Monkstown AGM
The Monkstown Hockey Club AGM will take place on Thursday 24 May at 8pm in Kill of the Grange Parish hall.
I would like to encourage as many members, players, parents & interested parties to attend.
U21s WIN THROUGH TO AVOCA CUP FINAL on Wed in Pembroke
The Town kept up their challenge to retain the Avoca Cup by beating UCD in the semi-final at Belfield 2-1.A fast moving and skillful game saw the Town with the better opportunities but it was UCD who struck first in the 30th min when Shane O’Donoughue dragged a corner to Mark Ingrams bottom right hand corner.
The 2nd half started wuth the Town on good and 2 chances by Conor Stephens brought smart saves from Fitzgerald but the pressure paid when Richard Sykes ripped in a reverse from the edge to equalise.8 mins later Frank Ryan slotted home from close range to put Town in front.With 15 to go UCD started applying pressure and created a number of good chances and 6 pcs but Ingram was at his best in goal and some committed defending saw the Town through .There were immense performances from Sykes and Lee Cole and good supporting roles from Jake Beirne ,Ryan Hohn and Aran Rooney.The final is on this Wed v Pembrke in Pembroke at 7.30 be there to see an entertaining game and wear Blue.
Railway Cup Champions
Monkstown 2s are Railway Cup Champions again after a titanic battle with Pembroke. Monkstown were lively early on and from neat work down the right Ross Watkins turned in the first and shortly afterwards a fine ball from Lee Cole found Gaw on the 25 and with a jink and a trick he laid a beautiful cross for Frank Ryan to make it 2-0. Pembroke pushed forward with Sheriff to the fore and were rewarded on the blow with a goal from a corner. Pembroke started the 2nd half brightly and equalised and then a Sheriff thrust down the right created a 3rd after a scramble. Monkstown dug in and came back well into the game but Jamie Carr had to make a couple of telling saves to keep us in the match. Monkstown won a string of corners and Zac Dutton converted the third with a low drag. 3 all and the game went to golden goal. After 5 mins an up-field ball found Frank Ryan out left and his pace took him away from a couple of defenders (and most of his own team!!) so he cut in from the by line beat the last defender and the keeper to slot an excellent mazzy winner. Well done to captain Alistair, coach Trevor & all the lads – it’s great to get some silverware after our recent near misses.
A packed Sunday with Fun Day & Galtrim
Sunday was a packed day for Monkstown. In the morning there were over 150 youngsters at the end of season fun day in Rathdown. Luckily there was plenty of sun and hockey galore. There was tricks by Lee Cole, tackling with Nick Dee & David Cole, shooting at Fitzie, relays with Simon, Court, Klara & Kyle and burgers by Mo, Jono, Sam & Ciaran and lots more fun. Surprisingly there were plenty of goals scored against our Irish goalie!! There were the end of season awards and special end of season thanks to Laura and a big thank you to Sharon who was retiring.
After this we rushed to TRR to watch the Galtrim team lose in a lively final on penalties after drawing 4 in an end to end game v Glennane. Well done to manager Sam, captain Ian and their young team. It’s great to see so many young guys playing for the Town in a final.
The Monster Draw winner
The Monster Draw took place on Saturday evening and the big winner was Aidan Dineen (a friend of Ladies Club Captain Helen) who won the €1,000 and I hear he’s getting married later this year so hopefully MHC gets a mention in his speech. Other prizes were won by Chloe Watkins, Ivan Cruise (alicado), Stephen Little (colt parent), Jim Gregg, Sarah Bean (colt parent) Alan Browne (friend of Vipers), Aedamur McKillan (sister in law of Vipers), Bernie Andrew (Navan HC), Jeff Brownlow (father of Glennane’s Steven), Tony Spillane (RU) & a nice lady at the Bar.
Thanks to everyone who purchased tickets it’s going to help us fund the new pitch. Thanks to Eoin O’Connor for his organisation, Runar for MC and all those who sold tickets.
Blues Stay in IHL hunt with late come back
The Town pulled off a late late comeback when they overcame the Glens 4-3 in Tallaght to stay in the hunt for an IHL play off spot.
