Harlequins and C of I Secure Playoff Spots

In men’s EYHL 1 Lisnagarvey men now have a three point lead at the top of the table after two wins. They were made to work hard for the win on Saturday but pulled through with a 2-1 scoreline against YMCA. On Sunday they had a routine 7-2 win away to local rivals Annadale. Both Three Rock Rovers and Banbridge stayed within touching distance of the leaders. Three Rock blitzed Avoca 5-0, while Banbdrige left it late but won 3-2 over Pembroke.

C of I men secured second place in Pool A of EYHL 2 with a convincing 4-1 win over Railway Union. After a scoreless first half, both teams exchanged goals in the third quarter before C of I romped home with 3 goals in the final quarter to take the points.

In Pool B, another hat trick from Julian Dale – his seventh of the season – put Harlequins through to the playoffs too as they had an impressive 5-0 away win against Clontarf. Adam Young and Sam Dale were also on the scoresheet. This sets them up for a playoff game against Munster rivals Bandon.

In women’s EYHL 1 leaders Loreto scored late to deny Catholic Institute a precious point in their bid to make the top four. Yasmin Pratt got the crucial goal that kept them 2 points clear of local rivals Railway Union. At the other end of the table UCC’s relegation was confirmed as they lost narrowly 2-1 to Pemboke Wanderers.

In women’s EYHL 2 Ashton moved to fourth in pool B after a 2-2 draw with Lurgan. A diving finish from Emily O’Leary put Ashton one up just before the halftime break. Breana O’Gorman doubled the lead in the third quarter after a mix up in the Lurgan defence. However, Lurgan fought back in the final quarter grabbing two late goals before going close to a third.

Harlequins completed the perfect season in Munster Division 1 with a 2-1 win over Catholic Institute B to make it 12 wins in 12 games. They had to come from behind though with Joy Sampson scoring in the third and fourth quarter extending her lead at the top of the goal scoring charts in the process.

Crescent made to their second final this season as they overcame Bandon in a shootout in Bandon Grammar school. With the game ending 1-1 in normal time, Crescent won the run-ins 3-2 setting up a final against UCC B who beat Waterford 1-0.

Saturday 29th March 2025
Men – EYHL Division 1: Avoca 0 Three Rock Rovers 5; Banbridge 3 Pembroke Wanderers 2; Lisnagarvey 2 YMCA 1; University College Dublin 2 Annadale 3.
Men – EYHL Division 2 – Pool A: Cork Church of Ireland 4 (D Ruddock, R Sweetnam, I Balding, T Gaffney) Railway Union 1; Kilkenny 1 Cookstown 5
Men – EYHL Division 2 – Pool B: Clontarf 0 Cork Harlequins 5 (J Dale 3, A Young, S Dale); Instonians 1 Portrane 3
Men – Munster Charity Cup – 1/2 Finals: Waterford 6 (I Johnson 2, H Earl, H Lima, H O’Shea, S Johnson) Cork Harlequins B 2 (H O’Byrne, C Bateman).
Women – EYHL Division 1: Ards 0 University College Dublin 2; Loreto 1 Catholic Institute 0; Old Alexandra 0 (BP) Ulster Elks 0; Pegasus 1 Railway Union 5; Pembroke Wanderers 2 University College Cork 1 (M Sanderson).
Women – EYHL Division 2 – Pool A: Muckross 0 Monkstown 0.
Women – EYHL Division 2 – Pool B: Ashton 2 (E O’Leary, B O’Gorman) Lurgan 2; University of Galway 0 Queens University 3.
Women – Munster Division 1: Cork Harlequins 2 (J Sampson 2) Catholic Institute B 1 (E Higgins)
Women – Munster Examiner Cup – 1/2 Finals: Bandon 1 (V Burns) Crescent 1 (R O’Leary) (Crescent win 3-2 on shootout); Waterford 0 University College Cork B 1
Sunday 30th March
Men – EYHL1: Annadale 2 Lisnagarvey 7.