Sport

Tense encounter awaits Pembroke and Glenanne

MEN'S HOCKEY: No one would disagree with the Pembroke Wanderers' coach Simon Filgas when he said that if they were going to …

By Dermot Ashmore
Fri Mar 15 2002 - 00:00

MEN'S HOCKEY: No one would disagree with the Pembroke Wanderers' coach Simon Filgas when he said that if they were going to win anything this season, they would have to beat Glenanne.

This is the way it has worked out totally. Having surrendered the Leinster league title in 3-0 and 1-0 defeats, Pembroke now face Glenanne in the Cable & Wireless Mills Cup final at Grange Road on Sunday and then comes the Irish Senior Cup semi-final showdown at Tallaght tomorrow week. No doubt, they will also have a crucial meeting in the all-Ireland championship play-offs in May.

It's going to be a particularly hectic period for Glenanne, for they are involved, too, in the European Cup Winners Cup tournament in Gibraltar at Easter. How much pressure can they absorb and with how much marauding can they continue to respond?

Perhaps they can't win everything, particularly the Mills trophy if Pembroke (going for a fifth-in-a row) were to produce a peak performance which is so overdue after they were completely closed down in the last league game.

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It could be that Justin Sherriff and Gordon Elliott will revel in the Grange Road atmosphere (rather than the bleaker scene at Tallaght a week hence) but there is bound to be substantial sting in reply from Glenanne, with John Goulding being the chief suspect from his previous exploits.

It promises to be a fascinating game, if more intense than last year's final when Pembroke beat Corinthians 4-3.

There is also a match of substance in Cork this weekend. Harlequins, after their Irish Senior Cup elimination by Glenanne last Saturday, will be hoping to stave off C of I's challenge in the Munster League at Farmer's Cross on Monday (1.15). Like last season, the sides are virtually inseparable and they drew 0-0 in December, but first place will mean a less demanding assignment (against Corinthians) in the initial stage of the all-Ireland championship.

SUNDAY: Leinster Senior Cup final - Glenanne v Pembroke Wanderers, Grange Road, 2.0; Leinster Under-16 Cup final - Corinthians v Three Rock Rovers, Grange Road, 4.0.