HORSEWARE Ireland returned the Pakistan Cup in time for the Autumn Tournament, the last at the AIPC for the summer but took it home again after winning the final last weekend.

Sidelined for the remainder of the season following knee surgery, Tom MacGuinness served as manager and chef d’equipe from the sidelines through Horseware’s qualifier against Tyrone, won on a score of five goals to three and the final against Pegus, scoring one of the AIPC’s most coveted albeit newer to the collection for the second consecutive year on a narrow win of five goals to four.

Only the evening before the final, Horseware’s Barry Finnegan had been named the AIPC Most Improved Player of the season. The Horseware team also lined out with Jock Thompson, who appeared in the right place at the right time throughout the tournament, and the brothers Connolly, elder Michael and younger James teaming up to convert just about every penalty free hit against LHK in the qualifier while well in the lead in the final until the end of the third chukka.

The AIPC also presented awards to Tyrone’s Dan Laverty, who was recognised for the highest contribution in a season, and Mark Stone of Pegus, who was presented with the award for best contribution to a match.

“I said to the lads yesterday (in the Pakistan Cup high goal qualifier), that was very tight,” said Tom MacGuinness just after he collected the trophy.

“It will be tight next year because it will be a (handicap) goal more for Barry and James.”

Handicap adjustments were only recently released for next year with James Connolly moving from a handicap of two goals to three, while Barry Finnegan has earned a handicap of zero, moving up by one goal, from minus one.

While a higher handicap marks each player for their abilities on the pitch, the increase can be a hindrance when putting together a team of four for a 4-Goal tournament such as the last of the summer season.

Tom MacGuinness’s Horseware team has been on the move since he entered the low goal tournaments six years ago. Horseware may have to take a different shape entirely when he sets out on the 2018 season: “I set out six years ago to win the Pakistan Cup,” said MacGuinness, “and we did it last year and then we did it again.”

The Pakistan Cup subsidiary final was lost by Tyrone to the weaker, half-goal handicap-favoured LHK on five and a half goals to four.

RITS on a half-goal handicap advantage, one that apparently wasn’t required to win the low goal final for the Stanley Corcoran Cup on cumulative scoring in their round-robin tournament on 11 goals against three to El Nino and two to Rocklow.