Schedule – click to enlarge

Tournament preview
Four years after Ireland first participated in the women’s masters home nations in Swansea, with one Over 40s squad of 13, they host the tournament, fielding teams at O40s, O45s and O50s level. The tournament will take place in UCD / Railway /Pembroke on 14th – 16th June.

The O40s and O45s tournament will take place in Pembroke. Ireland’s first match there is Ireland O40s v Wales O40s at 3.30pm on Friday afternoon. The Ireland O45s play Wales O45s at 6.30pm. On the Saturday both teams face Scotland: the O40s at 10.00am and the O45s at 1.30pm. Both teams play England on Sunday – the O40s at 11.00am and the O45s at 2pm.

The O50s/O55s tournament takes place at UCD on the Friday afternoon with Ireland O50s playing Wales O50s at 3.30pm. The Saturday and Sunday matches take place in Railway with the Ireland O50s playing England O50s at 10.30am and then Scotland O50s at 3.30pm. They face England O55s at 1pm on Sunday.

The Ireland O40s are captained by Gillian Garrett, an Old Alex player, who has recently been plying her trade as an umpire but returns to the pitch to lead the Irish O40s in the Home Nations. Ex international Tara Browne is one of the two goalkeepers, with ex international forward Richelle Flanagan also on the squad. Ards defender Lynn Mills brings current playing experience to the team having recently played in both the Irish Senior Cup and Irish Hockey League semi-finals. All 4 Provinces are represented on the team, with Ben Epstein as coach.

The Ireland O45s field an experienced Masters team, many having played at O40s level. Ex international Alison Thompson (Vance) is one of the goalkeepers and ex international Joanne O’Grady brings guile to the midfield. Linda Jenkinson and Tracey Skoyles make for a sound defensive unit while Annie Lawlor (Captain), Joan Dobson (Vice Captain), and Roly Burke bring senior club experience to the midfield. Julie Doak and Kathy Shaw (Johnson) provide a forward threat. Ross Canning coaches the O45s.

At O50s level ex international Maggie Hunter (Browne) joins the squad, commanding the midfield, along with ex international Orla Bell. The O50s have ex international forwards Carolyn Burns (Shankey) and Cathy Walsh, as well as ex international defender Orla Galvin, who along with captain Helen Johnston, provides an experienced defence. Sue Vincent, Dee Wallace and Angie Boran bring pace to the side. Leinster make up the bulk of the squad which is coached by Stuart Malcolm.

Food will be provided at Railway and Pembroke throughout both Saturday and Sunday, with all support welcome.

Ireland O40s: Tara Browne (GK, Galway), Joanne Robinson (GK, Grosvenor), Emma Glanville (Galway), Shelly Lyons (Pegasus), Lynn Mills (Ards), Kerry Johnson (Pembroke), Noreen Dockery (Old Alex), Clodagh McMoreland (Yeats County), Noreen Daly-Gillis (Cork Wanderers), Julie Bell (Belfast Harlequins), Nichola Thompson (Lurgan Ladies), Clara Chamberlayne (VC, Pembroke), Gillian Garrett (C, Old Alex), Alison Gillan (Holywood), Hazel Agar (Old Alex), Caroline Sharkey (Loreto), Ashling Schutte (Pembroke), Richelle Flanagan (Old Alex). Coach: Ben Epstein, Assistant Coach: Deirdre McDermott; Manager: Ailish Langan

Ireland O45s: Sinead Guilfoyle (GK, Pembroke), Alison Thompson (GK, Portadown), Linda Jenkinson (Loreto), Judy Judge (Cork COI), Mairead Lyons (Three Rock Ladies/Barnes), Tracey Skoyles (Naas), Joan Dobson (Cork COI), Jane Salter (Glenanne), Annie Lawlor Capt (Pembroke), Roly Burke (Hermes), Jean Erskine (Newcastle), Julie Fisher (North Down), Julie Doak (Knock), Kathy Shaw (Kilorglin), Alison Pigot (Pembroke), Jacqui Freyne (Clonmel), Claire Bell (Belfast Harlequins), Joanne O’Grady (Suttonians). Coach: Ross Canning; Manager: Nikkey Cullen.

Ireland O50s: Helen Roche (GK, Railway), Orla Galvin (VC, Old Alex), Helen Johnston (C, Railway), Maura O’Neill (Three Rock Ladies), Bronwyn O’Donnell (Loreto), Dee Mooney (Loreto), Maggie Hunter (Lisnagarvey), Dymphna Hill (Cork COI), Pat Stewart (Grosvenor), Orla Bell (Pembroke), Angie Boran (Botanic), Maureen Flavin (Hermes), Siobhan Forde (Galway), Carolyn Burns (Rainey), Cathy Walsh (Cork COI), Dee Wallace (Ballyclare), Sue Vincent (Loreto), Ann Kirwan (Genesis). Coach: Stu Malcolm; Manager: Julie Wilson.

Winner: Dave Broderick H/C 27 Pts 29

Runner-up: Gary Johnston H/C 13 Pts 27

Class I: Robbie Meany H/C 12 Pts 26

Class II: Stu Johnston H/C 28 Pts 26

Visitor: Matt Hoffmann H/C 5 Pts 34

Nearest the pin: Dave Broderick

Next outing 21st June in Castlewarden GC

Email/Share

Update – Anna O’Neill has been announced as the new Lady Captain this week. Congratulations Anna!

Our outgoing Executive officers were also thanked and in particular West, Rob and Ava for their endless hours of work during the season which was much appreciated by all our members.

At the AGM the annual Linda Ryan Club Person Of The Year award was made. This is a prestigious award and is made to a Member or Members who have contributed to Pembroke Wanderers over the last season to an outstanding level. Whilst last season the award was made jointly, this year there has been one exceptional candidate and the selection of the recipient was therefore very straightforward! The Executive Committee was unanimous in its decision and the deserving recipient is Sinéad Gulifoyle.

Sinéad’s involvement in the running of the huge Junior Section of Pembroke is enormous, and has been for several years, and encompasses all aspects of management, selection, coaching, umpiring, and every other little detail in between. She helps keep the future of our great Club developing and competing at their own age levels, as well as preparing the players for life in the Adult teams. On top of this, Sinéad plays regularly for several teams in Pembroke, as well as promoting the Club through her Leinster and Ireland Master’s activities.

Many congratulations to Sinéad, who is the deserved winner of this award for 2012/13.

Thursday night saw Pembroke meet Wicklow for the second time in as many weeks, in the Walters Cup final at Whitechurch Park. The Walters Cup may not be the most famous trophy in Leinster hockey, but it has been the traditional end to the lower league season for many years. The Walters Cup is for teams whose players who have played at least eight games in Division 7 or lower and is an ideal way for the more inconsistent clubs to garner some silverware.

Wicklow came into the game smarting from a Minor Cup final loss to Corinthians at the weekend and the loss of their 100% league record to Pembroke a fortnight ago. Pembroke, for their part, came into the match buoyed by some good end of season form and eager for a trophy!

The match began at a frantic pace, with Wicklow dominating. Some sloppy Pembroke passing handed a Wicklow an early chance to try their luck. Failing to capitalise on the initial opportunity, Wicklow continued to press and forced a short corner. Although Wicklow’s first shot was saved by Rob Morgan in the Pembroke goal, Wicklow reacted quicker and slotted home the rebound, past Dave Simmons on the post, who could do little about it.

Wicklow continued to run the midfield and with it, the game. Only some excellent scramble defence by Pembroke and some horrific finishing by Wicklow kept the score at 0-1. Midway through the half, Pembroke’s midfield began to see some good possession and Neil Farrell once again threw his body on the line in trying to convert a great cross, sadly to no avail. The introductions of Peter Collins and Adam Goggin gave Pembroke extra outlets up front as Pembroke enjoyed a rare purple patch.

Half-time came at just the right moment for Pembroke, who had started to flag a little again and it handed Coach Dave Loughrey the chance to impart some much needed words of wisdom. Players’ commitment was questioned, challenges were thrown down, threats were issued by a desperate goalkeeper; but only time would tell if it would be enough.

Right from the restart, Pembroke looked a different side. Passes were (mostly) crisper, firmer and more accurate with Buzzy McDonnell, Sayed Shah and Lawrence Chadwick all getting forward with real urgency. A ridiculously high press seemed to stifle Wicklow’s ability to break into the Pembroke half and when they did get forward, they were met by one of Dave Simmons, Alan Hartney, Oisin de Barra or Brian Lambert, who calmly dealt with each and every situation. Even a kamikaze foray into left back territory by Rob Morgan, didn’t throw the defence’s rhythm, as they simply got behind to cover the goal line.

