Queen’s University extended their lead at the top of the Men’s Premier League to five points as they beat CI Annadale 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
There were also wins for Bangor, Instonians and South Antrim, whilst Portadown and Belfast Harlequins shared the spoils at Edenvilla.
Firstly, it was the league leaders who continued their unbeaten start to the season as they left it late to beat CI Annadale.
Stephen Hamill’s driving run down the right flank led to him picking out Robbie Mayne to open the scoring with the final touch of the first half before their hosts equalised through Sam Anderson after a strong start to the third quarter.
With just five minutes remaining, Matthew Spence added two late goals to seal the win for Queen’s. Firstly, Jack Mulholland played him through on goal before his shot took a big deflection to wrong-foot Scott Dale in goal.
The result was then confirmed when Ben Law’s aerial found Philip Campbell, who squared for Spence in the middle of the goal.
At Edenvilla, Portadown were held to a 1-1 draw by Belfast Harlequins.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring with 25 minutes on the clock when Cameron Ruttle struck from open play to score for the third game running.
Their lead would last until midway through the third quarter when Portadown’s Ryan Bennett struck from a penalty corner to net his 12th of the season and earn a point for his side.
The draw leaves Portadown fourth in the division, just one point off the EYHL2 places, whilst Belfast Harlequins remain seventh.
Elsewhere, Instonians returned to winning ways as they beat Mossley 4-2 at The Glade.
Having come into the weekend off back-to-back losses to Portadown and South Antrim, Mark Evans’ side took all three points with Stephen Kelso netting twice to bring his record for the season to seven goals.
Meanwhile, James Palmer and Phil Hamill both got on the scoresheet for the side, ruling out goals from Ross McIvor and Neal Glassey for the hosts.
The loss saw Mossley lose for the first time in three outings, and as a result, they slipped to third in the table.
In Lisburn, South Antrim won for a fourth week running as they left it late to beat bottom of the league North Down.
A penalty corner from Josh Gilmore alongside a strike from Andy Welsh gave the Comber side a 2-0 lead heading into the final quarter.
However, their hosts scored four late goals to turn the game on its head and take the points, with Peter Miligan and Oliver Patterson (2) both getting on the scoresheet alongside Max Taylor, who has now scored eight goals in his last eight games.
The win sees South climb to second in the division, five points off leaders Queen’s University, whilst North Down remain bottom with just one point this season.
The final game of the weekend saw Bangor get just their second win of the season as they beat Kilkeel in a seven-goal thriller.
Goals from William Annett, David Rae and Taylor McConnell weren’t enough for the visitors to get anything from the game as Paddy Brown (2), Scott McGilton and Chris Campbell all got on the scoresheet for their hosts.
Following the win, the gap between the two sides has grown to five points with Kilkeel occupying the relegation playoff spot.