Magee shows his nerves of steel as Bann rock Rovers

IRELAND’S most capped player, Eugene Magee, admits his heart was pounding when he stood up to take Banbridge’s penalty corner with just seconds left on the clock.

Bann had taken a three-goal lead over current all-Ireland champions Three Rock Rovers but then hit a wobble and saw the Dubliners bounce back to level with just five minutes remaining.

It seemed the points were going to be shared until Bann won a penalty corner in the last minute and up stepped Magee to see if he could pull a dramatic lastgasp win out of the bag.

And the experienced striker, despite the nerves, did the business to inflict an unexpected 4-3 success over the pre-season favourites and give them just the tonic they wanted to start their EY Irish Hockey League campaign.

“There were good phases in our game but there were also phases when we should have been doing better,” said Magee.

“But it was a great result against a very strong team and gives us encouragement for the season ahead.

“We scored some good individual goals and, yes, the nerves were jangling when we won that penalty corner right at the death — but it all worked out well!”

It was goals from Johnny McKee, Frazer Mills and Josh Moffatt that saw Bann race clear but then Three Rock’s new signing Mark English struck twice and John Mullins levelled before Magee put away the last chance of the game.

Cookstown ran up probably their biggest IHL win ever, crushing newly promoted Dublin YMCA 7-1 at Steelweld Park, where Stuart Smyth bagged a hat-trick and Timmy Sloan a brace.

But there was no luck for Lisnagarvey or Annadale.

Garvey have suffered more than most with an exodus that saw them lose seven players over the summer, and it showed as they slipped up 2-1 at home to Pembroke Wanderers.

But the players coming through from Lisburn schools, Wallace High and Friends, means that coach Errol Lutton has a conveyor belt of talent as he tries to rebuild.

Garvey certainly can count

No way through: Lisnagarvey’s Matthew Nelson tries to get round Pembroke’s Keith O’Hare

themselves unlucky not to have taken at least a point from the game — they took the lead through Andy Williamson when he batted in a penalty corner rebound after 16 minutes.

But Jack Ryan levelled from close range and Pat Shanahan grabbed the winner at the far post although Daniel Nelson, Timmy Cockram, Matthew Nelson and Andy Williamson all had good efforts blocked or saved by in-form keeper Simon Thornton.

Annadale went down 6-2 in Dublin against a Monkstown team who now have former Irish international Kyle Good back in their ranks.

Meanwhile Kilkeel, Instonians and Portdown were all a six-hit as the six Ulster Premier League games produced a total of 34 goals.

Kilkeel’s David Finlay and Gareth Russell each got a hat-trick in the 6-1 success at derby rivals Newry; Ryan Bennett grabbed a treble in Portadown’s 6-2 win at Antrim, and Stephen Kelso got a brace as Instonians beat Civil Service 6-0 at Stormont.

Bangor won the derby at North Down by 3-2 with Matthew Willis, David McClune and Harry Dow all on the mark while there were also 3-1 wins for South Antrim over Raphoe and

Queen’s at Belfast Harlequins. EY IHL: Banbridge 4 (J McKee, F Mills, J Moffatt, E Magee) Three Rock 3 (M English 2, J Mullins); Lisnagarvey 1 (A Williamson) Pembroke 2 (R Flannery, P Shanahan); Cookstown 7 (T Sloan 2, S Smyth 2, M Kerr, J Haycock, M Crooks) YMCA 1 (B Campbell); Cork C of I 1 (P Brownlow) Glenanne 1 (S Boucher); Monkstown 6 (D Carson 2, J Lynch, A Ward, S Byrne, G Watkins) Annadale 2 (P Caruth, C Ruttle) Ulster Premier: Civil Service 0 Instonians

6 (S Kelso 2, D Ward, W Carey, M Keane, W Robinson); Newry 1 (K McWilliams) Kilkeel 6 (D Finlay 3, G Russell 3); North Down 2 (J Gilmore, S Dalzell) Bangor 3 (M Willis, D McClune, H Dow); Antrim 2 (A Linford, D Wilson) Portadown 6 (R Bennett 3, L Bell, M Winter, S Johnston); Harlequins 1 (D Frazer) Queen’s 3 (M Warnock 2, R Kelly); South Antrim 3 (J Brown, M Gray, J Patterson) Raphoe 1 (J Long)