1st XI Hockey – Irish Schools Competition – 22-24 October 2014
The 1st XI Hockey squad left Holywood on Tuesday for the long trek to Cork to play in the Irish Schools Competition. They were drawn in a group with two Dublin schools, St. Andrews and St Columbus, along with local rivals Regent House.
Match 1 v St Andrews at Ashton School
The sand based pitch was challenging, with lots of sand! The first opponents, St. Andrews, were a very strong team and were the favourites to win the overall competition. A few of their players who also play for Dublin club, Monkstown, had played in the European Hockey League a few weeks earlier.
Sullivan started this match well and had a strong first half. Despite having to play a defensive game, the half-time score was nil all. In the second half St Andrews’ constant pressure finally broke through and lead to them scoring four goals.
Final Score Sullivan 0 – St Andrews 4
Match 2 v Regent House at Ashton School
After playing St Andrews, Sullivan knew that it would be a hard task for any team to top the league ahead of them. Their second match against Regent was played with intensity. Regent felt they had a good chance to progress after defeating St Columbus 2-0 in their opening match.
The game was end to end and Sullivan managed to take the lead. Regent came back strongly to lead 3 – 1. Sullivan fought back well and with two penalty corners, one in the last minute, managed to draw the game.
Final Score Sullivan 3 (Scorers J Matchett, R Watts and R Hancock) – Regent House 3
Match 3 v St Columbus at Garryduff
With neither team able to qualify for the semi-finals the pressure was off. On a great pitch a good game of hockey was played. Sullivan were unlucky in this game, after taking the lead. St Columbus equalised after the umpires missed the ball hitting a St Columbus player’s foot in the D.
Sullivan again took the lead but St Columbus scored soon after. With Sullivan pressurizing, the umpires again missed the ball hitting the foot of a St Columbus player in the D, allowing them to halt the Sullivan attack.
Final Score Sullivan 2 (Scorers M Crookshanks & J Matchett ) – St Columbus 2
With such a young squad, Sullivan were pleased with their overall performance. The boys gained alot of experience, worked well as a team and are already looking forward to the competition next year.
Friendly Match v Middleton School, Cork
After not progressing to the semi final Sullivan played Middleton on the Friday morning before heading home.
This was mainly a one sided match with Sullivan winning comfortably.
Final Score
Sullivan 4 (Scorers J Matchett (2), B Cree & P McDonnell) – Middleton 0
The eventual winners of the overall competition were St Andrews of Dublin.