The top of the EYHL might take more of a firm shape at Rathdown School at 4.15pm on Saturday as the top two sides in the league table, Monkstown and Lisnagarvey, meet.
With five points currently separating the two teams, the pressure is on the home side to try to break the tight hold the Ulster men have had on the league since the beginning. Crucially, Lisnagarvey, who have won nine matches and drawn one from 10 played, have a game in hand over Monkstown making the meeting an even more consequential affair.
Monkstown go into the game with some confidence having put five goals past Corinthians last week. But the Glenageary-based side won’t want to take the same route against the leaders as they did against the sixth-placed club.
Last weekend Corinthians went 1-0 up with a goal from Calum Adair before Rory Nichols and Davy Carson replied by the end of the first quarter for Monkstown. Second-half goals from Geoff Cole, Carson again and Andrew Fogarty made the game safe for the winners.
Annadale, the bottom-placed side, meet Pembroke who are second from the bottom. The Belfast match has consequences for other reasons with Pembroke coming off a defeat to Glenanne last week and Annadale without a win in 10 games. The goal difference tells a bigger story there with the Ulster side conceding almost five goals a game for -49 goal difference over 10 matches.Pembroke’s goal difference is just minus 8 for 11 games played.
UCD are also fighting for a place in the top four but are trying to halt a slide. They face Glenanne in Belfield on Saturday and are currently in fifth place, four points behind Three Rock Rovers and in the chase for a coveted EY Champions Trophy spot.
EYHL Division 1: Annadale v Pembroke, Strathearn, 4pm; Banbridge v YMCA, Havelock Park, 2.45pm; Corinthian v Three Rock Rovers, Whitechurch Park, 2pm; Monkstown v Lisnagarvey, Rathdown, 4.15pm; UCD v Glenanne, Belfield, 1pm
Leinster Division 1: Avoca v Weston, Newpark, 1pm; Dublin North v Kilkenny, NSC, 1.15pm; Dublin University v Railway Union, Santry Avenue, 11.30am; Portrane v Clontarf, Donabate LC, 2pm; Rathgar v Bray, The High School, 2.15pm