Pembroke showed enough going forward too, to suggest they could yet claim an equalizer and despite squandering their only short corner and a series of further chances, nobody panicked. Eventually, the pressure paid off with five minutes to go, as a great run down the left was crossed for Peter Collins to further enhance his goal scoring reputation with an excellent finish. Pembroke hearts were lifted, while Wicklow looked crestfallen. The final five minutes saw chances for both teams, but no further goals and so the tie went to penalty strokes.

Coach Loughrey gathered his troops for one last effort, calling on five volunteers for the onerous task of taking a stroke. Before he even finished his sentence, he had five hands in the air: Andrew Stokes, who was eager to end his seventeen year wait for a Walters Cup winner’s medal; goal scorer Collins and the young trio of Mark Noone, Buzzy McDonnell and Ben Raymond.

After a coin toss, it was Pembroke’s Stokes who went first, sending the Wicklow keeper the wrong way. Wicklow responded in kind to level matters at one all. Peter Collins’s flick was ice cold and put Pembroke ahead again at two one. From Wicklow’s next stroke, Rob Morgan got down to somehow keep it out – although it seemed like an eternity had passed before the umpires confirmed this. Mark Noone was unfortunate to see his attempt saved, but when Wicklow missed their corresponding stroke, Pembroke started to think this could be their year.

Buzzy McDonnell made no mistake with his net buster and although Wicklow did score again from a retaken fourth stroke, Ben Raymond stepped up to score Pembroke’s final effort and break Wicklow hearts. The Pembroke celebrations may well have been heard back in Serpentine Avenue, such was the elation at having secured the cup for the first time since 2007.

Pembroke Wanderers
Rob Morgan (GK), Alan Hartney, Oisin de Barra, Dave Simmons, Brian Lambert, Andrew Stokes, Sayed Shah, Mark Noone, Ben Raymond, Buzzy McDonnell, Adam Goggin, Neil Farrell, Peter Collins, Lawrence Chadwick. Coach: Dave Loughrey

Email/Share

Pembroke as usual had plenty of involvement in both the Mens and Ladies – for the Men, President West Thornton lined out for Leinster along with Stefan Ritzen, Neal Labuschagne, Stewart Atkinson and Peter Priestley.

West picked up a nasty hand injury but played again after some strapping up by Marian O’Brien (Leinster O45′s), formerly nurse but now a farmer – did the trick!

The Leinster Men over 40′s and women over 40′s & over 45′s all won their competitions – congratulations to all involved.

Clara Chamberlayne, Kerry Johnson, Annie Lawlor, Ash Schutte, Alison Pigot and Sinead Guilfoyle in the sticks were pivotal players in those winning squads.

Elsewhere it was great to see former Pembroke Wanderers players Orla Bell, Dee Mooney, Claire Deasy and Emma Glanville lining out also.

 
Read the report on The Hook » or visit The Masters facebook page for more info.

Next up for Masters hockey will be the Home Nations series in June – hosted this year by Ireland the tournament will be hosted by us here in Pembroke Wanderers and around the corner in Railway Union.

Email/Share

Prizes galore on the night – Best offensive team, best defensive team, The Batt Bowl, The Agnes Lewis Pewter Mug, Team Player prizes etc and a host of trophies to celebrate – you know the drill – plus great food, great company and the best craic you will have this year.

Mick has also promised the Committee he will be his best behaviour all night. We will believe it when we see it! Captains are now taking names – make it quick though..

See you all on Sat week at 7.30pm sharp in the bar for a pre-meal tipple.

Email/Share

Having watched the 2nds IJC victory in UCD, we made our way to Three Rock Rovers. Every single one of us defiant in the knowledge that we were not going to be the team that lost. Having spent the majority of the morning practicing short corners, excitement now waned and pressure mounted. The warm up, led by Coaches David Loughrey and David Molloy wasn’t just physical, it was mental as well. Our heads were firmly in the game. We were not leaving the grounds empty handed.

Captains fantastic – Ava Cooper and Lydia Coleman celebrate

Muckross were a dynamic team and had topped their division. However they weren’t the only energetic and enthusiastic team on the pitch. It was going to be hard to call a winner. Both teams weren’t going down without a fight. It was end-to-end. Muckross were physically strong, pushing Pembroke off the ball. However our fantastic fitness and skills coach Stuart Garrett had trained us for matches like this with his “shoulders” drill. We knew what to do – we just pushed back!

Our first goal came from a short corner. A powerful straight shot on goal by Yvonne Bell unluckily rebounded off the post but fortunately came straight into the firing line of Captain Lydia Coleman, who neatly buried it into the goal.

Our second goal came from the combined efforts of Kate Duffy (Duffy Duffy) and the courageous Clodagh Rigby who had been under the weather before the final but powered through to perform some wonderful hockey. Clodagh having made a break from the half way line weaved her way around the Muckross defence (including the goalkeeper) and passed an absolute beauty of a ball to Kate who confidently deflected it in.

Come half time, despite being 2-nil up, we were exhausted. The first 35 minutes had felt like the full 70, everyone had put everything in. Nevertheless, our physical exertion was nothing in comparison to the adrenaline that kept us going.

Throughout the second half, our mid-field were relentless as ever. Making breaks and tracking back whenever possible. We were particularly wary at the back, we knew Muckross would come searching for their comeback. With our crunch tackles, close marking and plenty of communication, the least we were going to do was make their comeback difficult.

With 5 minutes to go and after four consecutive defensive short corners which were passionately and aggressively defended as if our lives depended on it, Muckross unfortunately managed to bang one in but it didn’t matter. The final whistle blew. We were Leinster Cup Champions.

Thanks to all family, friends and fellow club members who came out to support. Can’t wait to see you all again this time next year, because next year… we’re winning the double!

The Team
Claire Seymour (GK), Ava Cooper, Chloe Halpenny, Lauren Godfrey, Ciara Hughes, Roisin Corcoran, Yvonne Bell, Avril Burgess , Ellen Flahavan, Kate Duffy, Lydia Coleman, Clodagh Rigby, Alison Pigot, Rebecca Good. Coaches David Loughery & David Molloy

Ladies 5ths Leinster Cup Final 2013
By Pembroke Wanderers Hockey Club  |  View on Facebook

Having lost many of last year’s excellent squad to higher teams, following retirements and injuries, the 6s were forced to regroup in October, after the withdrawal of our 7ths and although a league challenge never looked likely, Keith Sutherland did a fine job of steadying the ship. Wicklow, on the other hand came into the match as firm favourites, recently confirmed as division 8 champions, having won all fifteen of their league games so far, scoring fifty three goals and conceding only six, along the way.

The match began at a frantic pace, with both sides getting plenty of position. The unfamiliar looking Pembroke back four of Justin van der Spuy, West Thornton, Wouter Desmit and Keith Sutherland were called into action, right from the off; with Wicklow making better use of their possession to produce some early chances, from which they will feel they should have done better.

As the half wore on, the Pembroke midfield got a foothold in the game and youngster Sean Fenlon, a graduate of our u16s, was able to get on the ball and show that he’s one for the future with some mazy runs down the left and some tenacious tackling that left Wicklow in no doubt that it’s definitely the size of the fight in the man that matters!

Wicklow, however, continued to show why they were in such rich scoring form this year, as they produced a number of shots from play that keeper Rob Morgan was forced to deal with. Wicklow’s pressure eventually yielded a couple of short corners midway through the half, although they will rue the absence of former PWHC favourite Stephen Stewart, as the short corner team seemed to have left their shooting sticks at home and spurned a number of gilt edged opportunities.

Pembroke’s response was as beautiful, as it was ruthless. Fine work in midfield saw Wicklow cough up a shorty and Pembroke made no mistake, Neel Bhandari sliding in at the far post to deflect the initial shot past a stranded Wicklow defence. The half finished with a flurry of activity in Pembroke’s circle, but Wicklow couldn’t find a way through and the teams went in for half time with the hosts leading by a goal to nil.

The second half began amid ever heavier rain and Pembroke appeared sluggish after the break. The loss of Andrew Stokes and Neil Farrell to injury just after half time, left Pembroke short of options off the bench and Dan Thornton and Sayed Shah had to work extra hard from midfield. Unfortunately, Wicklow eventually made up for their earlier profligacy. Having seen an earlier effort from play come back off the post, Wicklow piled forward on a counter attack and eventually danced their way to the bye line and pulled it back for a tap in to level the score. The Pembroke defence will feel they should have done better though, as keeper Morgan appeared to fluff his calls, which allowed Wicklow the vital space and time, to cross and finish.

