Men’s Weekend Preview

The Anderson Cup Quarter Finals get underway this evening as Banbridge travel to face Mossley.

The visitors come into the tie with the bragging rights, having already beaten their hosts this season in the Kirk Cup.

Just last month the EYHL leaders came out on top, winning 4-0 at Havelock Park with goals from Callum Robson, Edward Rowe, Jake Rowe and Owen McElhenney.

Now hoping for a repeat result, they come into the tie still unbeaten this season in domestic competition.

Opponents Mossley are also in the midst of an impressive season, sitting third in the Premier League in their first season in the division.

The first of Saturday’s action gets underway at 12:30 as Lisnagarvey host Cookstown at Comber Road

The all-EYHL affair is also a repeat of last season’s Kirk Cup Final, which saw the Hillsborough side run out 5-0 winners.

Erroll Lutton’s side have been out of action since the Christmas break, last playing in the Kirk Cup group stages when they beat Kilkeel 9-0, a game which also saw Oliver Kidd net six goals.

They now take on a strong Cookstown side who have beaten Belfast Harlequins twice in the last week by an aggregate score of 11-0, including last weekend’s round one tie.

The Mid-Ulster side eased past their Belfast opponents with goals from Mark Cuddy, Ethan Redford, Greg Allen and Paul Watt (3)

At Shaw’s Bridge, Instonians will be hoping they can book their spot in the Semi-Finals as they host North Down.

Goals are all but guaranteed in this tie, with Instonians having completed the league double over their opponents this season, as the games produced 13 goals.

Mark Evans’ side sealed their quarter-final place with a comfortable win over Bangor, which saw top scorer Ben Palmer net a hat-trick and bring his tally to 13 in all competitions.

Opponents North Down received a ‘bye’ in the first round of the competition and will now be looking to end a run of 12 games without a win this season.

The final game in the Anderson Cup sees South Antrim host Queen’s University in an all-Premier League affair.

The top two in the division, both sides have been in blistering form this campaign and are separated by five points in the league.

Matthew Bell’s side are unbeaten in all competitions this term, having also progressed from the Kirk Cup group stages unscathed.

Opponents South Antrim booked their spot in the last eight last week, beating Portadown 5-3 and extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to nine games.

Meanwhile, the Lisburn side are the only team to take points off the students this season, holding them to a 2-2 draw earlier in the season with goals from Max Taylor and Peter Milligan.

There is also one Ulster Premier League game as Belfast Harlequins look to return to winning ways against Portadown.

Quins have suffered back-to-back heavy defeats at the hands of Cookstown in the Kirk and Anderson Cups, but now return to league action where they are unbeaten in four.

Currently seventh in the division, a win for the side could see them climb as high as fourth with EYHL2 qualification still not beyond their reach.

Meanwhile, Portadown come into the weekend one point above their hosts and also chasing a top-three spot.

The Edenvilla side are without a win in their last three league games, last picking up a point in their 1-1 draw with Harlequins with top socrer Ryan Bennett getting on the scoresheet.