Bandon hoodoo continues for C of I B

Bandon continued to be a thorn in Cork C of I B’s side as they raided Garryduff in notable fashion with a 3-1 victory to get their Charity Cup campaign back on track on Saturday. The west Cork club have made life miserable for Dermot Judge’s side in recent weeks, holding them to a 3-3 league draw while their seconds almost knocked them out of the Munster Junior Cup semi-finals, with penalty strokes required to separate the sides. Goals from skipper Mark Deane, David Smith and Clinton Sweetnam – with Roger Gray replying for C of I – did the damage, as the holders got back in the groove after their shock 5-3 defeat to Catholic Institute last weekend.

Once again however, they may have done C of I a backhanded favour; the scare they got a fortnight ago served them well as they went on to defeat Glenanne 3-2 in the last eight of the Irish Junior Cup, and there will certainly be no complacency this weekend as they hit the road to play Cookstown in the semi-finals. In the other Charity Cup game, Institute continued their good form in this competition by holding Quins B to a 1-1 draw. Eric Calendar cancelled out Greg McClelland’s strike for Quins in a game that will give the Rosbrien side some confidence as they look to stave off relegation. It was a heartbreaking weekend for the club’s seconds however, as they went down 3-2 on penalty strokes to C of I E in the McLean Cup semi-final, following a 2-2 stalemate. That means another chapter will be written in one of the most enduring rivalries of the lower leagues when Quins D meet C of I E in the decider, having played out a couple of stirring league encounters this term. C of I were also the big winners in the men’s Division Two, as their thirds won 6-3 in a thriller at Limerick, while recent returnee Edgar Rice claimed two goals as Bandon B won 3-2 in Galway.

Meanwhile, Pembroke Wanderers are still on course to retain their Irish Senior Cup title after a nervy penalty-strokes semi-final win over 2007 champions Glenanne at  Serpentine Avenue on Saturday. Strikes by Pembroke’s Maurice Elliot and Glens’ Brendan Parsons kept things deadlocked in a fractious game that saw seven yellow cards, until after extra-time, when Pembroke squeezed through 5-4 on strokes thanks to two saves from Munsterman David Harte between the sticks. The Dubliners now await the winner of Cookstown and Annadale in the final, after the former saw off Banbridge 2-1 to advance to the last four.