Tempers flared on several occasions in the second half. The first came when Wicklow were generously awarded a short corner when Rob Morgan was adjudged to have taken out the centre forward, when it looked to all that the Wicklow player had been illegally shielding the ball and was backing in. This incident was quickly followed by West Thornton needing attention for a challenge that would even have been deemed dangerous in ice hockey. Thankfully, he returned to the fold after a small break, to resume his duties at the back.

Both umpires were soon called into action again as the match threatened to descend into a brawl, when Neel Bhandari saw yellow for appearing to retaliate for some persistent fouling by the Wicklow defence. Umpire Mossie Elliott did a fine job of controlling the situation and the match resumed with seven minutes left.

Although both sides enjoyed time on the ball, Wicklow always appeared the more likely to score, as their one man advantage began to tell. They were, however, unable to convert any of their chances and with the last play of normal time, Pembroke won a short corner; just before the whistle blew for full time. Once again, Pembroke showed Wicklow how it should be done, as Stefan Ritzen bundled home after the initial shot fell kindly to him. Wicklow’s protests that the ball had gone in off the back of Stefan’s stick, were checked by both umpires, with the goal eventually being given. A final score of 2 – 1 saw Pembroke become the only team to beat Wicklow and take any league points off them this season.

Some unsavoury scenes after the whistle left a sour taste in the mouth, but these were soon forgotten as Pembroke toasted a hard fought win, over an outstanding Wicklow side that were deserving division 8 winners.

Pembroke squad: Rob Morgan (GK), West Thornton, Justin Van Der Spuy, Wouter Desmit, Keith Sutherland (Capt.), Sean Fenlon, Andrew Stokes, Sayed Shah, Stephen Phelan, Stefan Ritzen, Neil Farrell, Neel Bhandari, Jaime Bevan, Dan Thornton.

Email/Share

Their cup run had been almost flawless, scoring 15 and conceding just 1, but Garvey were in impressive form, not having lost a game this season. Though still very cold, the sun was shining, and the purple and yellow faithful were out in force to cheer on the girls. Mick O’Connor, after a 40 minute rousing team talk (which almost matched Flanner’s semi final effort), took the unusual approach of doing just an 8 minute warm-up(!!) and after a hectic few minutes the teams lined out for the start.

Back (standing) L-R Orla Canavan, Lizzie de Araugo, Laura Hanlon, Ciara Howard, Holly Jones, Fiona O’ Donovan, Shona Doyle, Susan Ryan, Lorraine Horgan, Mick O’ Connor, Jane Brownlee, Ronan Flannery, Valerie Fenton (Manager)
Front L-R Orla Minogue, Anna O’Neill, Katherine Duff, Eimear McCarthy (c), Clara (Princess) Chamberlayne, Lisa O’Rourke, Vivienne Fenton

Shona took off on her trademark attacking run from the whistle and caught Garvey by surprise, making it as far as the 25 before winning a free. However, Garvey reacted well and whipped the ball back down into the Pembroke circle to win a corner within the opening minutes. Pembroke cleared, and the shock seemed to settle the nerves as the girls found their form and started to attack the Garvey end.

The Dublin team peppered the Garvey goal with shots, drawing gasps and ‘ooooohs’ from the crowd as ball after ball rolled past open goals, hit the uprights or marginally missed the mark. The Garvey keeper was in top form, and made countless saves to keep her team in it.

Pembroke won a first corner, but it came to nothing, Eimear Mc being caught by surprise when stopper Kats shouted “YOURS” (breaking the golden rule that NOBODY but Kats stops the ball!). The forwards and mids worked tirelessly and ran the Garvey defence ragged, forcing a number of corners and near misses. Sue Ryan came agonisingly close with her famous diving deflection. With 25 minutes gone, Micks ‘London Bus’ analogy was ringing in our ears, as despite having all the chances and all the pressure there was nothing to show for it.

Ciara Howard had a huge hand in changing that around the 30min mark. Picking the ball up in her newly acquired RB position she took off up the line, dinking and dragging the ball past numerous Garvey tackles. Having run almost the length of the pitch she picked out a great pass to Kats Duff who drove along the baseline and put the ball into the P spot. There was a melee in front of goals but Anna O’Neill was ultimately the hero, finally beating the Garvey keeper and putting the Dublin side in front.

Lizzie De Araugo found herself with a close range ‘one on one’ with the keeper minutes later and almost made it 2. Showing beautiful composure, she danced around the keeper only to just miss the open goal! In the process, she tore her calf muscle and had to be helped off by her team mates (while Ronan carefully supervised the situation from a safe distance). Garvey found a renewed energy and attacked with pace down the right. Fiona O’Donovan, spotting the danger, threw her body on the line / on the Garvey player and received a green card for her vigorous tackle almost on the stroke of half time.

In the second half Garvey came out fighting and started to put pressure on the Pembroke defence line. Clara Chamberlayne was superb and didn’t miss a tackle all day. Jane Brownlee never stopped running, and made a crucial tackle in the circle after sprinting from the half way line. Ciara, at right-back, offered a great attacking option with Kats who seemed to have a ball glued to her stick.

Viv Fenton on the opposite side was a powerhouse and linked up well with the speed of Shona and Holly in front of her. Laura Hanlon disguised pass almost reaped rewards in the circle but the Garvey defence held firm. The northern team were not giving up, and forced a number of corners, with Fiona making an amazing save off the line at one point. All over the field the Pembroke girls were putting in MOTM performances, and the support from the crowd was amazing.

On the sideline, Mick was working on his ‘inner calm’ but with 10 minutes to go he finally cracked and started shouting out random positions at the girls. Garvey continued to battle on, and with just over 2 mins on the clock won another corner. Pembroke defended well, but Garvey got another – it was heart attack stuff! The Pembroke defence, and Lisa in particular, didn’t miss a beat however, and cleared the ball down the right.

Lorraine Horgan collected in the Garvey 25 to shouts of “KEEP BALL”. And keep ball she did, hovering down the in bottom corner with half the Garvey team around her trying to poach the ball. Eventually the crowd started to the count down…TEN…NINE…EIGHT….while Lorraine kept working on holding the ball, all over the pitch the team started jumping with excitement and, after the slowest ten seconds ever, the hooter finally sounded! Game over, and the Irish Junior Cup was coming home to Pembroke!

Just a few quick “Thank You’s”
Massive thanks to everyone who came out to support and make this such a special day for the team and for the club.
To all the players who were part of this squad all season.
To Val Fenton, who found her calling as manager extraordinaire this year and kept things running like clockwork on match day.
To Ronan, who was new to coaching and to ladies hockey, but he took to it like a natural and brought a new dimension to the team.
And last but not least, to Mick, who has been incredible in his 3 year tenure as coach of the Pembroke Wanderers Ladies 2nds.

Irish Junior Cup Final 2013
By Pembroke Wanderers Hockey Club  |  View on Facebook

Both have been an absolute pleasure to work with.
On my own, and the Club’s behalf, thank you both Emer and Antoine and we wish you all the best for the future.

On the upside, the Executive Committee are delighted to announce the co-opting of a new Honorary Treasurer, Lydia Coleman, to the Committee and we look forward to working with Lydia towards the future.

West Thornton
Club President

Email/Share

The current season for the 1st Team Squad can be described as successful in Leinster winning the Leinster Senior League (LSL) from Monkstown. However losing in the Leinster Senior Cup (LSC) to Fingal in the QF’s in February was disappointing. Getting to the Irish Senior Cup (ISC) Final was undoubtedly a success but losing 5-4; silver goal, was a disappointment.

The 2012/13 Season was one of frenetic activity in the three months up to Christmas with more than a 15 LSL and ISC matches played. However since then only the completion of the LSL, our exit from the LSC plus the Quarter, Semi and Final of the ISC have been played. The Irish Senior Cup run saw us defeat Lisnagarvey and Banbridge, two of Ulster’s top teams.

Paddy Conlon, player coach, has galvanised the young Squad to this success and there is optimism that they can progress to the finals of the most difficult Irish competition to win. He has been hugely helped during the season by Captain, Adam Pritchard and Manager, Robbie Meany. A particular piece of recent good fortune was the participation in the ISC Final week end of Ronan Flannery. Unfortunately Paddy Good has not recovered from his long term injury but is looking forward to next season to bring experience, pace and strength to the forward line.

