Cregan helps put Quins in pole position

Eimear Cregan made a goalscoring return to the Cork Harlequins side as they put themselves in the driving seat to claim their 14th successive Munster Senior League title with a 3-2 win over Cork Church of Ireland in a pulsating encounter at Garryduff earlier today. Quins shrugged off the loss of key figures in Rachael Kohler, Cliona O’Connor and Jane Chapple due to personal reasons to end C of I’s title hopes. UCC are now the only side capable of stopping them, but they must take maximum points at home to Belvedere on Tuesday night, then defeat Quins at Harlequin Park to force a playoff for the title. C of I are now seven points behind Quins with two games to play, putting them out of the running, while even a draw against College will be good enough for Quins to take the trophy. That they ended their fierce rivals’ hopes at Garryduff will have been all the sweeter for Quins, and Clive Seale will also have been impressed with the composure of some his younger players in such a pressurised enviornment – Yvonne O’Byrne and Emily O’Leary in particular both stepped up to the plate. But it was the old guard of Cregan, Hilary Chapple and Karen Bateman who were the catalyst for this victory. