HOCKEY: Pembroke Wanderers may yet be capable of winning a trophy in their transition season. They gave their best performance for some time in beating the league leaders, Three Rock Rovers, 2-0 in the Leinster Senior Cup quarter-final at Serpentine Avenue on Saturday.
With Devin Donnelly coming back to play assertively in front of the back three, Pembroke gained a grip on the game for Dougie Good to score from an acute angle midway through the first half. Victory was assured with a second goal from Good 12 minutes from the end after Alan Giles and Simon Kershaw had cracked the Rovers cover.
The holders, Glenanne, who are in the running for a cup and league double, met spirited resistance from YMCA before winning 3-2 at Ballinteer. Ralph Billings gave Glenanne the lead, but YMCA's leading marksman Andrew Walker scored twice before Alan Goulding equalised and Graham Shaw put away the decisive goal from a short corner.
Corinthians and Railway Union eliminated Trinity and St Brendan's, the two surviving sides from the second division. Trinity confined Corinthians to a first-half strike by Colin Stewart at Santry, but Mark Magnier, James Benson and Stewart made it 4-0 at the finish.
Railway overpowered St Brendan's 7-0 at Park Avenue where Graham O'Meara (2), Teddy Lynch (2), Owen Butler, Kevin O'Brien and Stephen Jones were on the scoresheet.
Seven goals were notched by Chris Barnes as Instonians defeated NICS 9-2 in the Ulster Premier Division. Three Rock Rovers will certainly want to keep Barnes out of range in the Irish Senior Cup next Saturday.