Whilst the Squad is not entirely youth based you will have to search to find many over 30 (apart from PC) and teenagers abound. The younger element includes George Dagg, Mark Loughrey, Karl Lynch, Kirk Shimmins, David Kane, Geoff Garrett. Eric Foy and David Molloy.

The leading scorer in Leinster this season is ‘young veteran’ Alan Sothern. Such has been his scoring exploits in Leinster that Alan was recalled to the Irish international squad in February for the recent World Challenge 2 in India. Alan was joint top scorer in the Tournament; shared with an Indian player. He also met up there with some recent Pembroke international stalwarts; the Harte brothers, Ronan Gormley and Stuart Loughrey!

We were joined this season by Mark Ingram a young ‘keeper who has brought energy and presence to this position. This has been after several seasons where we have struggled to replace David Harte. It is never easy to replace an outstanding ‘keeper. Mark looks a very bright prospect indeed!

Other senior players have been superb in getting Pembroke back on top and none more so than Maurice (Mossie) Elliott. Mossie even found time to coach the Ladies 4th’s to a League win, unbeaten! Ben Grogan was another of the more senior players who has lifted his game considerably throughout the season.

The Squad now plays up to 7 matches in 5 weekends in the Irish Hockey League (IHL)! The established IHL format is such that a Club ‘pre-qualifies’ from the previous season and the top 12 Qualifiers are split into two Pools of 6.

The latest twist in the format is to play these over 4 consecutive weekends in April at different host clubs and the Top 2 in each Pool after 5 matches progress to the Finals Weekend playing on consecutive days. Winner of one Pool playing the runner-up in the other Pool and vice versa. This is more matches in 5 weeks than it takes to win the ISC over 5 months!

IHL venues
IHL venues for Pembroke are: Railway Union (6th April); YMCA, Alexandra College, (13th April); Lisnagarvey (14th April); Pembroke (20th April) and Cookstown (27th April). The opponents are respectively, Monkstown, Cork Harlequins, Annadale, Instonians and Cookstown.

The Squad now plays up to 7 matches in 5 weekends in the Irish Hockey League (IHL)!

The established IHL format is such that a Club pre-qualifies from the previous season and the top 12 Qualifiers are split into two Pools of 6.

The latest twist in the format is to play these over 4 consecutive weekends in April at different ‘host clubs’ and the Top 2 in each Pool after 5 matches progress to the Finals Weekend playing on consecutive days. Winner of one Pool playing the runner-up in the other Pool and vice versa. This is more matches in 5 weeks than it takes to win the ISC over 5 months!

The IHL venues for Pembroke are: Railway Union (6th April); YMCA, Alexandra College, (13th April); Lisnagarvey (14th April); Pembroke (20th April) and Cookstown (27th April). The opponents are respectively, Monkstown, Cork Harlequins, Annadale, Instonians and Cookstown.

En route, they garnered 17 wins from 18 outings with just a 1-1 draw against Trinity III breaking up their perfect season. With the introduction of some fresh faces we got off to a great start and built momentum from the get go.

The first game set the tone, away to a young Our Lady’s side that took a little while to settle into but with the first goal from open, opened up the tie and Pembroke saw the game off 3-0.

Their third outing was at home to Trinity and was to cause the side and coach Maurice Elliott some frustration. On a rain driven Wednesday night, the re-fixed match was one of missed chances and debated umpiring decisions with Pembroke feeling they should have won a penalty stroke.

The game ended 1-1 with the defence were given a stern talking to, something that appeared to have the desired impact as they were to concede just eight goals across the season.

Given the lack of goals scored in their previous season, Elliott made sure this vintage was well drilled on their set-pieces, with the introduction of Elaine Thompson’s drag flick and they soon began to run up the goals.

This, in turn, opened the door and was key for outfield goals. Top scorer Julie Delany relished the opportunities that this presented for her while youngster Holly Porter netted a memorable hat trick along the journey.

Other notable performances were against Our Lady’s at home in which captain and player of the match Jennifer Tutty scored a brace, just a snippet of her outstanding contribution throughout the season.

UCD away was another key game and, in hard fought fashion, Pembroke prevailed 1-0. This was an important milestone as UCD were among the main title contenders at this stage.

Another highlight was victory over a pacy Corinthian side in front of a noisy, full balcony with Rachel Breen – in her last game before travelling the world – central in a 3-0 win.

An unconventional change from centre forward to sweeper for Heather Yansusas saw the defence flourish. With the help of her partner in crime Kerry Johnson, the team’s confidence in defence was high.

The youngest member of the team – and one of two players called up on occasion to line out with the first eleven – was Irish and Leinster U-16 Orla Minogue, with her ability to stick save catching the eye of many coaches in Pembroke.

The team looked most dangerous when attacking down the right using the unstoppable combination of Aisling Sherriff and Ruth Dillon.

Goal of the season came during the victory march as they ran up a 5-1 win over Sandymount neighbours Railway Union when Elaine Thompson picked up a broken down corner, turning onto her reverse and caning the ball into the top right corner, bringing a roar from the balcony.

Speaking about the season, captain Tutty paid tribute to her side’s coach Maurice Elliott:

“The success of the winning team would not have been achieved without the watchful eye of our experienced and committed coach Mossie who saw us through our highs and lows. Without his hard work and coaching skill we may not have achieved such a prolific league success.”

Our first half didn’t quite go as planned with a good few circle penetrations but nothing to show for it. North Kildare caught us on the break a few times but nothing our defensive line couldn’t handle. Fiona O’Donovan and Rachel Scott picked out some nice long balls but were missed by inches by the forward line. Half-time couldn’t come quick enough, we needed a serious re-group and some inspiration words from Chris.

The way things were looking N Kildare would have been happy with a draw but we wanted nothing less than a win and came out guns blazing in the second half. It didn’t take long for us to gather a bit of moment.

A nice break up the wing by Anna O’Neill, she laid of the ball to Scotty who crashed the ball to a waiting Rachel O’Brien who cooly placed the ball into the bottom left hand corner. Her first Div 1 goal took her by surprise and didn’t realise what had happened until jumped on by Jilly!!!

We were looking on top of the game, that was until the umpires decided they were bored and started a bit of a card fest. With Maebh, Katie and Jilly all feeling the green love but also joined by NK players. Keeping composed when down to 10, NK put the pressure on and seemed to ghost at times through the middle. They managed to win a short corner by being ‘tripped’ in the 25 which was luckily reversed due to Pillows constant hassling!

One ghost too many had Jilly tracking back to steal the ball at our 25 and make a break up the wing and trying to chip the ball to Sorcha Clarke in the D resulted in a long corner. Putting the pressure on from here resulted in two short Corners and NK down to 8. Unable to convert we had all the pressure until the final whistle was blown.

Great team work by everyone has confirmed us 6th place for 2012/2013 season. A good building block for 2013/14.

We would like to thank everyone for their continued support throughout the year, see you next season!!!!

Email/Share

However, it was not made easy by a frustrating failure to convert early chances and penalty corners, eventually culminating in a penalty stroke, which would have put Pembroke into a deserved lead, only to be fluffed by Claire Picard for an easy save by the Trinity keeper…those pesky worms at it again! The sides finished scoreless at the break, but the stats were stacked in Pembroke’s favour, aided by a number of sin-binnings for the college side.

Maebh Horan dominated the centre of the pitch with measured control, in the highly anticipated mid-field battle with younger sister Eanna, the former taking advantage of a spell in the bin for some Horan-style ‘body-weight transference’ (Crawford et al.) by the latter onto the unsuspecting Spudsy Scotty. Trinity posed a threat on the counter, with some speedy breaks by Anna-May Whelan and former Pembroke player Alice Ward, but the defense held strong, marshalled by the ever-commandeering Ailbhe Coyle and her beautiful assistant Claire Mulcahy.

In the second half, Captain Jilly Collins led from the front, and came close a couple of times early on, with a close range reverse effort just wide. Moments later she made sure of it, with a diving finish to some slick Sophie Marshall skills on the base-line, which was unselfishly passed on by Sharon Carey for the all-important finish.

With their tails up, Pembroke went in search of more goals. But with Ailbhe in the bold-corner, the calls from the bench were to protect the lead, however slim. A couple of corners with ten minutes to go gifted the perfect opportunity to seal the deal, but Rachel Scott’s trademark tribal call celebration from her left switch cracker was somewhat premature, as the ball was adjudged to have taken a deflection downwards onto the backboard.

Some tight ball control from Nadia Douglas in the corner whittled away the seconds on the clock, and the solitary goal would have to suffice, as everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief on the final whistle.

