Honours even in derby day double-header

Leeside’s big two shared the spoils on the first big Saturday of the season at Harlequin Park, with Cork Harlequins winning the women’s game 2-0, while Cork Church of Ireland reversed that result in the men’s clash. Clinical finishing from Rachel McSharry and Hilary Chapple saw Cork Harlequins strike an early blow in a the title race that is set to be three-pronged once again this year. C of I’s inability to find the backboard in big games came back to haunt them, though they weren’t helped by a superb exhibition of goalkeeping from Quins’ Amy O’Neill.

The ever-increasing age profile of the Quins team has raised the question as to whether Clive Seale’s side will finally loosen their grip on the Munster Senior League trophy after 13 years. While Quins didn’t quite answer that question as emphatically as they would have liked, they once again showed their neighbours that it’s quality not quantity that wins games, and the win is all the more welcome given skipper Eimear Cregan and Cliodhna Sargent were both on Ireland duty. Nonetheless, C of I monopolised possession in the opening minutes, and Lauragh O’Neill stung her namesake’s gloves with a powerful drag-flick on seven minutes. Phil Oakley’s side worked their way into the Quins 25 on numerous occasions in the first quarter, but the final ball was almost always missing, and Quins made them pay with their first chance of the game on 26 minutes. Rachael Kohler’s short corner slap was saved low by Orla McCarthy, but McSharry reacted quickest and deftly lifted the ball over the grounded C of I keeper for a 1-0 lead they hardly deserved.

There was still plenty of reason for C of I to be hopeful as Michaela Mihailou, making her last appearance for the club, and Mel Ryan successfully probed the wings. But they only troubled O’Neill once before the break, the Quins netminder getting down well to save Ryan’s short corner shot, and the hosts struck a killer blow four minutes after the resumption. Again, it came from a set-piece, and this time Hilary Chapple was on hand to fire home from an acute angle after a goalmouth melee. Rather than sit back on their lead, Quins began to assume control, with Kohler winning the midfield battle with Deirdre Casey. But it was C of I who came closest to scoring, with O’Neill first saving from Mihailou after a clever short corner switch, before brilliantly turning Lauragh O’Neill’s slap onto the post 30 seconds later. As if C of I needed conformation that it wasn’t to be their day, Sinead Connery was sin-binned in the closing minutes, a decision which sparked some heated exchanges with umpires Julie Beamish and Zenia Howe after the final whistle.

But it’s business as usual for Quins, who will nonetheless need to step their performance up a notch when they visit Ballymoney in their opening Irish Hockey League encounter next weekend. Fourteen-year-old Leanne Mullins is ruled out of that game by age restrictions, but Seale and the onlooking Munster U16 girls coach John Hobbs will have been delighted to see the Ashton schoolgirl acquit herself so well in such exalted company. Meanwhile, C of I’s men exacted a modicum of revenge for their ladies when they defeated Quins 2-0 in the second part of the “big two” double-header this afternoon. A surprisingly partisan away support arrived in hope of another goal-feast after the C of I’s dramatic 5-4 Munster Senior Cup final win last season, and while that never materialised, they were nonetheless treated to a superb spectacle. The game served as a perfect warm-up for next weekend’s IHL, with seven Irish internationals past and present on display as Quins went in search of revenge after losing out to the Garryduff outfit in both league and cup last season. While there had been 15 short corners in the women’s game, goalmouth action was at more of a premium in the men’s encounter with both defences in command, while keepers Billy Lynch and Chris Daunt were alive to most threats from play. But it was C of I who claimed the vital league points, as they finally broke the deadlock thanks to a fine breakaway goal 15 minutes from time. Stephen Parker broke out of defence after C of I had blocked down a short corner, and ignored John Jermyn’s screams for a pass to split the backtracking Quins defence with a superb pass that sent Alec Moffett and Jonny Bruton clear on keeper Chris Daunt. Moffett found Bruton, who took the ball wide of Daunt before skilfully squaring the ball behind a backtracking Quins defender for Moffett to touch home. They rubbed salt into the home side’s wounds at the death, with David Hobbs firing home a short corner rebound seconds after the final whistle, to put C of I in a positive mood ahead of next weekend’s clash with Fingal.

Elsewhere, Bandon were made to work extremely hard by UCC, with a goal from Andrew Kingston – who has returned to the club after an eight-year absence – giving them a 1-0 win. The west Cork side could have reasonably expected to win at their leisure after last weekend’s 4-0 Peard Cup quarter-final victory. But John Dennis’ side gave a far more coherent performance this time around, and could have stolen a draw had they been more ruthless at short corner time. Catholic Institute bagged their first win of the new campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Quins B at Rosbrien. Institute had considered following Belvedere’s lead in dropping to Division Two earlier this year, but results such as this will certainly help copper-fasten the notion that they aren’t out of place in the top tier. Eric Calender and Gareth Creamer got the all-important strikes, with Greeth Fromme replying for Quins, his second goal in as many games. Meanwhile, UCC join Quins as the only sides in the women’s Division One with 100% records thanks to a 3-0 away triumph over Ashton on Sunday. Eibhlín O’Donoghue plundered two goals from short corners before Ali O’Regan finished off a flowing move involving Miriam Crowley, Jean Long and Julia O’Halloran to seal the win. The competitiveness of the lower reaches of the women’s Division One once again reared its head as Bandon and Belvedere drew 1-1 at Ballincollig, with the latter’s Anne Murray cancelling out Thelma Kingston’s effort.

Both sides have had Jekyll and Hyde starts to the campaign, with Belvedere winning 2-1 against UL before losing 7-0 to C of I, while Bandon followed up a 6-0 mauling of Catholic Institute with a 3-1 defeat to Quins and a shock 1-0 loss to Ashton. For their part, Institute bounced back from last week’s loss to UCC by ousting UL 2-0 thanks to a brace from Ireland A starlet Kym Daly.