College get back in the mix

UCC made their IHL return to the Mardyke in style, as they routed Belfast Harlequins 4-1 to give their semi-final hopes a real shot in the arm. College have only happy memories of IHL days at the ‘Dyke – having beaten Randalstown 4-0 here 12 months ago – and knew three points was the minimum requirement against one of the group’s weaker teams on paper. They made heavy weather of it in a scoreless first half, but once Ali O’Regan broke the northerners’ resistance in the third quarter – the skipper went on to claim a hat-trick – it was plain sailing.

That go-ahead goal was the pick of the bunch, as an intricate switched corner move saw Miriam Crowley – easily the most dangerous player on the pitch – sweep for O’Regan to deflect goalwards. The ball rebounded off the upright, but O’Regan was alive to the rebound and flashed a brilliant shot back across goal into the far corner. Crowley claimed the second a couple of minutes later, sweeping under the keeper after Eibhlín O’Donoghue’s cross from the left had just evaded Vicky O’Sullivan, before O’Regan did likewise – superbly eliminating the last defender with a deft piece of control across her body – to put College in bonus point territory. The fourth arrived via a swift counter-attack, with Aine Curran squeezing the ball under the advancing goalkeeper – the shot was goal-bound but lacking power, so O’Regan made sure from point-blank range to bag her hat-trick. Jenny McAuley – by far the biggest threat for the visitors – then engineered a late consolation goal when her arced run brought her to the endline, and she squared for Ruth Miller to bash home from the penalty spot. College now move into third spot in a pool lead by Pegasus and Hermes, who both picked up notable wins on the road at Loreto and Catholic Institute respectively. Institute goalkeeper Ciara Ronan’s superb performance between the sticks unfortunately failed to produce more than a bonus point, as Hermes scored with the last touch of the game in a 2-1 win. The pressure that 11 corners bring eventually told at Rosbrien, breaking the Insta hearts with the last of them after the final hooter as O’Flanagan deflected home, ending a pulsating tie. Early on, Ciara Ronan kept out three corners in style before Eimear Cregan – to the fore in everything the Limerick hosts did – was a central figure in a great team move which saw Roise Pratt open the scoring. Hermes, driven by Sinead McCarthy and the Connery sisters, came flying out of the blocks in the second half and Irish international Audrey O’Flynn scored a switched drag-flick from a short corner in the 44th minute to level. And, as the game ebbed and flowed, the Booterstown club eventually took advantage of a player advantage in the last phases, using the space to grab a late corner which O’Flanagan netted to move her side up to seven points from two outings.

Loreto almost pegged back Pegasus at Beaufort, but an early surge from the northerners proved enough to bag a valuable victory. Two Loreto defensive errors allowed Vanessa Surgeoner and Suzanne Beaney to roofing brilliant strikes. S urgeoner laid on the third for Beaney in the 20th minute, when she intercepted and battle through a couple of tackles and the former international applied a simple finish. But the hosts grabbed a lifeline before the big break when Niamh Small caught a break and smashed the ball from the 25 to the left post where Cathy McKean got a great touch. Pegasus could have moved back into bonus point territory when Stephanie Quinn’s sweeped shot hit Symmons’ foot on the line. Michelle Harvey, though, flicked the ensuing stroke well wide to keep the tie alive. With Claire McMahon in the bin, Loreto got one back with eight minutes to go when Symmons powerful cross, following a self-pass long corner, took an innovative McKean touch into Meeke’s path to set up a grandstand finish. Plenty of late drama followed, Niamh Small denied at the last after a breath-taking run while Pegasus almost denied the losing bonus point from a final minute corner. Rachel Burke stole a share of the spoils  for UCDat a chilly, rain-swept Park Avenue with a brilliant deflection to Laura Wilson’s sweep two minutes from time in a 1-1 draw with Railway Union. Railway, though, will be kicking themselves after a dominant first half saw them spurn seven corners and have a Kate Dillon goal disallowed with little coming in return. They earned plenty of corners but seemed to over-complicate at the top with few clean shots coming off. Dillon’s effort was ruled out after Julia O’Halloran did well to draw Stella Davis and flick high. Her effort was going slightly wide but Dillon guided home but the raised ball was deemed dangerous and was whistled early. They finally hit the front when Alex Speers passed the ball from the baseline behind the back of the goalkeeper to find Jean McDonnell on the back post and she showed little mercy to welly home from five yards. But they found a late sting in the tail when they conceded their only corner and Burke got a super touch to zip the ball into the roof of the net. Armagh stay in the semi-final spots despite missing out on the a win due to Nikki Parke’s final quarter goal left themselves and Ballymoney both going home with two points.

Christine Russell neatly finished off a 52nd corner for the Ulster league leaders for the lead but Ballymoney came back strong, one effort chalked off, before Parke got the equaliser. Ards got right back into the semi-final mix in Pool B with a 3-0 bonus point win at Stormont over last year’s finalists Cork Harlequins, whose hopes look are all but done already. Becky Weir timed her run and lob to perfection after Tamara McLeod’s dummy opened the space to score in the second quarter. It was 2-0 soon after when Heather McClurg hit home the first penalty corner of the game. Orlagh Cotter went closest for Quins when she hit the Ards’ post in the third period but the evergreen, former international McLeod slotted home a cheeky goal from a narrow angle for a comfortable win. Women’s Irish Hockey League Rd 2 Pool A Catholic Institute 1 (R Pratt) Hermes 2 (A O’Flynn, A O’Flanagan) UCC 4 (A O’Regan 3, M Crowley) Belfast Harlequins 1 (R Miller) Loreto 2 (C McKean, A Meeke) Pegasus 3 (S Beaney 2, V Surgeoner) Pool A standings: 1. Hermes 7pts (+4) 2. Pegasus 7pts (+4) 3. UCC 4pts (0) 4. Loreto 3pts (0) 5. Belfast Harlequins 1pt (-3) 6. Catholic Institute 1pt (-5). Pool B Railway Union 1 (J McDonnell) UCD 1 (R Burke) Ballymoney 1 (N Parke) Armagh 1 (C Russell) Ards 3 (B Weir, H McClurg, T McLeod) Cork Harlequins 0 Pool B standings: 1. Railway 6pts (+5) 2. Armagh 6pts (+3) 3. UCD 5pts (+1) 4. Ballymoney 3pts (-1) 5. Ards 3pts (0) 6. Cork Harlequins 0pts (-8).