Tricky Bandon test awaits Quins

It’s catch-up time for the chasing pack in the Munster senior men’s top tier this weekend – weather permitting – as Cork Harlequins bid to join Cork C of I on top of the pile with a win over Bandon tomorrow. There is nothing straightforward about Quins’ visit to west Cork however (12pm), as Ali Smith’s Bandon side will have noted how Quins almost came a cropper against UCC in last week’s Peard Cup semi-final. Quins generally do well here though, and will be hoping to have enough in their short corner arsenal – David Eakins, Dan Hobbs and John Hobbs all offer drag-flick options – to do the business and match C of I’s five wins from five games.

Bandon will then double up and take on C of I – again on home turf – in their Peard Cup semi-final, with the winners meeting Quins in the final on St Stephen’s Day, which will be held at Harlequin Park. Elsewhere, Catholic Institute and UCC will both be confident of extracting their first league wins of the season, as they take on C of I B and Quins B respectively. Institute have home advantage against a C of I B side who have yet to pick up a point this term, and were recently dumped out of the Irish Junior Cup, but will be at full strength with their first-teamers in harness. College will face a non top-three side for the first time this season when they head to Farmers Cross to take on Quins B, mindful of the fact that they blew a 3-1 lead here before drawing 3-3 last term. Meanwhile, the meeting of UCC and Quins in the women’s league reprises some epic battles of recent seasons, but in altered circumstances. Whereas these sides met in title playoffs in both of the past two years, after finishing level on points in the regulation season, the re-emergence of Catholic Institute has seen Quins and College left behind in the league table. Institute are currently five points ahead of College and eight ahead of Quins, and will be fully expecting to extend their 100% record to eight games as they visit basement side Belvedere, who UCC beat 2-0 in midweek with goals from Ali O’Connor and Ali O’Regan.

Three points for College are therefore imperative to stop Institute disappearing over the horizon, while anything except a win for Quins could signal the death knell for their 15-year stranglehold on the Munster title. Elsewhere, Bandon host Cork C of I in the hope that they can topple the Garryduff girls – who are very much in transition after a series of departures – for the first time in recent years. However, the poor weather forecast for the weekend may yet disrupt the hockey fixture list for a fourth successive weekend. The Irish Hockey Association will today publish their revised fixture list for national competitions, given the disruption caused by the big freeze. Men’s Div 1: Bandon v Cork Harlequins (Bandon GS, 12pm); Cork Harlequins B v UCC (Harlequin Park, 1.30pm); Catholic Institute v Cork C of I B (Rosbrien, TBC). Peard Cup semi-final: Bandon v Cork C of I (Sunday, Bandon GS, 3pm) Women’s Div 1: Bandon v Cork C of I (Bandon GS, 2pm); Cork Harlequins v UCC (Harlequin Park, 12pm); Belvedere v Catholic Institute (Ballincollig CS, 12.30pm).