MEN'S HOCKEY:Alan Sothern's four-goal salvo on Saturday pushed Pembroke to within touching distance of the Leinster men's division one title, powering his side to a 5-4 win over Corinthian at Serpentine Avenue.

It brought his personal tally to 30 goals in just 14 games in the provincial competition and has been the most significant factor in lifting his side eight points clear going into the Christmas break.

Sothern netted twice from play and added two penalty corners to build a 4-1 lead before the international striker supplied a truly sublime assist for Adam Pritchard to crack home a fifth. Corinthian did rally with three goals in the closing 12 minutes to narrow the gap but Pembroke held on for a vital win.

Sothern added a hat-trick yesterday in the opening round of the Mills Cup in a 10-1 demolition of division two side Suttonians.

UCD, meanwhile, did Pembroke a huge favour in the league by beating second placed Three Rock Rovers 1-0, Shane O’Donoghue getting the only goal of the game. It means their bid to overhaul Pembroke looks virtually up, as they are eight points behind with just four rounds of matches to go.

YMCA moved up a place to fourth as Polish international Krystian Makowski came back to good effect in his club’s 3-2 win over Glenanne. Jonny Bruton struck two minutes from time to take the spoils while Makowski played a part in all three of YM’s goals.

Monkstown’s 3-0 win over Avoca lifted them into a share of second while Railway Union overcame Avoca 4-0.