Wednesday, May 6: The domestic hockey season will come to a close this Saturday and Sunday, May 9 & 10, as eight sides, four men’s and four women’s, battle it out for the final time for one of hockey’s ultimate accolades, the EY Champions Trophy title.
The Women’s EY Champions Trophy Semi-Finals kick off the weekend, as league champions Loreto face provincial rivals Pembroke Wanderers, while Railway Union take on Champions trophy first-timers Portadown.
Loreto will hope to make another Finals appearance with victory over Pembroke on Saturday, with the match kicking off at 10:30. The league winners and neutral’s favourites to come away with the win, have reached all three of the last finals but have come up short against Railway in their last two appearances, a trend they will hope to buck. Their opponents, however, are no strangers to the competition, winning it last in 2022. While this Pembroke side is a slightly different looking one to the Champions in that they enter the competition after a fifth-place finish versus top spot back then, they are in top form, having concluded the season with several statement results, one of which was a 3-2 win over their opponents Loreto.
Afterwards at 12:30, Railway Union and Portadown face off in their semi-final. For Railway Union, it will be all eyes on yet another EY Champions Trophy Final as they look to make it three titles in a row, a feat that has never been done before. They enter their tie in top form having secured the AIG Irish Senior Cup just days ago with victory over Monkstown. Portadown, though, will be looking to add another sensational chapter to their fairytale season, their first in the topflight. The Ulster side can play with complete freedom given they will enter the matchup as underdogs and can take tremendous confidence from their previous meeting with Railway, where they came out the losing end by just a single goal less than a month ago.
Hosts Lisnagarvey will kick off the Men’s EY Champions Trophy Semi-Finals as they take on Pembroke Wanderers at 15:00. Lisnagarvey are on the hunt for a historic treble, having won the EY Hockey League on the final day, and secured a third successive AIG Irish Senior Cup on Saturday, coming from behind twice to beat Three Rock Rovers. The hosts have been a force to be reckoned with all season, having netted a jaw dropping 83 goals in the league this year, an average of over 4 per game. They take on a Pembroke Wanderers side who return to the EY Champions Trophy Finals for the first time since their return to the topflight, with their sights set on causing a huge upset. It was an agonisingly close encounter the last time these sides met in EY Hockey League action on Comber Road, with Lisnagarvey surviving a considerable scare to come out on top in a ten-goal thriller.
Closing out Saturday is a mammoth clash as reigning champions Banbridge take on a Three Rock Rovers side with a point to prove. The league runners-up will be fired up going into this weekend as they look to avenge missing out on the league title on the final day, but will have to overcome a Three Rock Rovers side that are hellbent on grabbing a first national title since 2019, having come up short in Saturday’s AIG Irish Senior Cup Final. It’s anyone’s guess how this tie might go, with Three Rock Rovers enjoying victory in their most recent cup encounter.
10:30 – Loreto vs Pembroke Wanderers – Lisnagarvey HC
12:30 – Railway Union vs Portadown – Lisnagarvey HC
15:00 – Lisnagarvey vs Pembroke Wanderers – Lisnagarvey HC
17:00 – Banbridge vs Three Rock Rovers – Lisnagarvey HC
13:00 – Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 – Lisnagarvey HC
15:45 – Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 – Lisnagarvey HC
Hockey Ireland
