MEN'S HOCKEY:GLENANNE'S MEETING with YMCA pits the first against the second-placed teams in the Leinster Senior League with YM' hoping to quickly bounce back from their 2-0 defeat to Monkstown on Tuesday night.

It’s a tough ask for them with Glenanne, despite their Leinster Senior Cup defeat to Monkstown on St Patrick’s Day, probably the most consistently strong team this season. The Tallaght side have not lost in the league and have scored 53 goals, more than any other club and conceded 16, less than any other club.

YMCA have lost just twice but going to Glenanne Park is no easy task and despite the evident ability of Trevor Dagg’s side, Glenanne aim to keep their pristine record and also entertain Railway Union on Sunday. Monkstown might have been eliminated from the Irish Hockey League last weekend but otherwise they must feel they are on something of a roll.

Following on from their Leinster Senior Cup success, they beat YMCA 2-0 during the week and tomorrow travel to Corinthians to consolidate their fourth position on the table. With an Irish Senior Cup semi-final against Banbridge also on the horizon, Monkstown have a couple of balls still in the air as the season begins to narrow.

Corinthians are in desperate need of points and have to gather some now before they start to run out of games, if they have not already. They are in fifth place and nine points behind with five games remaining.

Pembroke, the other IHL qualifiers, face Three Rock Rovers who are having a torrid enough season and are fourth from the bottom. Serpentine Avenue is not an easy place to go despite Pembroke being far from the force they once were. In Newpark School Avoca face Rathgar Chiefs in what might be a make-or-break game for the Blackrock side if they are to have any chance of making the play-offs. The home side need the win to keep up their challenge at the top of Division Two.

Saturday: Leinster Senior League: Division One – Corinthians v Monkstown, 1.00 Whitechurch; Glenanne v YMCA, 3.00 Glenanne Park; Pembroke v Three Rock Rovers, 2.00 Serpentine Avenue; UCD v Fingal, 1.00 Belfield; Weston v Railway, Griffeen Valley Park. Division Two – Avoca v Rathgar Chiefs, 1.45 Newpark; Dublin University v Clontarf, 12.30 Grange Road; Suttonian v Navan, 12.30 Sutton Park School. Sunday Leinster Senior League: Division One – Glenanne v Railway Union, 1.30 Glenanne Park.