Bandon and Ashton thinking big

Tomorrow is a red letter day for Bandon and Ashton as they bid to reach the last four of the women’s Irish Trophy for the first time. Ashton host North Kildare looking for another Leinster scalp, having already disposed of Wexford and Clontarf en route to the last eight. Those victories came as part of a five-game winning streak in all competitions, built on sterling performances from a defense marshalled by netminder Elaine Redmond, while Caroline McCarthy and Emma Harrington have taken on the mantle of goalscorers-in-chief.

Bandon visit Three Rock Ladies in the same competition, a trek which won’t hold any fears for John Dennis’ troops given they’ve won on the road against Ballymena and Suttonians in the previous rounds. TRL are a step up in class from Suttonians – a division and 10 places higher, to be precise – and in Bridget Charmant they have one of the competition’s major dangerwomen. However, Bandon have plenty quality in their ranks too. Hilary Chapple, Ali Kingston and Amy Hosford are seasoned Division One campaigners, Vicky Burns and Sarah Sullivan provide the youthful cut and dash while Sarah Gray’s aerials and short corner threat will also be of use. Part three of the ongoing UCC-Catholic Institute rivalry gets underway at Rosbrien tomorrow (3pm), with the latter favourites to put one hand on the Munster league title. Institute have twice turned the students over at the Mardyke by a single goal in recent weeks, and victory would help them open up an 11-point lead that would leave them needing just a score draw from their final three games to annex the title. Crucial to the outcome here is whether College get Miriam Crowley back from international duty. She was a huge loss in last weekend’s Munster Senior Cup final reverse to Institute, who have benefited hugely from being able to call on Irish record caps holder Eimear Cregan week-in, week-out since her recent international retirement. Elsewhere, Cork Harlequins head to basement side UL needing three points to put themselves back in contention for an Irish Hockey League qualification spot. They are set to battle it out with College for the second automatic berth, but will also want to shake off Bandon and Ashton’s challenge for a third-place finish and a place in the IHL wildcard playoffs. Having lost their vital relegation six-pointer to Belvedere recently, UL need to upset someone in their last four games to avoid finishing bottom of the pile, but they are likely to target the clashes with Ashton and C of I rather than the Quins showdown. Meanwhile, three Munster clubs will today vie for two places in the Irish Challenge final, a competition in which clubs outside Cork have been starring in all season. Limerick face arguably the toughest task of the bunch, despite a home draw at Villiers tomorrow (2pm) as they welcome YMCA, the current holders who are gunning for a three-in-a-row.

Having only formed their ladies section in 2006, Limerick have strode up the divisions since and are set for life in Division 2 next term having won 13 games from 13 – scoring 59 times – in Division 3. But reaching a national final via a major upset is high on their agenda too, as they proved when raiding Havelock Park to stun Banbridge last time out. They’ll be driven on by captain Karen O’Flynn, who leads from the back, while ex-Munster U18 skipper Jenni Lyttle and former UL girl Fenagh Smith are among the threats higher up the pitch. The other semi-final is an all-Munster affair, guaranteeing the province a representative in the final. Penalty strokes did the business for Dungarvan against Monkstown last time out, and they’ll be on home turf again when they meet Clonmel. These sides know each other well from Munster league action, with Clonmel notching a 2-0 win at St Augustine’s already this term before being held to a scoreless draw on their own patch. ESB Irish Trophy quarter-finals: Ashton v North Kildare (Ashton School, 3pm); Dromore v Portadown (Ferris Park, 2.30pm); Three Rock Ladies v Bandon (Grange Road, 2.30pm); Lisnagarvey v Victorians (Hillsborough, 2.30pm); ESB Irish Junior Cup quarter-finals: Lisnagarvey v Pegasus (Hillsborough, 1pm); Dublin University v Belfast Harlequins (Santry, 3pm); Bray v UCD (Loreto Bray, 2.30pm); Railway Union v Loreto (Park Avenue, 3pm); ESB Irish Challenge semi-finals: Limerick v YMCA (Villiers, 2pm); Dungarvan v Clonmel (St Augustine’s College, 3pm). Munster Div 1: Catholic Institute v UCC (Rosbrien, 3pm); UL v Cork Harlequins (UL, 1.30pm);