McCormack gives Glenanne breathing room

JONNY McCORMACK’S last-ditch effort saw Glenanne eke out a little bit of daylight at the top of the men’s EY Hockey League as they just about shook off the intentions of strugglers Cookstown.

He got on the end of player-coach Joe Brennan’s hit and hope in the last minute to earn a 4-3 win, putting the Glens three points clear at the top.

The Co Tyrone side has caused the Dubliners undue problems this term despite their lowly position and they led 1-0 before pegging Glenanne back to 2-2 and 3-3 before that late salvo.

Banbridge and Lisnagarvey lie three points back, albeit with a game in hand, after the former beat Bann 2-1 at Havelock Park, setting the scene for a cracking three-horse race for the title.

Fear

The other key result saw YMCA edged out Cork C of I 2-1 with Ross Henderson getting the key goal in the third quarter. It lifts YM out of the bottom two, leaving C of I last with a real fear that Munster may lose their single representative.

On the women’s side, all the big guns won well with Loreto staying top with a 2-0 win at Ards while Pegasus raced into a three-goal lead against in-form Railway Union before prevailing 3-1.

UCD are also going well in third after two wins and two clean sheets over the weekend, seeing off Old Alex 4-0 on Saturday and Ards 2-0.

Who completes the top four is anyone’s guess with as many as five sides still in the mix.