UCC bid to bounce back

UCC will be hoping to give an improved account of themselves when they meet Cork Harlequins in a crucial Munster men’s league tie at the Mardyke tomorrow (12pm). Quins have a 100% record with College four points behind in second, but the students were left smarting in a 5-1 home loss the last time the sides met, in a Peard Cup semi-final last month. Key to their hopes will be getting Shrew Power into space to use his pace to trouble the Quins defence as he did back in October, as well as carving out shooting opportunities for the often-deadly Fionn O’Leary and Roger Gray.

Quins were having a fine season until the Peard Cup final humbling by C of I, with Mark Black’s absence a key factor. If he is back in harness, expect David Eakins and Phil McLaughlin to benefit. Elsewhere, C of I will expect to extract maximum points from Catholic Institute’s visit to Garryduff, while Bandon seek to shake off the cobwebs from an inactive December as they host Quins B. C of I survived December without many of their big hitters but should improve in the second half of the campaign with Phil Smith, Shane O’Donnell and Alec Moffett all expected back over the coming weeks. Institute’s lack of depth has again hurt them this term and C of I will be confident they can carve out enough opportunities to do some damage. Bandon will look to use the visit of Quins’ second string to re-ignite their campaign, which slowed to a near-crawl in recent weeks as a bare fixture list saw them play just twice since the beginning of  November. The women’s league throws up a revenge mission for Cork Harlequins, as they visit UL tomorrow (1pm). The Limerick students stunned Stephen Dale’s side on the opening day by raiding Farmer’s Cross to nab a 2-1 win, one of Munster hockey’s biggest shocks in a long time. George Blackwell’s side are without three of the stars of that victory; goalkeeper Elaine O’Flynn is on Erasmus but has an able deputy in South East U21 netminder Hillary Griffin, but replacing absent midfielders Elaine Breen and Eadaoin Moore could be a tougher task, especially with Karen Bateman now back roaming around that area for Quins. Elsewhere, Bandon are the latest side bidding to stop the Catholic Institute bandwagon but they may be short on confidence after last weekend’s humbling at Quins. That also applies to Cork C of I following heavy defeats to UCC and Institute, and things don’t get any easier for them as they visit an Ashton side who will be keen to build some form for the second half of the campaign, having not played a league game since November 26.

Further afield, the National Indoor Trophy finals weekend commands the attention in the other provinces, with Gormanston and Loughlinstown hosting the final groups on Saturday with the semi-finals and finals taking place at Tallaght’s National Basketball Arena on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Irish Hockey League finals will return to Lisnagarvey for 2012, after the Co Down club was again selected to host club hockey’s showpiece weekend. The men’s and women’s semi-finals and finals will take place at the Comber Road venue on the Bank Holiday Weekend of May 5 and 6, as well as the wildcard qualification tournament for the 2012/13 season, provided there are no clashes in participating teams. “With the IHA cup finals the following weekend in Dublin, it means we can spread the exposure of the two premier IHA senior club competitions to a large number of supporters and spectators. Lisnagarvey were fantastic hosts last year and we are delighted to be able to work with their team of volunteers again this year.” The IHL working group also announced the IHL forum will take place on Sunday, March 11 in Dublin, allowing club representatives to debate the future of the tournament as well as taking in the men’s Olympic qualification tournament. Men’s Div 1: UCC v Cork Harlequins, Mardyke, 1pm; Cork C of I v Catholic Institute, Garryduff, 2pm; Bandon v Cork Harlequins B, 3pm, Bandon Grammar. Women’s Div 1: Ashton v Cork C of I, 12.15pm, Ashton School; UL v Cork Harlequins, 1pm, UL; Catholic Institute v Bandon, 12pm, Rosbrien.