Three and easy for Lisnagarvey as they reach quarter-finals of Irish Cup

Still without Paul Gleghorne due to a long term injury and Richard Arneill, Garvey began in great fashion surging into the Inst circle in the first minute and when Daniel Buser set up Neil Glassey the midfielder shot past Inst keeper Paddy Guy to give his team a very early lead.

A fine dribble and cross by Timmy Cockram gave Andy Williamson a good chance to extend their lead but his shot was well saved by keeper Guy in the fifth minute while the home side had an open chance a minute later but Chris Kirk shot wide when well placed.

Another fast interchange of passes by the slick Garvey team involved Cockram and Buser before the ball fell to Sean Murray who calmly shot past Guy on his reverse side to give the visitors a two goal advantage after just 14 minutes.

Instonians did force a penalty corner in the 20th minute but Garvey goalkeeper John Tormey was well up to William Robinson’s shot and Garvey returned to their dominance of the midfield producing two more chances for Sean Murray and Matthew Nelson in the 23rd and 25th minutes.

Garvey earned themselves penalty corner in the 27th minute but Timmy Cockram’s drag flick was taken off the goal line by an Inst defender and a minute later Inst themselves forced their second set piece but their effort was well off target and the final seconds of the first half saw a retaken penalty corner for Inst saved by John Tormey leaving Garvey well in command at the interval.

Garvey continued to dominate possession as the second half got under way but the resolute Inst defence was making it difficult for them to create clear scoring chances although Cockram and Glassey went close with shots, both of which were saved by the impressive inst keeper Guy.

Garvey’s second penalty corner produced a switch but the resulting shot was deflected for a long corner in the 44th minute and a few seconds later Daniel Buser saw Guy come to Instonians rescue again with another fine block.

A third Garvey penalty corner in the 50th minute was a poor effort by Timmy Cockram and was easily saved but at the other end Cockram worked his way out of a tight situation in defence before beginning a fine break away chance which fizzled out close to goal.

The game at this stage had become somewhat lifeless as Garvey quite easily held on to their 2-0 advantage with Inst showing little penetration when they did approach the Garvey circle on a few occasions.

Andy Williamson had two chances within three minutes to add the Garvey’s score but failed to find the target while at the other end John Tormey had to be very alert when a deflection almost crept past him from close range.

William Robinson had a last chance for Inst in the 68th minute but shot well wide and Neil Glassey finished off the solid Garvey performance with a third goal in the 70th minute.

He worked his way across the circle before beating keeper Guy with a well struck cross shot inside the far post to give Garvey a comfortable 3-0 win a place in the quarter final draw.

Garvey, now, face a massive run in to the Christmas break; they play three successive I.H.L. matches starting with Annadale at Comber Road next Saturday.

Their opponents occupy bottom place in the league at the moment but the game is expected to be closer than results would indicate. Annadale are a team which are full of energy and they will push Garvey throughout the 60 minutes.

If the home side can play to their potential as they have done so far in the I.H.L. then the points should be secured. The match starts at the later time of 5pm at Comber Road.

Garvey then entertain Three Rock Rovers at home on 12th December and then travel to Dublin to take on Railway Union on 19th December in their last game before the holiday break.