A blooding of sorts for youngster Rachel O’Brien midweek (black eye and battered thumb), saw the Andrew’s student pull out a man-of-the-match performance, showing composure and maturity on the ball beyond her years.

There was great support from the balcony and a packed club house for the last home game – thanks to everyone who came down! The girls face North Kildare away at the Maws in their final game on the 23rd of March, a victory from which would guarantee 6th place and best of the ‘bottom-halfers’.

The first half saw an overall poor performance by the Pembroke side who struggled to adjust to Weston’s style of play. Weston won tip-off, and immediately knocked the ball over the PW endline, evidently seeking to wedge the visitors into their own 25. Weston’s high press certainly disrupted the PW play, making the quick transfers exceedingly difficult. The opening minutes saw a complete disruption of the PW structure, in a process that was to continue throughout the opening half. Luckily, the defence did well to soak up much of the pressure, with regulars Lyn, Sorcha, Ciara and Katie doing well to keep Weston out of the D. for long periods of time. The opening half saw some end to end action with Lorraine, Fiona, Annie and Jen in midfield interacting well with each other and the forwards.

PW challenged the Weston defence several times during opening half, but it was Weston who had the first shot at goal. Luckily, the effort was saved and cleared. Following this, PW had their own attempts at goal, with Julie, Elaine and Fiona testing the Weston keeper, but nothing resulted. Weston also had their own chances; their most challenging attack coming from a one-on-one with ‘keeper, Steph who successfully deflected the shot wide. Shortly after, PW had their own one-on-one against the Weston ‘keeper, who unfortunately also won her battle against Sarah McCready.

Coach, Ali Pigot recognised the need for some reconstruction in the team, and the second-half saw some positional changes. Annie was moved forward for “7 minutes” but played so well that she remained there for the duration. Katie was moved into mid-field, after Fiona had a bad slip that relegated her to the bench for the remainder of the match, while Avril stepped in as a formidable right back, settling in to the team brilliantly. The changes worked fantastically, and Pembroke really started to break-down the Weston defence. Within minutes, PW won a short-corner and finally started their ascent to victory. The clever routine saw Annie inject the ball to trapper, Lyn, who steadied it for Lorraine’s slip back to Annie at the near post, who calmly slotted it home for a 1-0 lead.

Pembroke’s slew of attacks continued throughout the second half, but despite countless shots and two other shorties, the scoreline remained 1-0. That was, of course, until some clever team passing between Ciara, Lorraine and Elaine resulted in a lovely ball directly across the pitch to Katie waiting in the Weston D. Katie calmly put the ball out of the reach of the Weston goalie with a reverse stick shot. Despite being 2-0 up, Pembroke remained focused and determined, with the defenders keeping Weston out the D. for the remainder of the match.

This victory ensures that Pembroke remain in a good position to claim 2nd place in Division 3. Thanks to our supporters who braved the inclement weather, and also to friendly hosts, Weston for their kind provision of refreshments.

The Pembroke faithful also came out in force, travelling down from Dublin that morning to cheer on the girls.

The lead up to the game suggested the odds were against Pembroke. Tara Junghenn was knocked out by a hockey ball on Friday in her schools match, and thankfully was ok, but not able to play. Sarah McCready was called into the squad at the last minute, and huge thanks to the all the McCready’s who didn’t think twice about hopping into the car to get her to Cork for the game on Sunday.

Then, on Sunday morning Kats Duff woke in Cork with a severe migraine which ruled her out of proceedings despite her very brave efforts to try and play.

The girls were down to 13 players, and with Mick playing with the Men’s 1sts at the opposite end of the country it fell to Ronan Flannery to rally the girls and get them out on the pitch. In a speech reminiscent of Pacino in Any Given Sunday, Ronan laid it all out for the team, told them what he wanted and sent them out raring to go.

The 2nds took off from the starting whistle, with Shona and Susan combining well and were unlucky not to win a corner in the opening seconds. Pembroke were in control, with Ciara Howard in her new position at RB playing a pivotal attacking role and creating some great opportunities down the right. Viv Fenton was relishing being back on home turf, but the excitement got the better of her and she received a green card 15 mins in for mouthing at the ref. Ashton struggled to find a way through as the midfield pressure was relentless and they resorted to trying to crash through balls to their forwards.

The hard work up front from Pembroke reaped rewards, and the II’s were unlucky not to score from their first corner which hit the post. They rectified that minutes later when Sue Ryan made it 1-0 to Pembroke deflecting a corner through the legs of the keeper. Shortly after that, the 2nds found the net again. Working the ball from end to end in a matter of seconds, Shona (possibly – goalscorer is actually pending video review) was waiting in the circle to finish off and make it 2-0. After that it was just an onslaught of pressure from Pembroke, and, having returned from her ‘side-line break’, Viv produced a wind-up that any camogie player would be proud of to make it 3-0 crashing the ball in the backboard from the top of the circle.

3-0 up at half time and things were looking good, but the team were not content to leave it there. In midfield, Lizzie de Araugo was like a woman possessed and tormented the Ashton back-line – reaching the 30-year milestone just days before had obviously had a profound effect on her. Jane Brownlee took up the central midfield position and distributed the ball right and left all day, opening up the attacking channels. Soon after the re-start Ashton received a yellow card for a dangerous stick trip on Viv. Pembroke used the advantage well, converting pressure into a number of short corners.

Holly Jones finished one of those off beautifully after a pass from Viv to make it 4-0 to Pembroke. Just minutes later Pembroke increased that 5, with Sarah McCready single-handedly creating the goal chance. Playing in right back, she collected the ball in the Pembroke 25 and took off up the line, dodging numerous Ashton sticks before picking out a perfect pass to Holly in the circle who cracked the ball home, leaving the keeper no chance.

Ashton, to their credit, never gave up, and with 15 mins to go forced their first short corner of the game. Lisa O’Rourke, who was having a quiet day in goals, was jolted awake with the Ashton support going ballistic on the side-line. The first corner was cleared but Ashton won another, again well defended with Clara Chamberlayne showing her usual calm and composure under pressure. A third corner was a raised strike which found Eimear’s hand and forced her off with 7 minutes on the clock. The back-line quickly re-set, and the girls took off on the attack again and won three successive corners at the far end. Fiona stepped into the striking position and a cracking shot found the bottom corner to take the 2nds to 6-0 on the final whistle.

Huge thanks to all the well-wishers and especially to those who came out and supported us on the day. Hope to see you all at the Final on April 7th v Lisnagarvey.

Unfortunately, Pembroke were at a loss to one very talented centre mid – Yvonne Bell, due to injury sustained in the league match against Our Lady’s the day previous (which Pembroke won 6-0). Despite this, she was present on the bench encouraging everyone on the team while sporting her fabulous new bruises and stitches.

The atmosphere was buzzing with many supporters gathering on the balcony and sideline anticipating kick off just before 4 o’ clock. The first half was tense, with both teams putting up a good fight, however, it wasn’t long until Rebecca Good crushed through UCD’s defence taking a cracking shot on goal to make the score 1-0.

As this team has learnt time and time again, 1-0 is not a score to be comfortable at, so Pembroke fought profusely for more goals. The half time whistle went and the score remained at 1-0. There wasn’t a happy face to be seen in the dugout at half time. We have been 1 up on UCD before and they have come back fighting, we were a long way to a win yet.

4-0 to finish, Ladies 5ths into the Final, woop woop! #PEM twitter.com/PWHC/status/30…

— Pembroke Wanderers (@PWHC) March 3, 2013

With motivational and positive words from all, the team paced eagerly back onto the pitch ready for a tough second half. Pembroke started the second half strong with Rebecca adding a second goal to her list. The team continued to battle against UCD’s ever weakening defence and with this came a lovely deflected goal from Kate Duffy. UCD kept fighting but it wasn’t enough to stop Roisin Corcoran turning the score into 4-0.

The final whistle blew and confirmed that it would be Pembroke versus Muckross 3rds in the Cup Final on the 7th of April.

Huge thank you to the phenomenal supporters who have been so loyal all season… balcony temperature reported at -2 during the match… that’s dedicated supporters… see you for our Final!!!! BRING IT ON!!

The team were a bit concerned as to how they would perform on the sand-based pitch but were determined to try and keep errors to a minimum putting pressure on their opponents and forcing them to make errors. Captain and centre-midfield Laura Curtis, centre-forward Alannah Quinlan and centre-back Rebekah Waters set the tone early on and were to prove dominant in the vital central core area throughout the whole match.

