High-flying Glenannemarch on in Irish Senior Cup

Cork C of I pushed high-flying Glenanne all the way but ultimately fell 1-0 in the Irish Senior Cup quarter-finals at St Andrew’s.

Shane O’Donoghue’s first half penalty corner was the decisive score as the Garryduff side pushed hard in the second half but could not nab the equaliser.

It came on a day when the gap between the EY Hockey League sides and the second tier looked closer than ever as Ulster Premier side Cookstown shocked Pembroke to reach the final four.

Ryan Millar and Scott McCabe had the Tyrone side flying high at half-time with a strong 2-0 before the Dublin hosts fought back. They got back on terms with penalty corner goals from Harry Spain and Greg Chambers but they could not carry the momentum into the shoot-out as Cookstown prevailed 4-3. U18 star Max Anderson netted in the first round of sudden death before Josh McCabe kept out Julian Dale for a famous win.

Monkstown advanced with a comfortable 4-1 win over YMCA while the big date between Three Rock Rovers and Lisnagarvey was postponed due to frost.

In Munster, Cork Harlequins won a 4-3 cracker against Bandon in the Peard Cup with Andrew Dale’s double augmented by Jack O’Meara and John Whyte goals.

On the women’s side of the Irish Senior Cup, Catholic Institute were left frustrated as they made it as far as Lusk before turning back home for Limerick with news Banbridge’s Havelock Park pitch was frozen.

Pembroke and UCD prevailed from the ties that did go ahead, beating Queen’s and Railway Union respectively.

In EY Hockey League Division 2, it was a frustrating day for the Munster contingents.

At the Mardyke, it was an emotional day as the game between UCC and Ards was preceded by a minute’s silence in honour of Margot Hartnett, wife of club mentor and stalwart Paidi Hartnett.

The Ulster side, though, took the initiative in Pool A as their blistering first half performance saw them win 3-1.

Jess Ryan got the ball rolling before Zara Malseed thumped in two more before half-time for a 3-0 advantage.

Irish U21 co-captain Caoimhe Perdue pulled one back for the students who had another goal disallowed in a rousing second half but Ards held and now top the group at this early stage after Corinthian and Galway’s tie was frozen out. Just down the road, Lurgan nabbed a 1-1 draw at Cork C of I with Sarah McClure striking in the closing stages, cancelling out Julie Coyne’s effort.