WHILE there were predictable performances by the top four teams in the Leinster Senior League on Saturday, the bottom side, St Brendan's/Phoenix Park, earned their first point of the season.
They twice took the lead against Railway Union at Park Avenue and, with former international Ben McCabe making a surprise reappearance between the posts, conceded a draw only late in the contest.
McCabe (37), who played for Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup in New Jersey and then in the World Cup in Lahore in 1990, has been coaching up-and-coming goal-keepers since he retired from club hockey (at that stage with Monkstown) five years ago. But with the St Brendan's number one goalkeeper, Tony Lowe, needing to go into hospital for a knee operation, McCabe was persuaded to get back into training and, though plunged into a game now without offside, he was not found lacking in agility on Saturday.
Dessie Farrell, in connecting with a free, edged St Brendan's ahead. and though Stuart O'Higgins equalised through a short corner deflection, it was 2-1 at the interval with Paddy Gahan scoring with a powerful flick-shot. It seemed that McCabe and company were destined to absorb and survive considerable second-half pressure but Karl Swan showed his opportunism in restoring parity five minutes from the end.
It was reasonable, too, that 2-2 was also the outcome of the more prestigious joust between Avoca and Pembroke Wanderers at Rathdown. Twice, it appeared that Avoca were set to win with Robbie Ryan gliding onto a pass by Enda Gallanagh to put away the first goal and crashing home the second after two bites at the cookie from a Colin Hade long corner.
But each time, Pembroke with their abundance of midfield figures, stormed back. Andy Cooke dived in to steer a ball, cracked into the circle by Paudie Carley, out of Peter Darley's reach to make it 1-1. Then, in the second half, after Avoca were grateful for Ryan's second penetration in the face of clean stopping by Peter Young and Duncan McKeen, the Irish Senior Cup holders lost some composure (two yellow cards). Ultimately, after Darley had barely closed down Stephen Stewart, Simon Kershaw engineered a channel for Trevor Dunne to gain a heartening share of the spoils for Pembroke.
Three Rock Rovers thus opened up a two-point lead at the top as Liam Canning helped himself to another hat trick in the 6-0 defeat of Portrane at Grange Road. Glenanne, now establishing them selves in the upper echelon, were too positive for YMCA at Ballinteer particularly on the right flank, and won readily through a brace of admirably taken goals by youth international Graham Shaw.
The marksmanship honours of the day, though, fell to Corinthians' Australian striker Colin Stewart who struck four second-half goals against Monkstown at Whitechurch. He converted two short corners, a penalty stroke and a pass by Wesley Rothwell as Corinthians finished 5-1 winners after Rothwell and Cliff Bailey had left matters even at the interval.
