Three Rock Rovers won the Neville Davin Cup Final on St Patrick’s Day. Photo Henry Simpson
Three Rock edged out in Mill Cup but bag Nevile Davin Cup
THREE Rock Rovers came unstuck 3-1 in the Mills Cup final on St Patrick’s Day as YMCA ended their 31-year wait for a senior title at Grange Road, reports Stephen Findlator.
Rovers had led in the first quarter through James Walker but quickfire replies from Sam Hyland and former Rover Adam Walker soon turned the tables.
And when Ian Perrott put YM 3-1 up with 20 minutes to go, Rovers were unable to make any inroads into a defence marshalled superbly by Grant Glutz.
For the Three Rock, it ended a run of three Mills Cup final defeats in the past four seasons as they finally made their breakthrough.
Rovers second team, however, did land the Neville Davin Cup for the first time as they produced a remarkable late show to defeat YM’s second team.
It was Three Rock’s first appearance in the competition designed for sides who exit at the early stages of the pre-Christmas Neville Cup.
They trailed for the guts of an hour as Johnny Woods early goal had YM in front until two minutes from the end when Harry Glennon popped up with the equaliser.
That sent the tie to a shoot-out where Adam Hearne reigned supreme, keeping out all of YM’s efforts while Mark English, Josh Kelly and Louis Rothwell all netted theirs for a 3-0 success.
Next on the agenda for the Rovers first team is an instant chance for revenge as they play YM in the EY Hockey League on Saturday at Wesley. Both are in the shake-up for the playoff places, making this a vital battle on that front.
