was only by a Graham Shaw "golden goal", though, that they defeated Monkstown 1-0 at Grange Road after meeting much defiance, notably from Shane Davey, Greg Dunne and Brian Groves.
Undefeated now in 27 matches, Glenanne once again go into the St Patrick's Day Cable & Wireless final against the holders, Pembroke, who edged out Three Rock Rovers 3-1.
Gordon Elliott was twice on the target, scoring his second goal from a penalty after Peter McConnell had notched an equaliser for Rovers. A Sheriff tap-in completed the scoring.
IRISH SENIOR CUP - Fourth round: Cork Harlequins 3 (D Eakins 2, E Gash) Avoca 1 (T Moore); Quarter-finals: Raphoe 1 (W Kilpatrick) Instonians 5 (M Irwin, C Kennedy, A Gill, C Barnes 2); Corinthians 1 (C Stewart) Cork C of I 2 (C Hanna, A Dunne); Annadale 1 (I Lewers), Pembroke Wanderers 3 (J Sheriff, R Gormley, S Stewart)
LEINSTER SENIOR CUP - Semi-finals: Glenanne 1 (G Shaw) Monkstown 0 (aet; Pembroke Wanderers3 (G Elliott 2 - 1 pen, J Sherriff) Three Rock Rovers 1 (P McConnell)
