Bonus point joy for Garvey in the IHL

IRISH HOCKEY LEAGUE ROUND 5

LISNAGARVEY 2 DUBLIN YMCA 3

LISNAGARVEY, despite losing by 3 goals to 2 against Dublin YMCA at Cookstown, qualified for the final stage of the IHL by virtue of a single losing bonus point and now travel to Dublin to play Monkstown in the semi final next Saturday.

With Timmy Cockram back in the squad although not fully fit, Garvey immediately took the game to their opponents and after two good raids, opened the scoring as early as the 10th minute. A great move down the left, involving first, Daniel Buser and then Andy Forrest gave Stuart McNiece the simple task of sliding the ball into an empty net for a well deserved lead.

A mistake in the Garvey defence brought a fine save out of Garvey keeper John Tormey in the 12th minute but the first quarter totally belonged to the much more creative Garvey team which ended with them still with the goal advantage.

An early second quarter attack down the right wing led by Cockram brought the YM keeper Iain Walker into play but after his initial save, Steven Arbuthnot was on the spot to crash home goal number two and set Garvey up for a comfortable win.

Daniel Buser and Andy Forrest had half chances to extend the Garvey lead towards the end of the first half but it was YM who managed the next strike. They had attacked little in the game but in the 31st minute they slammed the ball into the Garvey circle and it came off first YM player and then goalkeeper Tormey before entering he net for a fortuitous goal.

The first half concluded with Garvey leading by 2 goals to 1 and still in control but as the second half developed it was obvious that they were losing their grip on the game as YM had more and more possession. They flooded the midfield and grasped the initiative from a hesitant Garvey and were rewarded for their positive play with an equaliser in the 39th minute. It came from their second penalty corner; a good direct shot was parried by John Tormey but Dashiel Hewitt banged the rebound into the net form 5 yards out to bring the game back to parity with still most of the second half left to play.

YM increased their pressure with their 3rd set piece in the 43rd minute but Tormey saved and Jonny Bell cleared the danger but Garvey were living dangerously at this stage in the ever rising temperature of the match.

With three quarters of the game gone, Garvey were holding onto their point from a drawn game but YM had other ideas even though they required three more goals to take the semi final slot. They attacked the Garvey goal endlessly but in the 54th minute a great Garvey move gave Johnny Quigley the chance to seal the tie but keeper Walker made a fine block.

YM returned to the offensive and forced two penalty corners in succession in the 57th and 59th minutes but on each occasion, John Tormey was equal to the shots with his second save being of the highest order.

However, YM were not to be denied their victory as they caught Garvey napping on the left of the circle in the 61st minute and Jamie Tobin scored from 10 yards out with Tormey unsighted.

The final 5 minutes was particularly frantic with YM employing a kicking back to add to their attacking numbers forcing Garvey back into their circle but after they had missed a great opportunity Garvey forced their only penalty corner of the game in the 68th minute but YM’s stand in keeper made a great one handed save. Two minutes later came the final whistle and Garvey had just done enough to take them through to the IHL finals day at Three Rock Rovers next Saturday. The semi final is against competition favourites Monkstown and is at 3pm and again Garvey will have to improve their overall game if they are to give themselves a chance of retaining their IHL title.

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