Two down, one to go, Pembroke Wanderers' treble hopes are alive and kicking after their 4-1 win over Catholic Institute in Banbridge on Sunday saw them add the Champions Trophy to the Hockey League title they had already collected last month.
The teams meet again in next Saturday’s Irish Senior Cup final when Pembroke will attempt to complete a clean sweep of the season’s major honours, while Institute will hope it’s a case of third time lucky having lost out to the Dublin side in the first two legs of that potential treble.
Their most recent meeting ended in a 4-1 win for Institute in last month's HL game in Limerick but against a Pembroke side back to full strength they were playing catch up almost from the off this time around, Sinead Loughran giving Pembroke the lead after just four minutes and Ali Griffin doubling that advantage five minutes later.
The Limerick team were back in it, though, in the second quarter after Roisin Upton, from just inside the Pembroke half, sent a brilliant aerial ball from the left in to the circle which Naomi Carroll reached first and volleyed past Emma Buckley.
But their hopes of completing a comeback were short-lived, Eanna Horan making it 3-1 within two minutes, scoring with a reverse strike after being picked out by Emily Beatty at the end of a driving run.
And come the 58th minute Martha McCready sealed Pembroke’s first ever success in the competition when she turned home Rachel O’Brien’s cut-back from the baseline.
The only consolation for Institute is that by reaching the final, courtesy of a Carroll goal against UCD on Saturday with just two seconds left on the clock, they qualified for Europe for the first time.
For Pembroke, coached by Gavin Groves, it's the latest chapter in a remarkable season for a club that just four years ago - with a couple of Covid-interrupted seasons since - came perilously close to being relegated from the top flight of the Hockey League.
They now have their place in Europe booked, two major trophies in the cabinet, both won for the first time, with their sights set on the club’s first Irish Senior Cup triumph since 1975. As seasons go, you’d take it.
CATHOLIC INSTITUTE: P Smithwick, C O'Shea, N Carroll, R Upton, L Clery, L Foley, C Moloney, H Kelly, E Ryan, M Barrett, A Horan. Subs: A Hickey, B Murphy, A Bourke, L Ryan, J Clein.
PEMBROKE WANDERERS: E Buckley, L McGuire, A K Trevor, S Loughran, E Beatty, O Macken, E Curran, R O'Brien, A Naughton, I Delamer, G Pinder. Subs: E Horan, A Griffin, H O'Donnell, C Foley, M McCready.
Champions Trophy (at Havelock Park: Saturday – Semi-finals: Pembroke Wanderers 3 (C Foley, E Beatty, R O'Brien), Loreto 1 (L Mulcahy); Catholic Institute 3 (H Kelly, L Foley, N Carroll), UCD 2 (R Kelly, H McLoughlin). Sunday – Final: Pembroke 4 (S Loughran, A Griffin, E Horan, M McCready), Institute 1 (N Carroll).
