Glenanne suffer blues

Men's HockeyNot a great weekend for Glenanne. Losing to Three Rock Rovers on Saturday at Glenanne Park and then going down 3-2 to Pembroke at Serpentine Avenue yesterday gave them scant reward for the two days work.

Conversely Pembroke and Rovers will go into the Christmas period knowing that they have kept their respective shows on the road, Rovers also winning yesterday 4-1 against Bray.

But it was the Glenanne game against Pembroke yesterday afternoon that drew most attention. Two of the top sides in the country with their full compliment of players made for quite an end-to-end match with the home side shading it on the day and deserving of their 3-2 margin.

But it was the visitors that opened the scoring after just 10 minutes when Brendan Parsons followed up on a corner from Stephen Butler and hit a reverse-stick in from close range for 1-0. Pembroke then equalised 10 minutes later through Craig Fulton after Ronan Gormley earned a Pembroke corner. Again Fulton's follow-up after the strike and taking the ball high off the goalkeeper's pads brought the sides level. Parsons was at hand to make it 2-1 going into the break, again when he was quickest to react to a Butler drag-flick at a Glenanne corner and the visitors led 2-1 going into the second half.

But Pembroke took more control in the second half and after Alan Sothern deftly angled in from play for the goal of the game for 2-2, Glenanne came under fierce pressure.

A rash of corners for Pembroke late in the game was finally rewarded with one conversion from Ian Symmons, his drag-flick finding the net.

On Saturday Glenanne went down to Three Rock Rovers in Tallaght, in what was the home side's first defeat of the season. Tim Hill's late goal from close range secured what were vital points for Rovers.

Michael Maguire opened the scoring for Rovers late in the first half and although Glenanne had a number of opportunities from short corners and a penalty, only Paul Fitzpatrick could convert for 1-1 before Hill's winner.

A fine save from Rovers' goalkeeper, Charlie Henderson, from a Stephen Butler penalty, was instrumental in keeping the visitors' hopes alive.

Pembroke earned a 4-1 over Monkstown on Saturday. The match went largely Pembroke's way with Paddy Good bagging two and Justin Sherriff also netting two against his old team-mates. It leaves Pembroke three points clear at the top.