C of I teach students harsh lesson

Cork Church of Ireland gave UCC a bitter first taste of life in Division One of the Munster Senior Men’s League as they recorded a 10-0 victory at Garryduff on Saturday. The defending champions’ coach Stephen Jackson blooded a number of young players in the first half as newly-promoted College made C of I work for their 3-0 lead at the break. However, he introduced big guns John Jermyn and David Hobbs on the resumption, with the former claiming a brace as the home side ran riot. There was little let-up for the Cork students on Sunday, as lost 4-0 to Bandon in the Peard Cup quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Alastair Smith’s hat-trick helped Bandon put a difficult week behind them with a 3-1 win over Cork Harlequins B, while Richie Dorman emulated the feat in C of I B’s 3-0 defeat of Catholic Institute. He was also on the mark yesterday in the sides’ Peard Cup quarter-final  fixture at Rosbrien, which C of I B won 5-2, but youngster Ben Dobson stole his thunder by netting a tidy brace. In Division Two, the long trip home from west Cork was all that sweeter for Galway, who routed Bandon C 6-0, with former UCD man Darragh Curley bagging his second double in as many games. Belvedere bounced back from their drubbing at the hands of C of I’s thirds last weekend in style, edging out Quins C by the odd goal in seven, largely thanks to Richard O’Dell’s hat-trick. Like Belvedere last week, Bandon B got off to a losing start in Division Two, going down 3-2 to Limerick, while Ben Dobson – who was seemingly everywhere this weekend – hit the winner for C of I C in a 2-1 win over the club’s fourths. Meanwhile, Audrey O’Flynn went from villain to hero in a matter of minutes as UCC’s women opened their season with a 3-1 over Catholic Institute at the Mardyke yesterday. College, who were missing injury victims Sarah Gray and Laura Carey and were also without Irish international Áine Connery due to camogie commitments, got off to the worst possible start. O’Flynn took out Ireland U18 markswoman Naomi Carroll in the circle on three minutes, and umpire Grant Sweetnam had no hesitation in awarding a penalty stroke. Rosie Pratt did the necessary from the spot to give Institute an early lead, but it was wiped out almost instantly as O’Flynn went from villain to hero, firing a sumptuous drag-flick into the bottom of the goal off College’s first short corner. Nonetheless, the home struggled to get a foothold in the game, and goalkeeper Karen Olden had to be alert to keep out a Carroll snapshot on 17 minutes. Pratt and Ireland A starlet Kym Daly also had chances as Institute pressed for a lead, but it was College who ended the half in the ascendancy, with Ali O’Regan twice testing Elaine Ryan in the visitors’ goal.

The diminutive forward made it third time lucky just after half-time, expertly deflecting the ball home on 39 minutes after O’Halloran had shredded the visitors’ cover. With Hollie Moffett marshalling the midfield, College began to exert almost total dominance, forcing seven penalty corners in the second half alone. They thought they’d scored on 48 minutes, when O’Halloran’s shot appeared to deflect off Ryan and over the line after a blistering solo run from Crowley. But umpires Sweetnam and Helen Arnopp were having none of it, and that sparked off a series of regrettable niggly exchanges between College players and the umpires throughout the remaining 20 minutes or so. This worrying tendency to mouth off at umpires, which visibly annoyed the Institute girls, and coach Denis Pritchard will have had some stern words with his team after the final whistle. However, they will have happier memories of the two outstanding contributions from O’Flynn sealed with win for College. She raced from her goal to get a superb block in as Pratt was winding up to hammer in a short corner effort on 50 minutes, before once again proving she’s lethal at the other end too, roofing a superb drag-flick past Ryan. College could have extended their lead in the closing stages, with Crowley blotting an otherwise perfect copybook with a howler of a miss from three yards, while Institute’s Gemma Strachan did brilliantly to divert a goal-bound shot over the bar.

Elsewhere, Ashton banished the memory of heavy defeats to C of I and Catholic Institute in recent weeks as Orla O’Donovan’s strike helped them to a surprise 1-0 win over Bandon. Past and present Irish internationals Karen Bateman and Cliodhna Sargent were on target for Cork Harlequins in a 2-0 win over UL. The defending champions were made to work harder than expected for their win, but Cork C of I had no such trouble, with Julie O’Sullivan grabbing a double in a 7-0 rout of Belvedere. Moyne/Thurles hammered UCC 4-1 in Division Two, where C of I prodigy Lauragh O’Neill was on target as her side defeated old nemesis Cork Harlequins 2-1. Catholic Instutute recorded a solid 3-0 win at Bandon, with Laurel Hill’s Rebecca Barry on the scoresheet, while Waterford defeated Ashton 2-0. It was honours even in the clash of the country’s top two in Leinster, with Three Rock Rovers prodigy Mitch Darling canceling out a strike from Irish team-mate Alan Sothern in a 1-1 draw with Pembroke Wanderers. Three stunning short corner strikes from Brian Doherty gave John McInroy his first win since taking over as coach of Corinthians, as they recorded a 3-1 win over YMCA, while Fingal defeated Kilkenny by the same score. In the Leinster Women’s Division One,  Pembroke made sure Bray’s Munster duo of Elaine Bromell and Steph Hall ensured a miserable return to their old stomping ground at Serpentine Avenue, going down 3-2.

Ex-Armagh starlet Lizzie Colvin scored on her debut for Loreto but couldn’t prevent them being held to a 1-1 draw at UCD, while Hermes’  battalion of young stars led an 8-2 rout of Trinity. But the biggest shock of the  weekend came at Hillsborough,  where Instonians amazingly capitulated 5-0 to Lisnagarvey, with drag-flick expert Tim Cockram striking twice. On the women’s side, champions  Pegasus beat last season’s nearest  challengers Ballymoney 2-0, while Randalstown edged out Armagh 1-0. See Fixtures and Results for full results and goalscorers.