Garvey must beat Cup specialists to reach another final

Mandatory Credit: ROWLAND WHITE / PRESSEYE
Men's Irish Hockey League
Teams: Lisnagarvey (blue) v Cookstown (red)
Venue: Lisnagarvey
Date: 29th March 2014
Caption: Andy Williamson, Lisnagarvey and Ewan Butler, Cookstown — Mandatory Credit: ROWLAND WHITE / PRESSEYE Men's Irish Hockey League Teams: Lisnagarvey (blue) v Cookstown (red) Venue: Lisnagarvey Date: 29th March 2014 Caption: Andy Williamson, Lisnagarvey and Ewan Butler, Cookstown

Lisnagarvey skipper Jonny Bell knows his side have their work cut out for them if they want to reach a fourth successive Kirk Cup final.

They take on Cookstown at Shaw’s Bridge at 4pm on Sunday bidding to make sure they’ll be playing in the Boxing Day showcase.

However, their opponents have themselves reached the final six times in the past eight seasons and Bell knows Garvey will have to be at their best to make it through.

“Cookstown are a bit of a Cup team and are always a totally different animal in the Kirk Cup than they are in the league,” he said.

“The Kirk Cup probably isn’t our number one priority this season but it’s something that we always want to win.

“We have lost a few Kirk Cup finals in the last few years and we all want to put that right now but we’ll have to play well on Sunday to make sure we get there.

“It’s a great competition to win and the final probably gets the biggest attendance of any match the whole year. It’s a real tradition, especially at Garvey for people to come out and support us so hopefully we can make sure we get there.”

The game comes just a day after Garvey’s Irish Senior Cup second round match.

“With the two games coming so quickly, we’ll maybe have to lower the intensity of training a bit on Thursday night and make sure we’re all in good condition for the weekend,” said Bell.