First-teamers boost C of I’s Irish Junior Cup hopes

One of the Irish Junior Cup’s big guns is set to fall at the first hurdle tomorrow as Cork Church of Ireland host Annadale at Garryduff (3pm). The duo have been paired together in the only tie of the preliminary round, and there will be plenty of motivation for C of I, given they will setup a Cork derby with neighbours Harlequins should they progress. As the club’s A side are not in action, coach Dermot Judge will be able to call on a number of first-team players — goalkeeper Billy Lynch,  Stephen Parker, Roger Gray and David Harvey —  as the Rochestown outfit look to overturn last year’s finalists.

However, Judge admits that how they are re-integrated into a side that contains a mixture of veterans like Derek Hales and promising youngsters such as Ben Dobson will be crucial to C of I’s hopes. Annadale are unlikely to have their top players available as they make the long trek from Belfast, given their firsts have a league appointment with Lisnagarvey. In the first round proper, Pembroke Wanderers begin their bid for a three-in-a-row with a tricky away tie at Kilkeel. Pembroke have been the standard bearers at this level in recent times, taking seven trophies from two campaigns at Leinster and national level. However, they have picked up just one win in four outings this term, and have lost a number of key players. Goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe and Paddy Good have moved to pastures new, while Alan Giles is now captain of the firsts. Bandon face an arduous trek to play Mossley, while the glamour tie up north is the meeting of Cookstown and Banbridge. Weston have already advanced to the second round, after UCC last week withdrew from the sides’ scheduled clash in Dublin. The Cork students had been due to travel to Dublin to fulfil the fixture this Saturday, but have informed the Irish Hockey Association that they have withdrawn from the tournament. The Mardyke outfit may have struggled to field a team, given they cannot draw from their firsts – who play two divisions above their seconds – while their second and third teams have three games between them this weekend. Their female counterparts are still involved however, and like C of I’s men may be able to call on a number of firsts players for their long trip to Portadown, after the A side’s clash with Bandon was moved to Tuesday night. The same applies to Cork’s other women’s sides, who all have home advantage, with Lurgan visiting C of I and Ulster Elks travelling to Quins, while Ashton host Clontarf. The men’s Division One fixture cupboard in Munster is almost bare this weekend as a result of the Irish Junior Cup — the only game is UCC’s re-arranged meeting with Catholic Institute at the Mardyke. In the women’s league, Quins and C of I will expect to pick up full points against Ashton and UL respectively, while Institute take on Belvedere at Rosbrien. Meanwhile, there was one game in the Munster men’s Division Three tonight, with Cork C of I E defeating UCC C 5-0 at Garryduff. Some resolute defending from the students restricted the hosts to a 1-0 lead at the break, with Cillín Corbett’s shot deflecting home off a College defender. But the floodgates opened in the second half, with top scorer Dermot Judge grabbing one from play and one from a corner, while Nigel and Trevor Bateman also weighed in with a goal each.