On five minutes Alannah forced her way into the circle and hit just narrowly wide of the left-hand post. When the opposition did get the ball to the flanks, Sarah Donnelly and Sarah Kilroy playing at left and right back respectively, closed down their opponents and either succeeded in winning line hits or managed to dispossess them and get passes to midfielders Katie McKiernan and Karla Lacken to set-up counter attacks.

The first goal scored was always going to be important as it would help build team confidence and settle things down. Pembroke scored the vital goal midway through the first half and was the product of good right-hand attacking team interplay. Laura won a free around the opposition 23 metre line, took a quick self-pass before passing to Katie supporting her on her right. Katie in turn passed to Alison Smith who entered the circle at pace, getting to the end line and finding Alannah moving towards the near post who deflected the ball to the far post where Heather Wolfe calmly finished off the move scoring the opening goal.

Pembroke did not let up the pressure and both Katie and Karla went close to scoring before half-time. With Pembroke becoming dominant in most areas of the pitch Our Lady’s tried to use through passes into the left and right-hand channels. Iseult O’Kelly playing at sweeper put in a player of the match performance by reading situations quickly and acting so incisively she not only eliminated the danger but provided the platform for dangerous counter attacks.

After half-time Sarah Kilroy moved to left-midfield with Karla, who had picked up a slight injury, moving to left back. Sarah’s work rate was terrific, pinning back her opponent to a confined area near their 23 metre area for long periods of the 2nd half, leaving Karla comfortably dealing with anything from her new position. Alison, Alannah, Katie, Laura and Heather all continued to ask questions of Our Lady’s defence.

The second goal of the game was again the result of Pembroke pressure. Although there was an element of good fortune about it, it was the product of quick thinking and action by Pembroke. Our Lady’s conceded a free on the left-hand edge of the circle from some good combined pressure by Sarah Kilroy and Heather. Laura took a quick self-pass, moved the ball the requisite five metres before crashing it across the face of the goal which was deflected in by the unfortunate Our Lady’s defender under pressure from Alannah for an own goal.

Our Lady’s kept competing and started to make brief forays into the Pembroke 23 metre area which resulted in a couple of circle entries. Rebekah though was solid in defence and dealt with the attacks in a very composed manner aided by the irrepressible Iseult. When the ball got through the cover defence, Ali Pierse in goal kept her concentration level high and cleared the danger.

Over the season the players have built up a great team spirit and this was evident in their work rate for each other. Alannah with her constant threat when in possession of the ball, Laura with her tireless work in midfield creating forward momentum for her team-mates time and again, Heather with her determined running making life difficult for her opponent (in one incident she chased down a ball from well over 30 metres to win a short corner), all came close to getting player of the match nomination.

The final result was a 2-0 win for Pembroke. The team have created their own piece of history by being the first winners of the Leinster Girls Junior D Plate.

Unfortunately Sally MacCann, Sophie Rhatigan-Walsh and Naomi Fox who all contributed to the team’s efforts over the season were unable to play in the final due to injury/illness.

Thanks to…..
Nicola Elliott of Our Lady’s for hosting the final and providing refreshments afterwards
Bruce Curtis for umpiring and coaching throughout the season
Deirdre Waters for helping out as back-up coach
All the parents who supported the team not only on the day but throughout the season

Email/Share

The game was largely played between the two 25’s, but Pembroke looked a little sluggish in reaction time, with Lurgan doing well to catch the Leinster side off guard on a number of occasions. Mick and Ronan made it very clear in the half time talk that the travelling side needed to step it up, and from the re-start Pembroke began to gain the upper hand. Shona Doyle and Ciara Howard on the right in particular were outstanding, with Ciara demonstrating some inch-perfect stick work to dance the ball down the line.

Lisa – solid as a rock

Shona almost single-handedly created the goal chance when it came, stealing the ball inside her own half and burning down the right wing before finding Sue Ryan waiting on the baseline. Demonstrating her trademark composure Sue played a beautiful ball onto the T-Spot to find Shona who squared to Holly waiting at the backpost. Holly beat the keeper superbly to finish off the move.

Lurgan did not give up, but the Pembroke back-line held up well and did not allow the home team any clear cut chances. With minutes to go there was a momentary panic when, as Lisa dislodged a wide ball from the hoardings, the umpire looked straight at her and called “keeper substitution”. Lisa looked aghast thinking she was being sent off for time-wasting, until we realised that Lurgan were throwing everything they had at us and took their keeper off. The remaining minutes were frantic, with play racing up and down the field, but Pembroke held out for the win and progressing to the semi-finals of the IJC.

Many thanks to Paddy Deering for making the trip up to support, while Lou Tolerton also put in a sideline appearance fueling speculation she’ll be making a dramatic return to hockey action before the season ends.

In the other Qtr Finals, Ashton beat Railway 1-0 in Cork, Lisnagarvey beat UCD 2nds 3-2 and Hermes overcame Alex 2nds on strokes.

Irish Junior Cup Semi-Final draw, March 10th
Ashton v Pembroke Wanderers
Lisnagarvey v Hermes

The last time these teams met the game had ended in stalemate: a 0-0 draw, and it was clear from the early minutes that this was going to be another very close encounter. The game started, and continued, at a frantic pace. Muckross dominated the early phases of the match, and much of the first 10 minutes was played in the Pembroke half. Pembroke did well to soak up the initial pressure, with Lyn Taylor, Kerry Johnson, Sarah Raymond and Ciara Devane forcing several Muckross errors and skillfully turning over possession.

Muckross eventually broke through however, seizing an early shot at goal that was cleared by the Pembroke ‘keeper, Steph Courtney. This was followed shortly after by another Muckross attempt, as they seized on a Pembroke defensive error and went 1-on-1 with the Pembroke goalie. Luckily, the shot was cleared but the incident served to highlight the speed and determination of the Muckross side! After this, the Pembroke defenders began to really highlight their skill in the hit-outs; utilising some speedy transfers around the back, they pulled apart the Muckross forward-line and created space for counter-attacking.

In fact, Pembroke’s first shot at goal came as a result of some lovely interaction between the backs, the mids and the forwards: eventually Lorraine Horgan entered the D and took a mighty shot into the lower left corner of the Muckross goal, but it was well saved by the Muckross goalie.

Ash Sheriff also found her barage of shots, denied by the skillful Jane Coyne. The match really did feature end-to-end action, as Muckross won the ball deep in their own half and made their way once again into the Pembroke D., winning a shortie for their trouble. The complex passing manoeuvre eventually resulted in a high shot that was saved by the PW ‘keeper.

Shortly after, Pembroke made their own way back up the pitch, securing their own short-corner; the cracking shot from Lorraine (who was almost celebrating the goal), unfortunately was saved by a Muckross postie and cleared wide. Pembroke continued to threaten for the remainder of the first-half, continuously pressurising the Muckross defence.

The second half continued like the first. The indomitable combination of Ash Schutte, Fiona Keenan and Katie England doggedly cut through the Muckross defence, breaking down play and causing them no end of trouble. Darina Errity’s off-the-ball work rate through-out the match was phenomenal, as her speed and fitness always kept her one step ahead of her marker.

Eventually, Pembroke perseverance succeeded: Annie Lawlor stole the ball off a Muckross stick in the circle and managed to pick out Julie on the penalty spot to reverse it into the goal through the legs of the on-rushing keeper. Pembroke pushed on from there, and Lorraine Horgan almost immediately created a few more chances that were just wide of mark. The forwards hunted and harried the Muckross defenders, but Muckross weren’t giving up without a fight.

The final 10 minutes saw the Pembroke defence pressurised again, but the teamwork was inspirational, as every member of the squad fought hard to keep Muckross out of the D, with Rachel being called back to take up a marking role on the back post, limiting them to long range hits from inside the 25. The girls held out and the game finished in a 1-0 victory to Pembroke!

A perfectly executed Pembroke goal by Alison Pigot from a short corner in the first half lifted the team’s spirit. However despite the defence’s best efforts to maintain a clean sheet – clearing all but one of the nine short corners conceded, Rathgar succeeded in bringing the score line level in the second half. When Rathgar stepped up to take a penalty flick 20 minutes from the end, our champion goalie Claire Seymour made a spectacular save. The final whistle blew and at one goal a piece came the inevitable extra time.

To call it a dog fight would be an understatement, bodies were put on the line, at times the 10 minutes looked more like a game of rugby than hockey but all of the torture, I mean fitness, inflicted at Monday night’s training session (shuttle runs with interval core challenges (the 5s party piece!) paid off. Defensively we took no prisoners. Mid field pushed the game up as far forward as possible, credit must be paid to Róisín Corcoran who despite feeling under the weather played both positions of right back and right mid perfectly. Our forwards made several breaks attempting to bring us to glory.

