On a day with a cool breeze blowing, Dublin University Hockey Club (DUHC) were on fire when it came to scoring goals, triumphing 4-2 in High School over a Rathgar side packed with Trinity alumni.
With Rathgar above Trinity in the table before kick-off, however, victory was far from assured, and the hosts duly went ahead early on. They stayed ahead for most of the half, before DUHC equalised courtesy of a powerful strike from Greg Arrowsmith. Rathgar settled down again after this and enjoyed a monopoly on possession until the break.
The game got a bit edgy after half-time, with late tackles abounding and tempers just beginning to fray. The hosts piled on the pressure, leaving Trinity’s defence unable to find passing lanes and forced by Rathgar’s cohesive pressing into coughing up possession. A rare attack for Trinity precipitated a good chance for David Robinson, but the Rathgar keeper made a superb save to deny the visitors’ the lead.
Without the ball, DUHC’s defence were the heroes of the hour, remaining disciplined in the face of Rathgar’s attacking endeavours. An effort from a short corner whistled wide, but if things were looking ominous then Trinity were ruthless in upending the pattern of the game moments later. Samuel Boggio set in motion a superb counter-attack with a sublime raking pass; Ben Arrowsmith sent an incisive aerial towards Julian Foley, who took one touch on the edge of the D before slotting coolly home.
Rathgar, previously so dangerous, began to fall away, their possession losing potency just as DUHC turned on the style. With 12 minutes remaining, Greg Arrowsmith won a short corner from which he swiped home his second, before Daniel O’Donovan grabbed the side’s fourth goal with a composed finish just from the edge of the area.
Rathgar managed to find the net again before the end, but by this point the result was never in doubt and the referee’s whistle sounded soon after, calling time on a win that will give huge confidence to Trinity’s hockey players as well as propelling them into fifth place in Division 1 of the Leinster League.
With two games in hand over most of the league’s other sides, DUHC will fancy their chances for the rest of the season and will be looking for another positive result next week against Kilkenny in Santry.
