Ashton loving life at the top

Signs of weakness continued to appear among the old order in Munster women’s hockey, as Ashton joined Catholic Institute at the top of the table with Cork Harlequins and Cork Church of Ireland losing ground. Caroline McCarthy gave one of many fine goalscoring captain’s performances in netting twice, including one from the penalty spot, for Ashton in their 2-1 defeat of C of I, who are without a point from two games.

And Institute put nine without reply past Limerick neighbours UL, with skipper Elaine Bromell bagging four of those and Eimear Cregan claiming a hat-trick for the second successive Saturday. Bandon put the first dent in Cork Harlequins’ hopes of claiming a 15th straight crown as they came away from Farmer’s Cross with a 0-0 draw, having also taken points off UCC last week. In a scrappy game played mostly between the 25s, corners and chances were at a premium as Cliodhna Sargent kept the Bandon forwards in check while Quins greatly missed Karen Bateman’s creativity at the other end. Nonetheless, Bandon will be delighted to have remained unbeaten from their trips to the Mardyke and Farmer’s Cross. College got back in the groove with an 8-1 demolition of Belvedere in Ballincollig, which was mostly noteworthy for captain Ali O’Regan’s quadruple. Ashton and Institute now have a perfect six points from six, with College next in line on five. Meanwhile, there were nine goals but plenty of scrappy early-season fare on show as Bandon’s men went down 6-3 at home to Cork C of I. Stephen Sweetnam claimed a double for the blues, but Darren Beamish and David Smith kept Bandon in the hunt at 3-2 down with 20 minutes to go, before C of I lost two players to the sin-bin. That seemed to oddly stem Bandon’s momentum, and C of I captain John Jermyn made them pay with a hat-trick that included one blinding rocket from the top of the circle which nestled in the top corner. Elsewhere in the men’s league, Catholic Institute will be the happier after coming away with a 2-2 draw from Cork Harlequins B, as Eric Calendar and the evergreen Dara Crowe cancelled out strikes from the hosts’ Brian Hayes Curtin and Philip Burns.

UCC made a statement of intent as their new boys shone in a 5-0 Peard Cup quarter-final drubbing of a similarly new-look C of I B side at Garryduff. Neil Welch’s students survived an early scare when a long ball was let run all the way through to Greg Chambers, but he couldn’t find the target when put through one-on-one with Kieran Healy. And College settled down thereafter, taking the lead in the 12th minute when Roger Gray saw his initial drag-flick saved, but followed up swiftly to half-volley home the rebound. That advantage was augmented seven minutes later by captain Andy Gray, who dragged home after a switch nullified the first runner. C of I youngsters Gary Wilkinson and Chambers showed some flashes of promise,while David Wolfe made a couple of fine tackles in defence, but College’s superior compusure, passing and movement told once more on 32 minutes. Roger Gray’s initial effort was well saved by C of I’s returning goalkeeper Andrew Whittaker – who had a fine game overall – but his follow-up, an upright reverse, was straight and true. Aside from Chambers’ early raid, all C of I had to show was a single short corner, from which Healy saved well from a Derek Hales bullet. And the students dominated even further in the second period. Fionn O’Leary, Peter Catchpole, Malcolm Coombes and Emmet Long all made their presence felt before College  put the resolt beyond doubt with the goal of the game on 50 minutes. Andy Gray’s long pass from the back found brother Roger, who fed Colin Manning on the left. The Kilkenny man had put a reverse effort wide minutes beforehand, but made no mistake with a fine lofted finish on his openside, his first top-level goal in a red shirt.

Whittaker then denied Roger Gray his hat-trick with a stunning agile stop, sticking out a foot to direct a rolled reverse effort that seemed destined for the bottom corner. But College put a gloss on victory with five minutes remaining, when O’Leary connected with  Roger Gray’s cross via a diving reverse only to strike the upright, but Nathan Gokul followed up to slot the rebound for a debut goal. Further afield, Munster newcomers showed their value on day one of the Leinster league, in particular Julia O’Halloran, who had a debut to remember for Railway Union. The former UCC and Cork Harlequins star hit four goals in Railway’s 8-1 demolition of Bray, while her former College team-mate Audrey O’Flynn netted two drag-flicks in Hermes’ 4-0 win over Pembroke. Ex-C of I man Jonny Bruton bagged a hat-trick on his YMCA debut as they swatted aside Weston 5-0, but Glenanne were the day’s big winners, Stephen Brownlow bagging the winner on his debut in a 2-1 win over Pembroke, while Monkstown edged out Three Rock Rovers 2-1. Men’s Div 1 Bandon 3 (D Beamish, D Smith) Cork C of I 6 (J Jermyn 3, S Sweetnam 2, D Hobbs); Cork Harlequins B 2 (B Hayes Curtin, P Burns) Catholic Institute 2 (E Calendar, D Crowe); Peard Cup quarter-final Cork C of I B 0 UCC 5 (R Gray 2, A Gray, C Manning, N Gokul); Men’s Div 2: Cork C of I C 6 UCC B 1; Bandon B 4 Cork Harlequins C 2; Div 3: Cork C of I E 5 Cork Harlequins D 4; Midleton 3 Bandon C 3; Limerick B 0 Belvedere 0; Div 4: Catholic Institute C 2 Cork C of I F 3. Women’s Div 1 Ashton 2 (C McCarthy 2) Cork C of I 1 (A Roberts); Belvedere 1 UCC 8 (A O’Regan 4, K Humphreys, A O’Connor, M Crowley, AN Other); Catholic Institute 9 (E Bromell 4, E Cregan 3, R Pratt, N Sterritt) UL 0; Cork Harlequins 0 Bandon 0; Munster Div 2: Cork Harlequins 0 Bandon 1; Fermoy 1 Waterford 1; Div 3: Cork C of I 3 Cork Harlequins 0; UL 0 Dungarvan 2; Div 4: Bandon 2 Tipperary 0; Div 5: Cork C of I 0 Belvedere 0; Clonmel 0 Bruff 5. Div 6: Kenmare 0 Fermoy 1 **Please note that due to the new results system implemented by Munster Hockey this season, I no longer have goalscorers from lower-division games to hand each week. Please feel free to email reports/details to munsterhockeyblog(at)gmail.com, or to give me the mobile number of someone on your team I can text to get details from.