Garvey leave it late to seal IHL semi-final spot

They had been 2-0 behind and on the brink of heading out of the tournament but a thrilling come-back was completed when they snatched a winner with just five minutes on the clock. Garvey, surprisingly were caught cold in the opening minutes when Cookstown took advantage of loose marking down the Garvey left and scored inside 25 seconds through Ryan Miller. Things got worse for the home side in the fourth minute when again Cookstown broke fast and Smyth added goal number two, leaving Garvey badly shocked and facing a mountain to climb. They gradually got back into the game with some pressure which produced their first penalty corner in the 11th minute but Ian Hughes in the Cookstown goal saved well from Timmy Cockram. Having most of the possession, Garvey heaped attack after attack on the Cookstown goal but could not score the much wanted goal by the end of the first quarter. The second quarter proved fruitful for Garvey as they grabbed their opening goal in the 23rd minute. Johnny Quigley, always a threat down the right, got to the by-line and Daniel Buser scraped the ball over the line from close range. Following more pressure, Garvey forced their second penalty corner in the 33rd minute and Timmy Cockram beat Hughes with a lightning drag flick into the net to bring the game to parity. Garvey lost skipper Jonny Bell for ten minutes when he received a yellow card but his team held on to the end of the first half with the score at 2-2. Garvey still needed the third vital goal as only a win was good enough to take them through to the finals. The 36th minute produced Garvey’s third set piece but Cockram’s shot came off a Garvey foot on its way into the net and the goal was rightly disallowed as the game was developing into an exciting end to end affair. Cookstown were competing well in midfield at this stage making things difficult for Garvey but a good move between Sean Murray and Daniel Buser brought a fourth penalty corner. Timmy Cockram’s flick soared past the post in the 51st minute and the third quarter ended with Garvey running out of time to grab the crucial third goal. A number of green and yellow cards were distributed during the final quarter with Cookstown at one stage being down to eight players on the pitch but still Garvey could not score the winner. Sean Murray looked certain to find the net but somehow Cookstown cleared the ball off the goal line with keeper Hughes beaten. Cookstown did force a penalty corner in the 59th minute but the drag flick was superbly blocked by Timmy Cockram while John Tormey had to make his best save of the game in the 63rd minute as Cookstown threatrened to spoil the Garvey party. However, in the 65th, the move of the match produced the winning goal. A well placed pass from James Lorimer found Jason Lynch who in turn passed to Timmy Cockram on the right; he carried the ball close to goal and Daniel Buser provided the finishing touch much to the relief of the good Garvey support. A fifth penalty corner in the 68th minute gave Garvey the chance to seal the game completely but Cockram’s rocket drag flick cannoned off the crossbar but the job was done with a place in the semi-final against old rivals Banbridge clinched. It was another very high class IHL match with Garvey showing their fighting qualities to come through with a fine performance with Daniel Buser being the outstanding leader of the impressive Garvey come back.