Armagh Men’s Hockey Club hosted their annual Phil Homan Memorial Tournament earlier this month, a Super 8’s format for boys at U14 age group.
The club welcomed 11 visiting teams to Armagh from all over Ulster, Ireland and one from Scotland.
Cookstown and Cork Harlequins set the early pace with winning game after game and eventually topping their groups undefeated. Armagh missed out on a quarter-final place by one point.
The early pace setters came up against the toughest opposition in the semi-finals and bowed out, leaving Bray and Instonians to battle it out for the Rutledge Cup.
The final was an epic game with both teams playing attacking hockey with Instonians scoring first, 1-0. From the restart Bray were putting more pressure on Instonians but their goalkeeper Sam Holmes kept them out again and again, but in the last minute of the game Bray got their goal, ending the game 1-1. Instonians held their nerve and came away with the win in the shoot-out.
Player of the Tournament (sponsored by Y1 Sport) Bray Hockey Club – Nathan Gerish
Goalkeeper of the Tournament (sponsored by OBO Hockey UK) Instonians Hockey Club – Sam Holmes
The Homan family presented the Rutledge Cup and said: “Thank you so much to Armagh Men’s Hockey Club for running the tournament and dedicating it to Dad. It is such a special day for us all and we feel very privileged to be part of this superb tournament.
“Both Mum and Dad would have loved the day and the club should be rightly proud of the success of the tournament. We are already looking forward to seeing Instonians defend the Rutledge Cup next year”.
