Division 1

Bandon 1sts vs C of I 1sts – Saturday, 12.00pm

Divison 2

Bandon 2nds vs Harlequins 3rds – Sunday, 1.30pm

Division 3

Midleton vs Bandon 3rds – Sunday, 11.00am

Bandon mens 2nds got over their disappointment of losing in the Irish Junior Cup last Saturday with a win over Harelquins in the 3rd round of the Cork Cup. The tempo of the game was very slow in the opening minutes, however Harlequins took the initiative with a well taken goal from former Bandon player, Rob Jenkins. Bandon’s goalkeeper, Shane Teap, had made two impressive saves before Jenkins slotted the ball home on the third attempt.

Bandon were still at sixes and sevens and looked out of sorts until a goal from Trevor Martin settled Bandon back into the game. Before half time Teap was again at Bandon’s rescue when he was at full stretch to deflect a drag flick onto the post from a Harlequins short corner.

In the 2nd half Bandon began to dominate and played some expansive hockey and were rewarded with early goals from Ivan Bryan and Chris Wood from a short corner. Throughout the 2nd half Scott Sullivan and Ivan Bryan were at the heart of Bandons good play. Bryan got Bandons 4th with a well taken finish after good play from Sam McElroy. For the last few minutes of the game Harlequins attacked more and were unlucky not to score, but Bandon again had Teap to thank for keeping them out.

It was a mixed weekend for the club with two wins, two losses and one draw. Most disappointingly, the mens firsts lost 4-1 away to Catholic Institute in the Munster Senior Cup semi-final. Although missing some players, Bandon dominated most of the game apart from a 10 minute period in the first half when Institute managed to catch the Bandon defense napping and scored four goals! From then on Bandon pushed hard to get back into the game but Institute’s 11-man defense proved difficult to break-down, and Bandon, through Darren Beamish, only manged to pull one back.

In the weekend’s other games the mens thirds were unlucky to lose out on strokes to Limerick seconds in the McLean Cup semi-final but the mens seconds progressed in the Cork Cork Cup, defeating Harlequins thirds 4-1. (See separate match report)

The ladies firsts proved too strong for Waterford in their Munster Senior Plate semi-final, winning 4-0. However the ladies seconds will be disappointed to have let a 2 goal advantage slip as they drew 2-2 with Harlequins seconds in their league match.

All three mens teams are in action in different cup competitions this weekend. It starts tomorrow with the firsts who play away to Catholic Institute at 12.30pm in the Munster Senior Cup semi-final. On Sunday the thirds are also away to Limerick opposition in a semi-final – this time Limerick Hockey Club 2nds in the McLean Cup – at 1.30pm. Also at 1.30pm on Sunday, the seconds are playing Harlequins 3rds in the quarter finals of the Cork Cup.

On the ladies side the firsts are away to Waterford in the semi-finals of the Munster Senior Plate tomorrow at 12.30pm and the seconds are playing Harlequins 2nds away at 11.30am on Sunday in the league.

After a bright start in the Irish Junior Cup game today the mens 2nds were 1-0 up inside 20 minutes. Unfortunately soon after the tide turned though and Bangor ended up being too strong. The first of Bangors goals came about 5 minutes before half-time and three more followed in the second half without reply. At 3-1 down Bandon got back into the game and created some good chances but as they chased the game they left themselves exposed at the back, leaving Bangor in for one more.
Earlier today the Ladies 1sts three game winning streak came to an end when they lost 2-1 to C. of I. The ladies 3rds, however, got back to winning ways, beating Waterford 2-0. Bandon got off to the perfect start with their first goal coming inside one minute.
Tomorrow the remaining teams in the club are playing, with the mens 1sts playing away to Harlequins 2nds, the ladies 2nds at home to Belvedere and the mens 3rds at home to Harlequins 3rds in the McLean cup.

Our mens 2nds team take on Bangor today in the Irish Junior Cup second round. Having originally been scheduled for January 9th, the game was cancelled due to the heavy frost, so it will seem a long time since their 4-2 victory against NICS 2nds in November. Nonetheless John Dennis’ team will be feeling confident that they can shake off another Ulster team to progress to the 3rd round. The game is at 3.30pm in Bandon.