Cork Church of Ireland have a chance for instant redemption as they visit bitter rivals Cork Harlequins for the second time in eight days, this time in tomorrow’s Peard Cup final (Harlequin Park, 2.30pm).
C of I went three goals up in the opening 10 minutes and led 4-2 going into the last few but somehow conspired to lose 5-4 to hand Quins pole position in the Munster title race.
The challenge for C of I coach Mark Ruddle is to restore some defensive authority to his side, while his Quins counterpart Phil Oakley knows his side must keep their short corner concessions down to nullify John Jermyn’s drag-flick threat, while also keeping in-form David Hobbs under wraps.
That is the main event during a bumper weekend of cup final action in Munster. Amazingly, teams from Quins and C of I will also meet in the Munster Junior Cup, Cork Cup and McLean Cup deciders – having also done so in the Barber Cup, where C of I were 6-1 winners – reflecting the pair’s ongoing dominance of men’s hockey in the province.
The junior cup encounter is a tough one to call, with C of I having endured a poor patch in early season while Quins have been good either side of a collapse in February and March.
Philip Sweetnam and Andrew Daunt are twin pacy threats for C of I, with Mark Holmes and Richie Dorman the wiser heads alongside the brilliant Andrew Whittaker between the sticks.
For Quins, they will be hoping their player of the year Darren Farrell’s hamstring injury doesn’t prevent his participation but Luke Daunt and Adam Daunt Sheehan have both been adeptly hitting the net this season too.
C of I C head into their Cork Cup final clash with Quins C as firm favourites, with an excellent mixture of youth and experience. Ali Dunne’s danger at short corner time is well documented while James Philips has had an excellent season in goal, with Munster U16’s Richard Sweetnam providing the trickery in between.
Skipper Peter Creighton, whose side had a routine 5-0 away win over UCC in a midweek semi-final, is guarding against complacency but added that C of I “have as good a chance of winning as anyone other team. If we play well as a team together and work hard for each other I am confident we will pull through.”
Quins have had things tougher en route to the decider, being pushed all the way by Limerick before prevailing 4-3 but can take confidence from almost defeating C of I C in league action earlier this term, the visitors grabbing a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw.
However, they will miss talisman Wesley Bateman, out due to a torn hamstring, though Greg McLelland, Killian Deasy, Stuart Egner and Eoin Kennedy are all well capable of filling the goalscoring void.
Quins will also be hoping for some joy against C of I in the McLean Cup decider, where it’s the Farmers Cross fourths against C of I’s 5ths. Quins’ Stuart Egner explains that the side has been an unsettled one this term, using 36 players and four goalkeepers, but the goals are spread around the side – five players have five each this term.
Stephen Dale and the Russell family rule the defensive roost while Ivan Bateman is the midfield maestro, supported by newcomer Sam Thompson and Egner, while Eoin Kennedy and Alex Newman’s experience up front is supplemented by the youth of Julian Dale and Anthony O’Reilly.
Meanwhile, the women’s Division 6 Cup final sees Cashel/New Inn hope to crown their first year with a double, with Dungarvan standing in their way, but the latter’s coach John Fletcher says his side can’t be written off.
“This will be a tough game as Cashel/New Inn have won the league this year and they are a team of very skillful players,” he said.
“But I would not write off Dungarvan just yet; we are not just going up to make up the numbers, we have a good chance and I know the girls will give it their all.
“Only one team will be bringing the cup home on Saturday evening, and hopefuly it will be heading to Dungarvan.”
Katie Dobbin has been in imposing form in the Dungarvan goal and the front-line trio of Anita Power, Ann Marie Tutty and Lisa Fitzgerald all pose varying threats.
For their part, Cashel/New Inn come into the game on a high having routed Belvedere 8-0 in the semis. The Tipp side drew 1-1 and beat Dungarvan 4-0 in their two league matches, and have a strong spine featuring Mary Cooney marshalling the backs while Emma Shanahan provides midfield guile. Ruth Molony is the dangerwoman up front while Katie O’Connor assumes the short corner duties.
Elsewhere, Limerick’s women contest the women’s Division 3 and 4 finals, against Dungarvan and Bandon respectively,looking to annex yet more titles after a stellar season which has already seen them annex the Div 3 league and the Irish Challenge.
Friday
Munster Junior Cup final: Cork Harlequins B v Cork C of I C (Tonight, Harlequin Park, 8.15pm);
Saturday
Peard Cup final: Cork Harlequins v Cork C of I (Harlequin Park, 2.30pm); Womens Div 6 Cup final: Cashel/New Inn v Dungarvan (Harlequin Park, 4.30pm).
Sunday
Cork Cup final: Cork Harlequins C v Cork C of I C (Garrduff Water, 11am) McLean Cup final: Cork C of I D v Cork Harlequins D (Garryduff Sand, 2pm); Women’s Div 3 Cup final: Limerick v Dungarvan (Garryduff Water, 1pm); Women’s Div 4 Cup final: Limerick v Bandon (Garryduff Water, 3pm).