The Town started well with 2 corners in the first 5 mins but it was the Glens who struck with their first attack in the 12 min.For the rest of the first half the Glens controlled the game winning 6 corners but David Fitzgerald was at his international best to prevent furhter addition to the score.
Early in the 2nd half capt Nick Dee scored from a narrow angle .The Glens responded positively and took the lead thru O’Malley to end the 3rd quarter 2-1 to the good.The last quarter started with Runar O’Moore finishing a great move to equalise.The Glens then edged ahead 2-3 and in trying to chase the bonus point took netminder Carragher off with 5 to go ,almost immediately Ross Watkins finished off a Ward pass from a narrow angle and with Carragher back on Stephen Cole crahed the ball into corner of the goal to steal the win for the Town
BAILEY CUP Sunday 15 April
.This Sunday Monkstown host the LHAs U14 Championship for boys known as the Bailey Cup.The competition will be held in St Andrews College from 12-4.30.
Monkstown have a great record having won the cup in 6 of the last 8 years.This year we again have 2 teams in the 9 Club field.Come along and watch the hockey players of the future in what is always a competitive event.
Blues Players Star in Leinster Win
Town players made a major contribution to Leinster retaining the U21 Interprovincial Championship in Garryduff over the weekend.Brilliantly led by Stephen Cole they beat Munster 2-1 (in which Richard Sykes sustained a hamstring injury)and then beat Ulster in the decider where Frank Ryans pace was a problem for the Ulster defence and Town “old boy ” David Watkins cracked in a late winner to take the title with a 3-2 win.This completes the treble for Leinster of Youth titles following up on earlier U16 and U 18 success.
MONKSTOWN YOUNG GUNS SHINE AGAIN IN EUROPE
The Town U16 team performed again with distinction for their 6th visit to the HOD International Tournament in Valkenswaard,The Netherlands when they finished 5th of 14 teams in the quality event.Teams from The Netherlands(District and club teams),Belgium(National squads),France,Russia(District Moscow team),England,Germany and Ireland participated.
Monkstown won 6 of their 8 games losing only to the winners Belgium and Nord Holland(Amsterdam and Bloemendaal).The result was very encouraging as they had to play at vital times without key players inc captain Gavin Browne with a fractured knuckle.
Skilful and efficient defending(conceded only 4 pcs in 8 games) led by Browne and John Cummins (who became the first Irish player to win the international penalty shoot out under EHL rules)and good netminding by Jamie Carr and Stephen Wolfe kept goals to a minimum,the frontline led by Wilf King and backed by Irish quartet ,David Nolan ,Ben Campbell,Jazze Henry and Aaron Bailey set up and scored goals at appropriate time particularly the winner 2 mins from time v Grossflotbekker(Hamburg) to gain 5 th place.
Another great weekend where the squad did the club and Irish hockey proud.The good news is we have bween invited back for the next 2 years when HOD willl have a special celebration with their 25th tournament.
Proud to be a Town fan
Obviously the results were hugely disappointing over the weekend but I think we as a club can be very proud of our performance both on and off the pitch. On the pitch the lads showed great commitment and determination and this was illustrated in both matches but especially on Sunday when two goals behind we launched a heroic comeback in the last 16 minutes only for it to be cruelly taken away from us at the death. Many players who had gone through what you guys had experienced on Saturday with tired bodies and minds could easily have thrown the towel in at 2 nil down but no we drove forward and were nearly rewarded with a win by a great 3rd goal from young Lee Cole. We are getting closer and I’m confident that with the players we have that when we win once the flood gates will open.
I would also like to mention the Ladies 1s who won on Saturday morning by 4 goals only to discover that the league was decided on the amount of won matches and lost out to Navan on a count back. The Ladies 1s have still not lost a league match in 4 years and won promotion for the 4th year in a row. Terrific girls.
Finally I’d like to thank all those who supported us on Saturday and Sunday. I don’t think I’d ever seen such a crowd at Rathdown. Thank you to all those who brought food, sandwiches and my favourite chocolate delights as it made it a very social occasion and one we as a club can be very proud of. Well done to all and up the Town.
The IHL is still a real possibility and that offers the elusive prize of European hockey. YES WE CAN.