However Rathgar wanted this as much as we did. Both teams pictured themselves in the semi-final. Our three supporters on the side line were deafened by the swarming Rathgar crowd. Everyone was exhausted. Dramatic saves were made on the line. Rathgar continued to battle. Then the final final whistle blew. The result would be determined by penalty flicks.

Our captain Lydia Coleman had plagued us for weeks leading up to this game. Compelling us to stay behind on many a cold winter night to practice flicks long after the other teams had finished up training and gone home for their dinner or to enjoy the mid-week movie. Perhaps she has some psychic powers because when our courageous teammates; Lydia herself (“the psych-them-out smiler”), Bex (“secret weapon”) and Avril (“resident speed demon”) stood up to the plate to lead our team to victory, it was all worth it in the end.

Yet it was our aforementioned goalkeeper extraordinaire that saved the day. Rathgar had no chance when facing this iron lady who was most definitely in the zone. The penalty flick in the second half just proved to be Claire’s warm up. With three confident saves including a spectacular mid-air sweep with her stick, the semi-final is now ours for the taking.

UCD watch out. We’re coming to get the cup…

Leinster Cup Semi Finals – Sunday March 3rd
Ladies 8ths v Muckross, away St Teresians School, 2pm
Mens 5ths v Clontarf, home 2pm
Ladies 5ths v UCD, home 3.45pm

However, both teams came out willing to play and the match was by no means a non-event. For us, it was fitting to cap the league off with a convincing win especially since what seemed like an unstoppable charge to the title had stuttered slightly of late.

Indeed, the team was undefeated in the first round of league games until we were finally overturned in a tense and tight game in Rathdown against a resurgent Monkstown. A further loss to UCD before Christmas was another blow but, with Three Rock Rovers also stumbling, we maintained our advantage at the top of the table heading into the Christmas break. Vital away wins against Glenanne and YMCA meant that we needed 1 point from our last two matches to at least enter a playoff, however, Monkstown gaining full points from their remaining fixtures.

A loss against Three Rock Rovers at home was a setback as it not only meant we had to get a result from our last match but it was also the end of a 100% winning record at home this season. Thankfully UCD did us a favour and pulled out an unexpected midweek win over Monkstown to ensure that the men’s Leinster Division One trophy would be coming home to PWHC after a two-year absence.

On behalf of all the players I would like to thank the club, our supporters, Robbie, Mick McKinnon and especially Paddy Conlon for all their help and hard work over the last 5-6 months. Hopefully this is the first of many trophies this group will bring home this season and in seasons to come.

* Photos are courtesy of Irish Hockey Photographers

The premise of the initiative is to raise funds directly for Hockey Clubs (not the IHA) and to support the growth of our sport in more far-flung or disadvantaged areas in Ireland. It is very much in its infancy but there are already good vibes judging by the comments on the site!

The basic plan is that individuals can sign up for €10pa, or businesses for €150pa, which allows access to a network of hockey supporting persons and businesses who can provide help, services or advice, generally at discounted rates, to other members.

The fundraising element is that your Club (which you indicate at sign up time) has each members’ (individual or business) payment allocated against it and the Club receives 65% of that total back in the playing season (i.e. if 100 PW Members sign up at €10 each, PW will receive €600 of that back within a season). 15% also goes to a club hockey development fund which clubs apply for to support development projects that “fit” with branch plans.

I would urge you to at least have a look at the HockeyConnect website to see what it is all about – it is quite clear and detailed – and consider signing up (I have done so, in case you ask!).”

You can sign up your business now to benefit from belonging to the hockey community in Ireland for a very small outlay which will benefit your club and your business.

Please forward the attached to all your hockey friends/contacts/relatives and encourage them to sign up to – remember this initiative will raise significant funds for Clubs in Ireland – your club.

Early sign up gives 16 month membership – so no renewal until April 2014. That’s great value too.

A personalised membership card will be issued to all individual members

Let’s get this initiative moving – it’s the business – your business.

HockeyConnect Businesses listings growing:
(To see sample business listing page click here »)

The following categories have listings:-
Building repairs,
Driving Instruction,
Education,
Furniture-Fitted Bedroom & Kitchens,
Maintenance,
Marketing,
Graphic Design,
Motor Sales/Service,
Physio,
Pumps & Equipment,
Solicitor,
Sport,
Translations,
Utilities,
Web Design

Promote your business to the Irish hockey community:
Business affiliation with listings page only €150, raising funds for YOUR club.

Save money use businesses from within the hockey community:
Personal membership only €10, raising funds for YOUR club.

This Sunday is the last training session before these finals so I know the coaches are keen to cover as much as possible

There will be more cross over matches in the coming weeks for the remainder teams and we will let you know when these are on as soon as we have confirmation.

Junior Development
While many of our coaches feature week in week out for our mens and ladies 1st teams as well as juggling their coaching committments, the junior sections continues to be recognised as being incredibly important to the club.

On the boys side we have started to bring some of the men’s stars from the 1st team to the U14 and U16 boys sessions on a Friday night to demonstrate some skills and keep the boys on their toes. Paddy Conlon, Ex-Scottish International and Player coach for the Men’s 1sts has been so impressed with the boys he himself has already taken 2 sessions since Christmas giving our regular 1st team coaches Geoff and Rachel and Michael a night off! (And Alison too of course).

This is something we’re keen to roll out for the girls and I know the Ladies 1s coaches are enthusiastic about working with the Girls U16 teams in the coming weeks as they are our future club stars.

Mick O’Connor, Mens 1sts player and coach for the ladies 2s will also be taking our Girls U14 this weekend for a special session

To start the ball rolling for our Goalies we have arranged for a clinic with Nigel Henderson this Friday. Nigel is the ex- Irish Men’s Senior Captain and stalwart of the Men’s 1s side for many years. Over the coming weeks we aim to bring more of the senior players from the club to work with the girls

Training Fixtures
Feb 24th – Training
March 3rd – Training & Matches
March 10th – Training & Matches
March 17th – Break for St. Patrick’s Day
March 24th – Break for Easter
March 31st – Break for Easter
April 7th – Training
April 14th – Training
April 21st – Training

Introduction to Hockey
Before the end of the season we hope to run a fun quick clinic on Hockey for parents who may be new to the sport (or haven’t played for some time). Our aim is to have a quick introduction to hockey in an informal setting where you can ask any questions about the rules/leagues and get your hands dirty and play a little bit yourself. Any of you who have played soccer will be glad to know it’s pretty much the same game – smaller ball and no feet!!

If you’re interested in taking part, please let us know and we will organise a suitable date.
Interested in getting more involved?

While we have only 6 training weekends left, we have an eye on next season already and planning for our coaches and our development strategy is underway. If you are interested in getting more involved on either the coaching or managing front, please come and talk to either Orla or Sinead. We feel it is essential to have more parental involvement, to bridge the gap between the players and the coaches. Even if you don’t necessarily have experience playing hockey we’d love to talk to you.

We’ve had some good feedback from parents recently regarding ways to improve. While you might not see immediate results, please be assured we are taking all the comments on board, and are doing our best to address your concerns. We are always open to suggestions, so don’t be shy!

Orla & Sinead

Email/Share

Saturday’s 2nd XI game with Three Rock was the fourth meeting between the sides this season. The previous games had been tough encounters played in a wonderful spirit and this game followed suit. Both squads were somewhat weakened due to injuries and absences but an exciting match was served up for the decent crowd watching from the bar.

A slow start from Pembroke saw Rovers race into a 2 goal lead, the second coming from an excellent deflected finish from Dave Loughrey – if only we could teach him to do that at the right end of the pitch! Pembroke gained increasing control and pulled a goal back just before half time through Captain Fantastic, Dug Good.

A few stern words during the break (Filgas’s version of Fergie’s hairdryer treatment!) lifted the team further and they produced a lively second half.

Some excellent interplay saw Pembroke score 3 unanswered goals to win the game 4-2. The highlight of the half saw Cillian Hynes make a lovely run and delayed pass to set Mark Loughrey up to atone for his brothers first half mistake. Ultimately it was a solid performance ahead of this weekends Irish Junior Cup quarter final against Annadale.

