As has long been flagged, the race for the Munster women’s title race will come down to the final game next weekend, after UCC kept their hopes alive with a 2-1 win at Catholic Institute today.
College’s short corner defence, spearheaded by Ali O’Connor, proved the difference at Rosbrien. Olivia Roycroft and Ali O’Regan scored corner goals at the other end for a two-goal half-time lead.
Rosie Pratt did hit back for Institute in the dying seconds, but it wasn’t enough to eke out a share of the spoils.
Meanwhile, Cork Harlequins kept up their end of the bargain by routing UL 7-0. Karen Bateman claimed four of those, with Acacia Taylor, Sinead McCarthy and Jane Chapple also on target.
Those wins proved enough for both sides to once again qualify automatically for next season’s Irish Hockey League, as they are guaranteed to take the top two spots.
Meanwhile, Phil Oakley’s hopes of finishing C of I’s season on a winning note were dashed by a fine performance by Ashton, who claimed a 2-2 draw on home turf today.
C of I’s 5-0 victory at Garryduff on Thursday night suggested more of the same was on the way 48 hours later, but Emma Harrington and Ciara O’Toole cancelled out strikes from Mel Ryan and Claire Hickey for a share of the spoils.
It all means that the destination of the title, and the qualifier for the IHL wildcard playoffs, will likely hinge on Institute’s visit to Quins next weekend.
The permutations are thus; a Quins victory will give them the title by a single point, as well as condemning Institute to a playoff against C of I for a spot in the wildcard – but Institute will qualify for that automatically if they take anything from this game.
A score draw will see College and Quins tied on 36 points, again necessitating a playoff for the title, as was the case last season.
However, a scoreless draw or an Institute win would send the title away from Harlequin Park for the first time in 15 seasons, into the grateful hands of the students.
Both sides will be missing key players; Institute’s Eimear Cregan will not be available to face her former club, while Quins skipper Cliodhna Sargent is unavailable too.
Both players will be in Chile for Ireland’s World Cup qualification campaign, though when they will touch down in Santiago remains to be seen; they were due to fly there via Paris on Sunday, but have so far been grounded by the volcanic ash.
