Ards retain indoor status after strong finish

ARDS saved their best to last to clinch a very creditable fifth place at the EuroHockey Indoor Challenge tournament in Lille yesterday.

Their achievement means that next year’s Irish representatives, Railway Union, will also be competing in the third tier.

At one stage Ards were in danger of relegation, but they staged a memorable comeback to beat Welsh side Whitchurch Saints 3-2 on Saturday.

That eased the pressure and they rounded off their campaign in style with an emphatic 5-2 win over Slovenian champions HK Moravske Toplice yesterday.

The Ulster champions were 4-0 up at the break after goals from Harriet Platt, Ellen Robinson, Amy Benson and Jodie Moore, and Francesca Brown rounded off the scoring after Toplice had reduced the deficit to 4-2.

Saturday’s game was pivotal as Ards came back from 2-0 down at half-time to beat the Welsh side with goals from Brown, Becky Weir and Robinson.

Meanwhile, in the EY Irish Hockey League, Pegasus remain a point behind Loreto at the top of the table after first half goals from Shirley McCay and Michelle Harvey sealed a 2-0 win over Dublin side Pembroke Wanderers at the Dub.

However, Belfast Harlequins’ chances of making the play-offs were dented after Railway Union comprehensively outplayed theirs hosts with a 5-1 win at Deramore, where Zara Delany claimed a hat-trick.

Railway could have been out of sight in the first quarter after carving out six clear cut chances in the opening 12 minutes.

But bizarrely, it was 1-1 at halftime after Claire Weir cancelled out Cecilia Joyce’s opener before Delany hit her treble with Kate Lloyd also on target in the second half.

In IHL 2, Queen’s edged closer to a place in the promotion playoffs after Emily McStea scored twice in a 4-1 home win over UCC.

But Lurgan’s 3-0 home defeat to Catholic Institute ended any slim chances of reaching the play-offs.

In the Ulster Premier League, Ballymoney stretched their lead at the top to four points after Brigid Cleland’s goal sealed a 1-0 home win over Lisnagarvey.

There is no change at the bottom after Randalstown lost 3-1 to Mossley and fellow strugglers Ballymena went down 2-1 to Ulster Elks while Rainey moved closer to safety with a 3-2 win over Dungannon On the mark: Ellen Robinson scored crucial goals for Ards