DUHC gets it’s mojo back, in time for Varsities
DUHC’s week of woe results in an EGM which leads to a rejuvenated spirit and the club retrieving it’s mojo.
The less spoken about the previous week, the better. A combination of everlasting summer hangovers, roadtrips and players going AWOL meant that all 4 teams struggled to pick up points the week of October 13th. This series of unfortunate events led to an EGM being called and since then things have looked up for DUHC.
Credit to Conor McKinney for a very ably written 4ths recap;
1 October, Away v Clontarf: WALKOVER
8 October, Home v Navan: 1 – 1 (Darragh Mangan)
15 October, Home v Fingal: 2 – 5 (Dave Beresford, Allen Crampton). Several accidental spectators bore witness to another classic 4ths afternoon, as the optimistic scenario of a full XI crumbled in the face of Ali Altaf’s party mania, Carey Benamer’s domestic woes and Neill Martin just not showing up. It was an 8-man outfit sans goalkeeper, therefore, that took to the sacred turf with ambitions extending merely to damage limitation against a perennially solid, if normally beatable, Fingal team.
A smart early finish into the empty Trinity goal heralded woe, but with Niall O’Brien performing heroics in defence to prove that Catholics are occasionally worthy to wear the green, it took a short corner to double the Fingal total, and at the half a 0-3 scoreline left morale astonishingly high in the ranks. Captain Scott struck a Churchillian note in demanding victory against overwhelming odds, and the rabble responded with a goal from, wonder of wonders, David Beresford, whose legendary status in the 4ths goalscoring pantheon is threatened only by a worrying tendency to play decent hockey with the 3rds. A second followed from a sublime high strike from the remaining Crampton twin to cancel out Fingal’s sole rejoinder, giving Trinity a moral victory of 2-1 in the second half and inspiring scenes of celebration only usually witnessed in teams who have, er, won the game.
Honourable mentions to Ross Dormer for arriving vaguely on time and Fingal for helping carry out the goals. McNulty’s performance, coming as it did from a man with actual talent and a surname to die for, rather paled in comparison to that of Richard Duke, whose tireless contributions from right back highlighted the reputational benefits of lowering expectations prior to tip-off. Most of all, huge respect is due to Kylie Deverall for succumbing to Scottie’s puppy-dog eyes to step as umpire, an act of charity as touching as it was inexplicable.
22 October, Away v Pembroke: 1 – 0 (Paddy Faulkner)
Glenanne (4ths) 3-5 DUHC (3rds)
A glorious morning in Tallaght saw DUHC take the field for the first time since the EGM the previous week. In such beautiful surrounds and in close vicinity to Shamrock Rovers home ground where Tottenham shall grace in recent weeks; DUHC 3rds lined out with a team that would have made even Harry Redknapp jealous. JPP Vanderhuisen made his long awaited comeback in goals and made some fine stick saves to deny a late comeback from the Glens. Stephen Horsfall led very capably from the back with Gareth Miller and Charlie Blakemore also providing a solid line of defence. However, where DUHC really shone was up front with Gareth Davis putting in a majestic performance. A first-half hattrick of beautifully taken goals from Davis set DUHC on the road to glory; the first being the pick of the bunch and an early contender for goal of the season. His performance has since been likened to Luka Modric at his prime, his energetic running and defence splitting leads making up a crucial part of his masterclass. One can only hope that DUHC 3rds can hold onto such a talent for the remainder of the season, especially with Dan Ryan being only too eager to call him up to the 2nds.
DUHC (2nds) 0-6 Pembroke (2nds)
Always a tough fixture; this one proved no different. It was a case of table leaders against students. A sterling first half performance led to Dan Ryan’s team going into the break 1 down and unlucky not to be level. Tolly Humphries hit the post and Roger Clarke, continued to work like a bad thing, going close on a number of occasions. The half-time break did not do DUHC any favours, with Pembroke bringing some first division players down and DUHC’s legs running out of steam towards the final whistle, the scoreline did not make for pretty viewing by the end. Credit must be given to all the players who kept their heads in spite of an overly aggressive Pembroke team who were not shy of raising their fists during the game.
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