Dublin University Ladies Hockey Club (DULHC) continued its unbeaten streak on Saturday, defeating Rathgar Hockey Club 2-0. The win sees the team mathematically untouchable at the top of the Leinster Division One table, and the final whistle saw it officially crowned with the league title. This win also assures the team of its place in the second round of playoffs for the Ernst and Young Hockey League, as it bypasses the first round as league winners.
This followed the men’s squad, Dublin University Hockey Club (DUHC), winning its match earlier in the afternoon 3-1, with goals from Cillian Hynes, Robbie O’Hanlon and Rory Nichols. They will now play Fingal on March 25th, as their battle to win their place in the promotion playoffs continue.
After a slow start in the first half, DULHC pulled ahead with a goal by Niamh Sweeney from play, following a strong combination of passing at around the 15-minute mark. This half was dominated by a lot of pressure and intricate stick work, without much return.
The second half was a stronger display of skill from both sides, with particularly strong performances from Louise McCollum and Niamh Sweeney leading the line.
Trinity took a short corner early in the second half, aiming for goal, but the shot was stopped by an impressive block from Rathgar’s goalkeeper. A second short corner for Trinity followed soon after, with the ball falling into Rathgar hands easily and the ball moving out of Trinity’s shooting circle before the home side could react.
A strong attempt on goal from Rathgar was narrowly foiled by Trinity, before a rapid counterattack produced a long corner for Trinity. Trinity worked the long corner well and it led to the third and final short corner of the game for Trinity, which again did not result in a score, due to another excellent save from Rathgar’s goalkeeper who seemed on a mission to keep the deficit at one goal.
Fortunately for Trinity, the second half did not go without a score, as Ailish Long produced an excellent finish from play just seconds before the final whistle blew.
Speaking to The University Times, Club Captain, Alex Owens, expressed her pride at the team’s success: “The hard work and dedication that has been put in by this year’s squad cannot be faulted. The ultimate aim of this year was to reach the [Ernst and Young Hockey League] playoffs while also winning Division 1 and the girls have achieved this.” Owens emphasised that “the hard work doesn’t stop here”, and that she is looking forward to how the team progresses in the second round of the Irish Hockey League playoffs, to be held in early April.
DULHC will be playing for the Jacqui Potter plate this St Patrick’s Day, and will be hoping to bring home more silverware on this outing.
Correction: 14:27, March 12th, 2017
An earlier version of this article’s headline incorrectly stated that Dublin University Hockey Club (DUHC)’s men’s team had successfully qualified for the playoffs. In fact, they must win one more game to qualify for the playoffs. This error has also been corrected in the article.
