Hockey: 400 reasons to celebrate!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

By John Flack

It's 400 years since the famous seat of learning was up and running and a host of events have been organised to mark the occasion.



Armagh's appearance in the Cup final wasn't part of a deliberate plan, as these things don't just happen, but it's certainly a nice bonus as an unscheduled chance to add to the celebrations.



Not that their presence in the final is any real surprise as Armagh are bidding to lift the trophy for the fifth time in seven years and complete a hat-trick of triumphs in the process.



The surprise element very definitely belongs to their opponents Sullivan who produced an upset during the week when they beat a hotly fancied Lurgan College side 2-1 in a semi-final replay.



Lurgan were on top winning the corner count by an amazing 21-2 but it's goals that win matches and Sullivan had the edge in that department as the statistics state.



Armagh's Jareth McCready has welcomed the opportunity for his girls to play the Holywood side but not because he doesn't rate them!



More it's a case of knowing too much about Lurgan and getting sick of the sight of them in a hockey sense.



"It's nice to be playing Sullivan because it gives us a chance to pit our wits against somebody different," Jareth reasoned.



"Being in same geographical area as Lurgan means that we play them quite a lot and we have also met them in the Cup final before."



McCready is predicting a good game of hockey and for once the pressure cooker atmosphere might not be just so high.



Both teams are guaranteed a place in the prestigious Kate Russell (All Ireland) Cup series in a 'first' for the showpiece.



That's because the tournament which is televised by Setanta Sports will be played under a new format this season.



No doubt Armagh had their spies out to watch the opposition on Tuesday but McCready wasn't one of them.



Instead he was supervising the closing stages to the build up at Havelock Park - a water based surface similar to the ones at Garvey.



"We lost 4-1 to Banbridge Academy's under 14 boys side but it was a good work-out for the girls," he explained.

Former Collegians star Peter Cochrane will without doubt be making the most noise at the Belfast Harlequins 40th anniversary dinner next month.He may have quit the sport to concentrate on his daughter's athletics career but he'll be in full flight on the night.

That's because he still fronts the well known local pop-rock group Otis and the Elevators who'll be playing at the gig.



And 'Cocky' as he was known to his mates in his hockey days will be sure to head the decibel count as he is the band's lead guitarist.



Peter was a renowned goalscorer in his heyday in the 70s and 80s when Harlequins were known as Collegians.



He's looking forward vey much to the night and that's not just because he won't have to pay for his ticket!



"It should be a great bash and I can't wait to meet up with a lot of old and not so old acquaintances," he enthused.



" It's a great idea and I just hope we get a big turn out of players past and present."



It's looking good on that front as tickets for the black tie event are selling fast.



Tables of eight will be the format and the organisers will do their level best to seat ex-players with those of a similar vintage.



The After Dinner speaker has been confirmed as former Northern Ireland and Manchester United star Norman Whiteside.



Proceedings will kick off with a Magners drinks reception at 7pm on Saturday March 15; Contact Peter Hinds (07904831971) or Johnny Cook (07920 057925) for further details.