Another Ulster scalp for Quins but C of I and Institute bow out

Cork Church of Ireland came up short in their attempts to honour tragic former player/coach Andrew Chambers with an Irish Senior Cup win, going down 4-2 at home to Lisnagarvey. The 31-year-old died on November 13 last year, after collapsing suddenly on the pitch at Garryduff in Rochestown, Cork immediately prior to the club’s Irish Senior Cup clash with Kilkeel, and could not be revived. C of I, who held a memorial match and a dedication to Andrew at their home pitch on Saturday following their ISC tie, went two down to ‘Garvey early on via Peter MacDonnell and Stevie Arbuthnot strikes. Graham Bittle — playing his first senior game in seven years — notched the third before Andy Forrest grabbed another after the break. C of I’s late fightback, coming from a Philip Smith penalty stroke and short corner rebound, was ultimately in vain. There was happier news for Cork Harlequins, who will have a chance to eke out revenge on Banbridge after they were drawn at home to the northerners — 4-0 winners in the sides’ recent Irish Hockey League tussle — in the quarter-finals. Quins got there via another cliffhanger at Harlequin Park, Annadale the victims in a similar fashion to Instonians last weekend. David Eakins hoovered up a corner rebound and John Hobbs flicked home with Peter Caruth responding to leave Quins 2-1 up going into the closing stages, only for Irish international hitman Caruth to strike again to level it. But Phil Oakley’s men attacked from the restart and a superb pass from Eakins gave David Lombard the chance to send the Belfast outfit packing on a 3-2 scoreline. Amazingly, they may need to wait a full six months until next May before they can get their teeth into Bann. That’s because the focus in March will be firmly back on the national side, whose London 2012 hopes received a huge boost yesterday as the International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed Dublin will host an Olympic qualification tournament from March 11-18. Paul Revington’s men, ranked 17th, are the third seeds in their winner-takes-all pool of six, with Korea and Malaysia ranked above them while Russia, Chile and Ukraine complete the line-up. But home advantage in UCD’s Belfield stadium and the knowledge that they have beaten both Korea (ranked 6) and Malaysia (14) in recent years, amid ever-improving performances on the world stage, could prove a significant leveller. Ireland’s women are seeded second behind Spain in their qualifier, which also features hosts Belgium and Russia, France and Mexico and takes place from March 17-25. Bann, for their part, edged out Cookstown 2-1 in the battle of Ireland’s EuroHockey League representatives, while 2008 and 2009 champions Pembroke Wanderers ended the interest of last year’s finalists Monkstown, prevailing on penalty strokes following a 2-2 stalemate. Pembroke now face a trip to ‘Garvey in the tie of the last eight, with Railway Union, who stunned Three Rock Rovers 5-2, facing off against Glenanne, 3-1 victors over UCD. NICS and Instonians won all-Ulster ties with Belfast Harlequins and Mossley respectively and their clash completes the draw. Meanwhile, Emma Russell produced the day’s enduring memory as she grabbed a golden goal winner for Old Alex against Hermes, the club she moved from during the summer, to earn an ESB Electric Ireland quarter-final date with Loreto, 3-1 winners at Belfast Harlequins. They were among five Leinster sides to make it through as UCD enjoyed added another scalp to their collection, going to Limerick and coming away with a 4-2 win at Catholic Institute. Anna O’Flanagan’s eighth goal of the season and a first from Caroline Hill put them ahead on the half hour but Naomi Carroll led the Insta fightback with a couple of counter-attack goals. But UCD finished strongly, as Hill completing a great team move and Nicola Gray blasted home a trademark corner strike for the killer goal. The draw paired the students with Pegasus for the second time this season with the Ulster side keen for revenge for an IHL defeat. They took their chances to dispose of Ballymoney at the Joey Dunlop centre as early strikes from Suzanne Beaney and Vanessa Surgeoner setting them on course for a 3-0 success. Eanna Horan found a scoring touch for Dublin University as she netted from corners on the quarter and half hour against Corinthian while Lyndsey Watson responded in a 2-1 success for the students. It sets up an inter-varsity quarter-final with Queen’s University in Santry as Joanne Orr’s four goals powered them to a comfortable win over Portadown. Railway complete the Leinster representation in the competition as they were too quick for Lurgan in the second half of their tie. Alex Speers nudged in two early goals but Natalie Barr netted a penalty stroke to give Lurgan some half-time hope. The Park Avenue hosts, though, found some great second-half goals to run out 8-2 winners and will now face Armagh, as the Orchard women netted seven without reply against Glenanne. Domestically, it was a mixed weekend for UCC. Their women’s team fell to a shock 2-1 home defeat to Ashton, with Ciara O’Toole and the students’ Ali O’Regan cancelling each other out before Kate Harvey found the top corner with a ripping drag-flick to win it in style. UCC’s men cantered to a 7-0 win against Catholic Institute, highlighted by four Roger Gray strikes while Fionn O’Leary, Stuart O’Grady and Graham Catchpole completed the rout despite an excellent performance from Institute netminder Tristan Murphy. Men Irish Senior Cup Rd 2 UCD 1 (S Nolan) Glenanne 3 (Gary Shaw 2, J Kane); Cork C of I 2 (P Smith 2) Lisnagarvey 4 (P MacDonnell, S Arbuthnot, G Bittle, A Forrest); Cookstown 1 (G Allen) Banbridge 2 (H McShane, R McCandless); Monkstown 2 Pembroke Wanderers 2 (aet, Pembroke win 4-1 on penalty strokes); Cork Harlequins 3 (D Lombard, J Hobbs, M Black) Annadale 2 (P Caruth 2); Railway Union 5 (P English, R Forrest, F Maher, J Duncan, R Abbott) Three Rock Rovers 2 (P Blakeney 2); Instonians 4 (S Redpath, P Gleghorne, McWilliams, C Kirk) Mossley 2; Belfast Harlequins 1 NICS 2; Quarter-final draw (May 12): Railway Union v Glenanne; Lisnagarvey v Pembroke; Cork Harlequins v Banbridge; NICS v Instonians. Munster Div 1: UCC 7 (R Gray 4, F O’Leary, S O’Grady, G Catchpole) Catholic Institute 0 Women ESB Electric Ireland Irish Senior Cup Rd 2 Corinthian 1 (L Watson) Dublin Uni 2 (E Horan 2); Belfast Harlequins 1 (K Morris), Loreto 3 (S Clarke, K Evans, L Colvin); Railway Union 8 (A Speers 2, J McDonnell 2, K McKenna, E Smyth, K Lloyd, Z Delany) Lurgan 2 (N Barr, S McClure); Old Alex 2 (E Russell 2) Hermes 1 (A Connery)(aet, golden goal); Catholic Institute 2 (N Carroll 2) UCD 4 (C Hill 2, A O’Flanagan, N Gray); Armagh 7 (R Mulligan 2, K McDonald, A Stewart, C Russell, G Frazer, K Steenson) Glenanne 0; Queen’s Uni 5 (J Orr 4, L McGuigan) Portadown 0; Ballymoney 0 Pegasus 3 (S Beaney, V Surgeoner, S Quinn). Quarter-final draw (May 12): UCD v Pegasus; Old Alex v Loreto; Armagh v Railway Union; Dublin Uni v Queens Uni. Munster Div 1: UCC 1 (A O’Regan) Ashton 2 (C O’Toole, K Harvey).