C of I must go for ‘Broke against old mates

Old friends will meet up on and off the pitch at Garryduff this weekend as the heavyweights of Cork Church of Ireland and Pembroke Wanderers fight to stay in the men’s Irish Senior Cup. For C of I’s John Jermyn, it is a chance to put one over a club he spent a season at while studying in Dublin.  Standing in his way will be good friend and international team-mate Ronan Gormley, who was born in Cork while his father and current Pembroke president Frank held the same role at Cork Harlequins. Gormley junior is hopeful of playing despite suffering severely bruised hands against Cookstown last weekend, but in any case there will still be many intriguing sub-plots in what will practically be a mini Irish trial, given the plethora of internationals on display.

Neither side has hit top gear yet this term, but Pembroke’s free-scoring forward Alan Sothern is worth the admission price alone, while C of I have gone goal crazy in recent weeks, hitting 23 goals in their past three games. The Rochestown side will also be keen to prove they can tame one of the country’s big guns and current holders, having failed to make a serious impression on the national stage since their 2003 club championships win. The lack of snow in Cork city since Monday night means Garryduff should be playable, but doubts remain over the rest of the ties in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Corinthians’ grounds at Whitechurch in Dublin have been under three inches of snow all week, forcing the cancellation of their men’s and women’s ties against Railway Union and Glenanne respectively. Under IHA guidelines for matches involving clubs travelling outside their province’s, Cookstown’s trip to Fingal in the men’s competition and Cork C of I’s journey to Ballymoney in the women’s have both been postponed. Glenanne’s trip to North Down is, at the time of writing, extremely unlikely to go ahead either. Annadale will look to keep their hopes of marking their 40th anniversary season with a trophy alive by defeating the competition’s most successful team, Lisnagarvey, in the unlikely event that Hillsborough proves playable tomorrow. ‘Garvey have had a poor season by their standards. They were whipped 5-2 in the Irish Hockey League by Three Rock Rovers last weekend, and currently lie third bottom in Ulster’s top tier. But they usually reserve their best performances for a competition on which they built their reputation as the most dangerous cup team around. The rest of the ties look set to be quite one-sided, though Three Rock will hardly be happy to be venturing out of Dublin for a fourth successive weekend, this time taking on Bangor, who are unbeaten at home in domestic competition this term. Cork Harlequins will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of Banbridge’s visit to Raphoe – provided the snow melts off the Donegal side’s pitch – as they are scheduled to meet the winner in a delayed round two tie in a fortnight’s time.

The women’s ESB Irish Senior Cup sees UCD look to bounce back from last weekend’s IHL defeat at the hands of Quins when they play Loreto, though a comprehensive Colours win over Trinity in midweek will have put them in the right mindset. The pick of the remaining match-ups is set to be Old Alex’s visit to high-flying Railway Union, where the hosts will be looking to avenge the points they dropped in a 1-1 league draw last month. While the cold weather may yet play havoc with this weekend’s outdoor fixtures, there should be no such problems as the final day of the Tony Byrne Indoor Cup gets underway at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday, with Monkstown and Three Rock out in front so far. Domestically, Division One gets back into the swing of things after standing aside in lieu of the national competitions in recent weeks. Bandon host Cork Harlequins and will be hopeful the city outfit continue to be as profligate from corners as they were in the sides’ Peard Cup final clash. Quins needed 12 attempts before Dan Hobbs found the backboard with two minutes to go to seal a 1-0 win that day, and the same problem befell them against Annadale last weekend. However, Quins still overran the Ulster giants in every other area of the pitch last Saturday, and Bandon – hardly impressive in a 2-1 Charity Cup win over UCC last weekend – may find themselves on the end of a serious backlash. Elsewhere, C of I B meet Quins B, with the latter knowing that victory will put daylight between them and fellow strugglers UCC and Catholic Institute, though they have already been beaten twice by the Duff seconds this term. College and Institute meet at the Mardyke in the Munster Senior Cup, where the hosts will be favourites by virtue of their 8-2 win earlier this term. College welcome back David Gash who was unavailable last weekend due to coaching commitments, though they must do without Graham Jeffery – who is abroad – for the rest of the season. Institute have shipped 20 goals in their last two games to Quins and Glenanne, but showed their potential on a more level playing field by downing Suttonians 2-0 away from home to reach the last four of the Irish Trophy. The women’s Division One sees champions Quins look to extend their lead at the top when they travel to Ashton. Belvedere host Institute as the Ballincollig girls  attempt to remove themselves from an increasingly tight four-way relegation battle, but Institute have some demons to exorcise following their heartbreaking ISC exit on strokes at the hands of Lurgan. UCC turn their attention back to matters domestic with a visit to Bandon on Sunday, knowing they can ill-afford to drop any more points this term if they are to maintain their title and IHL qualification ambitions. It will be a novel match-up for Bandon’s Emma Peters, who played for College in this season’s varsities before returning to her hometown club.