Irish Junior Cup Qtr Finals – Saturday
14.15 Pembroke Wanderers Men v Annadale, Serpentine Ave
14.30 Lurgan v Pembroke Wanderers Ladies, Lurgan High School

After Mick had baffled the squad with some thought-provoking brain exercises to shake off the work day in the team talk the girls took to the pitch. It looked like the brain challenges did the trick as the 2nds started very well and after 10 minutes it looked like it was going to be a long night for Newbridge. However the travelling team regained some momentum and created some very good counter attacks which left the Pembroke defence scrambling to get back and cover. Lisa in goals was called into action on a number of occasions to keep the visitors at bay.
It was an even contest, with both sides creating chances and the Newbridge keeper made some excellent saves to keep the home team frustrated. However Pembroke finally got the breakthrough with some good movement and excellent follow up play to force a penalty stroke when a Newbridge defender saved with her foot on the line. Holly stepped up to take the penalty stroke and slotted home to go to 1 nil, which remained the scoreline until half time.

Almost immediately from the re-start Pembroke were a different team, and within minutes had won a corner. In a momentous occasion, the ‘Lou T’, named in honour of
its most prolific scorer last year, was resurrected for the first time this season to great effect. Ciara Howard finished off the move with ease to take the II’s to a 2-0 lead. Minutes later the call from the bench was the same for the next corner and again, Ciara found the net. Shortly after that Orla Canavan got her opportunity at her first goal of the season (Ciara having been subbed off immediately after scoring her second) when the 2nds went 3 for 3 from the same corner move. It put the 2nds in a commanding lead of 4 – 0 with about 15 mins remaining.

Viv Fenton received a green card for mouthing at the umpires – I think she was arguing points of order and hockey etiquette -which reduced the II’s to ten players for a few minutes. In spite of this the forwards forced another corner, Shona Doyle being denied by a Newbridge foot. There was a minor panic in the circle when it was realised the Newbridge foot belonged to someone who was getting married in the coming weeks, but all were assured she was ok and no damage had been done.

The game finished 4-nil and leaves Pembroke 2nds top of the table with 5 games to go. Much thanks to all who stayed on after training to support, and in particular to Robbie Meany who stood out on the balcony and roared on the team from start to finish.

The last clash between these two heavy weights finished three apiece in Serpentine Avenue, so a place in the semi-final of the cup against either Monkstown or Clontarf was all too play for.

The start of the first half seemed to be a bit of a slog between the two sides as most players were getting to grips with the soft mucky surface that grabbed the sticks as pass or a shot was made. However both defences were put to the test as brakes were made and fowls committed and with the calm collectiveness of Oisin De Barra, Ger O’Rourke and Les Roycroft manning the Pembroke defence calmness was dually restored.

Some may have thought that neither team looked like scoring, but when Pembroke were awarded their first short corner of the match Ben Raymond proved the critics wrong when his shot took a wicked deflection high over the keepers head and nestled nicely into the top corner, although the wind may or may not of had a part to play in that too. Tempers began to flare between both sides with Dave Flaherty putting his stamp on the game by showing no mercy to the opposition. However the safe haven of the half time whistle stemmed any feuds.

The second half saw Pembroke come out of the blocks like ravenous dogs as their attacking threat was extremely potent, causing all sorts of problems for the Brendan’s defence. It appeared that they had mastered the grass surface just as well as their counterparts, as a perfectly weighted pass from Andrew Stokes cut the Brendan’s defence in half and allowed for Peter Collins to run on to it and finish cleanly from the top of the D putting the ball through the legs of the advancing keeper.

There wasn’t long left in the game when Pembroke’s 2-0 lead was cut short, as a scramble in the D lead to Brendan’s scoring their only goal of the game, a very sloppy goal at that. Both sides seemed to shadow one another’s movements as the attacking threat from both sides dipped towards the end. Nevertheless this did not deplete Greg Furlong’s concentration, as the Pembroke shot stopper pulled off an excellent save to maintain his sides lead and guide them into the semi-final of the Junior Cup.

It was clear from the start that Pembroke had only one ambition, and that was to win. You could see that the team all shared the same desire as they played as a unit and not as individuals; they were playing for one another. Dave Flaherty proved this like no other, as he put in the Man of the Match performance. Now let’s hope they can repeat this performance in the next round so they can advance to the Cup Final.

Peter Collins

At the restart, YM were determined to pull back. Using their speed and quick-passing they began to poke through the Pembroke defence, winning some short-corners. Luckily, the Pembroke defence was on-form, with Ciara Devane in particular, really putting herself in the line-of-fire (literally). Nonetheless, the Pembroke defence stood-firm and the 1-0 lead remained intact. With most of YM players still positioned in the Pembroke half, Darina Errity secured the ball in mid-field and drove forward indomitably. Darina, finding herself in space at the top of the D smashed the ball towards the goal, only for it to miss the target by millimeters.

The second-half was truly exciting hockey, with end-to-end action throughout. YM were in fighting-form, however, as the game became increasingly more physical. Ironically, Annie Lawlor received a green-card for being on the receiving end of an overly-aggressive tackle. The resulting frustration certainly impacted the Pembroke side, allowing YM ample opportunities to penetrate the PW circle.

Their first shot came as a result of an error in defence, but luckily the shot was cleared by ‘keeper, Steph Courtney. YM followed this up with a flurry of shots at goal, drawing a decent aerial save from the PW ‘keeper. This was cleared on the edge of the D. by Sorcha Ryan, setting up another Pembroke attack.

YM found their way back to the PW circle, however, creating their final and most dangerous play: the initial shot was saved by Steph on the right-post, but YM gathered the clearance on the P-spot, and shot low towards the left corner. The shot forced a diving save from Steph, and the relieved ‘keeper managed to clear the ball for a YM long-corner. Bolstered by the goalkeeper’s performance (she’d like to think, anyway), PW broke down the opposition’s attack, seized the ball and drove towards the YM D. Some smart PW play forced a defensive error and secured a short-corner. Ciara injected the ball and Lorraine took a decisive shot from the top circle that ricocheted off a defender’s stick and into the net.

Pembroke then saw out the match with a comfortable lead. The 2-0 win now puts them in third place on the league table.

Email/Share

The second half saw Loreto much hungrier for the win than before, their midfield persisted through ours and their forwards tested our defence. The turnover rate was high in this half and Loreto’s hunger went in their favour resulting in a 1-1 score. The 4s tried their best to break through the Loreto defence in the second half but it was just not meant to be. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, which meant extra time was now on the cards.

Mossie prepped his ladies well before extra time and there was a feeling on the sideline that Pembroke wanted to come away with nothing less than a win. The 4s dominated each half of extra time but again no goals materialised for either team. Penalty strokes was going to determine the winner of this game.

Five very brave ladies stepped up to take penalty strokes and a very confident and collected Orla Minogue was in goals. With some outstanding saves from Orla, the strokes resulted in a 3-3 draw which meant it was time for sudden death. The girls knew their could only be one winner in this qtr final and unfortunately sudden death did not go in their favour and Loreto came away with the win.

The 4ths may have lost one game this season, but it is safe to say they will be fighting now to come out on top of their league and hold their unbeaten reign in that!!

The game played in ‘Rovers on Sunday was a re-fix match, in what was TRR’s third game in 5 days. With the end of season now looming, every point counts, and the Pembroke ladies were intent on maintaining their 3 point cushion at the top of the table.

TRR started well, and some very composed and patient build up play put Pembroke on the back foot in the opening 15 minutes. Pembroke started to make inroads however, Orla Canavan dancing her way through the TRR mids, and some pacy sprinting from Holly Jones and Shona Doyle up front created havoc for the TRR back line. The constant pressure eventually returned some rewards in corners, but the TRR defence remained solid. Eventually the deadlock was broken when Shona latched onto a rebound off the TRR keeper to go one in front. Holly followed suit shortly afterwards in a textbook move, driving the baseline and slotting home from a very tight angle to take Pembroke to 2nil at half time.

In the second half Pembroke really took control as potentially the run of games started to take its toll on TRR. Kats Duff was relentless in midfield and worked well with the other mids and forwards in some nice link-up play.

The third goal was definitely one to be proud of. In a movement starting from the back line and sweeping up into the circle, the team demonstrated great close range skills, moving the ball from stick to stick before Viv Fenton fired home for her second goal this season. Pembroke had the upper hand at this point and saw out the remainder of the game comfortably.

Just to note, the game was moved to facilitate the TRR ladies attending a wedding next Saturday. Full credit / respect to the bride-to-be, Lindsay Maguire, who played all three of their games this week despite her impending nuptials. Thankfully, she escaped without any obvious marks, and we wish her the very best on her special day next week!

Holly and Vivienne celebrate Pembroke’s third goal