Dublin University Hockey Club (DUHC) progressed to the second round of the Neville Cup with a 3-1 win over Rathgar Hockey Club yesterday in Santry. After a mixed start to the season, Trinity put in an impressive performance in dreadful conditions against a side on the same number of points in the league to claim a creditable cup victory.
Driving winds and bucketing skies did not make it easy for either side as each sought to get on top in the early stages. Neither side really got its passing going, the scattershot nature of proceedings reflected in several chances at both ends. Trinity was first to find its rhythm, and took the lead midway through the first half. A short corner found its way to captain Rory Nichols and he swept home with a low drag flick to put the hosts in the lead.
Shortly afterwards, the game was halted for over 10 minutes after a Rathgar player took a knock to the head and required extensive attention. This seemed to suck the life from the game for the rest of the half. Trinity had perhaps the better chances but was unable to translate this dominance into goals.
Trinity began the second half with more purpose and doubled its advantage just two minutes after re-emerging onto the pitch. In a short corner routine almost identical to the one that led to DUHC’s first goal, Nichols received the ball at the edge of the D and cleverly found the bottom corner with another drag-flick.
It was not long before DUHC had its third of the afternoon. Wilf King found forward Cillian Hynes in space at the top of the D, and the latter did the rest, firing it into the corner in typically lethal fashion.
Rathgar did get one back with about 15 minutes left on the clock, finding the net after a training-ground routine from a short corner. However, with the clock against them, the visitors were unable to mount a serious comeback, and the final whistle brought the game to a close with the score at 3-1.
For DUHC, it was a second win of the season in all competitions. Trinity’s players will no doubt be looking to build on the performance and add much-needed consistency to their game ahead of intervarsities next weekend.
