Greenfields on Irish Trophy trail

Date Published: 11-Apr-2013

 STEPHEN GLENNON

GREENFIELDS HC will look to win back-to-back Irish Hockey Trophy titles when they face Lisnagarvey of Antrim in the national decider at Belfield tomorrow (Saturday, 1:15pm).

Having secured a first ever title with victory over Omagh HC in last year’s showpiece, Greenfields hockey, which also claimed the Connacht senior and junior cups in 2012, has gone from strength to strength over the last year.

Indeed, a further endorsement of the fine work being done by the club was seen just last weekend when Greenfields won the Connacht Senior League again and, following the restructuring of the Irish Hockey League, they will now automatically qualify for the top tier and become the first club from the province to compete at this elite level next season.

Consequently, Greenfields will be determined to head into that competition as reigning Irish Hockey Trophy champions although head coach Deirdre McDermott admits she is wary of this weekend’s Northern opposition.

“I have never come across them before and they are the one team in the competition that I know the least about,” says McDermott. “I don’t think they have any ex-internationals but, coming from the Ulster League, they will be very strong and being a Northern team the basics will be very good.”

No doubt, Lisnagarvey’s form in this competition – like Greenfields – has been good. The Antrim outfit defeated Ballymena in their opening game 1-0 before accounting for Avoca 2-0 in their subsequent outing. A 2-1 quarter final win over NUIG was backed up by a 2-1 semi-final victory over UL last month.

“Just talking to NUIG, it seems they have a great defence,” says McDermott. “They will sit back and then catch you on the break. So, we have to find a way to draw them out and create and hit the space in behind and hope we can take our chances if we do.

“I suppose, their only loss of the season came against Belfast Harlequins [in the Ulster League]. If you look at Belfast’s results in the Irish Hockey Trophy, you will see they were a very free-scoring side, scoring 15 goals in all, while Lisnagarvey have just scored seven in their four games. So, they don’t score a lot but what they do they can get by on.

“So, they are strong mentally, which I also think we are as well. We have been playing as a team together for the last two to three seasons and there has been very little change in the side over this time. Also, every player knows our system of play now and is comfortable with it.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.