Lisnagarvey were crowned champions of the Kirk Cup as they beat Banbridge 2-0 in Tuesday night’s final at Comber Road.
Goals from Oliver Kidd and Andrew Williamson sealed the win and follows Irish Senior Cup and EuroHockey Club Trophy success earlier this season.
Meanwhile, the win also sees the side win the competition for a third year in a row, the first team to do so since Garvey themselves achieved the feat between 1997 and 1999.
The two sides got the fixture off to a tentative start as neither side were able to create any clear goalscoring opportunities in the game’s early stages.
As the first half progressed it became apparent that with the teams having already met twice in the last week, they were familiar with each other’s games.
With the teams at a stalemate going into half time, Banbridge youngster Adam McKee provided the main talking point of the game so far.
The teenager was shown the game’s first card following a poor challenge and left his side temporarily down to ten men, but Garvey were unable to capitalise on the advantage as it remained 0-0.
Then, in the opening stages of the second half Garvey took control of the game with two goals in as many minutes to fly into the lead.
Firstly Oliver Kidd opened the scoring when he received the ball at the top of the circle and got a snapshot off to pick out the bottom corner and fire past Denver Golbey in the goal.
Just seconds later Daniel Nelson broke down the left wing before his reverse cross into the circle picked out Andrew Williamson who deflected in at the back post.
In the closing stages of the quarter, the in-form Garvey team nearly added a third when they broke down the right wing before Williamson failed to pick out one of two options at the back post.
As the game entered the dying stages Banbridge began to see more of the ball and almost got a goal back when Ben Walker drove into the circle along the byline.
The youngster got into a dangerous position before trying to cut the ball back for a teammate only to be denied by a last-ditch clearance from a Garvey defender.
Moments later Daniel Nelson went agonisingly close to extending the lead to 3-0 when he cut in from the left wing before seeing his effort blocked by a defender with a minute remaining.
Ultimately Errol Lutton’s side held out for a 2-0 win and sealed a second victory over their rivals in four days.
Having now contested three finals in nine days, the two sides will be hoping to renew their rivalry in the Anderson Cup Final with both sides in the latter stages.
