Shirley McCay’s late winner sealed Pegasus a hard fought 2-1 victory over Catholic Institute which saw the Belfast side move a point clear at the top of the women’s EYHL standings.
It was the defining moment of a thrilling encounter at Queen’s between the sides who entered the weekend level at the top. Lucy McKee gave Pegs a first half lead before Naomi Carroll equalised in the second half prior to McCay’s winner.
It means the Ulster side now lead the table by a single point from UCD, Old Alex and Pembroke after five rounds of matches.
Gillian Pinder settled the Sandymount derby with the only goal for Pembroke against Railway Union, a virtuoso solo goal. She intercepted inside her own half and raced forward before banging home her shot in a 1-0 success.
Deirdre Duke scored her first of the season as she makes her way back from injury, netting from a penalty corner for Old Alex in their 1-0 win against Muckross.
UCD were the big winners with Hannah McLoughlin scoring a quarter of goals to lift her personal total to eight from five games as they eased by Cork Harlequins 9-0. It was locked at 0-0 until a couple of minutes before half-time but two goals in a minute changed the complexion of the tie.
Loreto, meanwhile, continued their quietly impressive form as they beat Belfast Harlequins 4-1 with Aoife Taaffe on the mark twice. It made it four games unbeaten for the Beaufort side.
The EYHL now goes on hiatus until Oct 30, with next weekend featuring the Irish Senior Cup fixtures and the following week seeing the Irish women in action in the World Cup qualifiers in Pisa.
There were comebacks galore in the men’s EY Hockey League as Annadale and UCD both salvaged unlikely draws from seemingly hopeless positions against Monkstown and YMCA, respectively.
Dale come from 3-0 down to draw with Monkstown, their fourth share of the spoils from five games this season as their lengthy wait for a three-pointer goes on.
Town looked to be cruising with Davy Carson, Rory Nichols and David Nolan putting them clear. Dale, though, scored three times in the last 20 minutes as Town suffered a glut of sin-binnings with Owen McElhinney netting either side of a mazy Allen Lyons dribble and finish.
UCD were another to come back from the dead, trailing YMCA 2-0 and 3-1 before recording their first point of the season in a 3-3 outcome.
Glenanne’s run of form rolls on after a 3-1 victory over Banbridge has them five points clear with Shane O’Donoghue making it nine goals in five games with a brace.
Shannon Boucher and Chris Curry traded goals in the first four minutes and it was an even contest until Gavin Gibney and O’Donoghue struck in the second half
Three Rock Rovers are second thanks to a 4-1 success against Corinthian in the Dublin 16 derby with Ross Canning scoring twice. It was tighter than the scoreline suggests with Rovers netting their last two goals in the last four minutes.
Rovers are second while Lisnagarvey eased away from Pembroke in the second half 3-0 to sit in third. After a scoreless first half, James Lorimer’s corner and efforts from Ollie Kidd and Ben Nelson saw Garvey race clear.
