Connery’s sucker punch floors UCC

Munster’s trio of women’s Irish Hockey League representatives all left Dublin this weekend having suffered blows to their hopes of progressing in the tournament, with a losing bonus point for C of I the sole gain on a disappointing weekend. In a cruel but not entirely unpredictable twist of fate, Aine Connery came back to haunt her old UCC team-mates, breaking the deadlock for Hermes in a 2-0 win over the students at Belfield on Sunday. The Kilkenny-born Irish international spent four years at the Cork outfit but returned to Hermes, her childhood club, last month, and she looked embarrassed and apologetic when she knocked in a rebound after Karen Olden had saved Jenny Burke’s initial effort on 56 minutes. Prior to that, College had shaded the opening quarter, with the impressive Ali O’Connor forcing Emma Gray into a neat stick save, but the hosts began to impress their game on College thereafter, forcing a series of corners. Connery’s strike broke the deadlock and prompted College to pour forward in search of an equaliser. Niamh Atcheler exploited this to setup Hermes’ second, lofting a cross-field aerial – a weapon that had caused nervous moments for the visitors all day – to Gillian Pinder. Her goalbound shot from an angle on the left found its way in off Audrey O’Flynn, who had slid in to cover her goalkeeper but was unable to prevent the strike that sealed Hermes’ win and robbed College of a bonus point. The result, coupled with Loreto’s 2-1 loss to Pegasus in Belfast – where Michelle Harvey’s drag-flick proved the difference after Nikki Symmons had cancelled out Arlene Boyles’ opener – leaves Pool B wide open. Five of the six teams teams will still be harbouring realistic ambitions of making the last four, with just three points separating them as all but the top two have picked up a bonus point in their two games thus far.

Pegs lead the way as the only side with a 100% record, with Old Alex slotting in behind after Aoife Budd hit the winner in a 2-1 victory at bottom-of-the-table Randalstown. Railway Union are the clear favourites already to emerge from Pool A, after they picked up their second straight bonus point win with a 3-0 defeat of Cork Harlequins to open up a three-point gap at the top. All the goals came in the second half of a quality affair at Park Avenue, with Cecilia Joyce claiming a poacher’s double before Jean McDonnell’s corner strike provided the coup de grace. Sinead McCarthy was once again imperious in the Quins defence, but that will come as little consolation to last year’s semi-finalists, who welcome Pembroke Wanderers to Farmers Cross next up. They will surely be able to glean some knowledge on the Dubliners from local rivals C of I, who pushed them all the way at Serpentine Avenue before going down 3-2. Karen Hales hit a double against her former team-mates, the first coming from the game’s opening corner on two minutes. The livewire Sinead Connery hauled C of I back into it in the third quarter, only for Alice Ward to force the ball home after a looped ball caused havoc in the visitors’ circle. But Mel Ryan hammered home a corner – won while C of I had Connery in the bin on a green card – to level it a second time, before Hales claimed the points for Pembroke with another corner strike. The remaining IHL clash, an all-Ulster affair between Ballymoney and Ards, ended in a 1-1 stalemate which does neither team’s ambitions any favours.

Meanwhile, Munster teams returned a near-100% success rate in the men’s and women’s Irish Trophy games that went ahead. Catholic Institute were again the most impressive winners, going goal crazy in a 9-1 demolition of Skerries. Rosie Pratt was their hat-trick hero, with the rest shared around between Keeley Cantrell, Ireland U16 starlet Roisin Upton, Naomi Carroll, new signings Nicky Sterritt and Elaine Bromell and Edel Higgins. They have been rewarded with a home tie against Clontarf, while Ashton – who received a walkover from Priorians – will also be on familiar turf when they take on Greenisland in round three. Bandon face a very tricky assignment however, as they must go to Galway, after their impressive 4-0 win over North Down. Anne O’Donovan hit a double for the west Cork girls, with Lorna Dennehy and Rachelle Nyhan augmenting the score. Waterford’s visit to Queens fell victim to the weather, but should they win the re-arranged tie, they will have home comforts against Knock. In the men’s competition, Munster U21 representative Simon Brickenden hit the winner for Catholic Institute in a 2-1 defeat of Newry, with Justin O’Sullivan getting the first.

That has setup a potential all-Munster tie in the quarter-finals; Institute will again be at home in the last eight, with UCC the potential opponents if they can win at Belfast Harlequins, another game which couldn’t be played. However, Galway couldn’t emulate their Limerick counterparts, as they crashed 5-0 to an Alan Browne-inspired Weston side to end their interest in the competition. Meanwhile, in the only Division One league game to go ahead in either code, C of I B picked up their first points of the season as Richie Dorman’s strike proved the difference in a 1-0 win over Quins B. The draws for the Irish Trophy are available here (men) and here (women). To see Adrian Boehm’s pictures from the Pembroke vs C of I game, click here. Deryck Vincent’s photos from the Railway vs Quins tie can be viewed here, while both photographers were at Hermes vs UCC and a comprehensive set of images from that game can be viewed here.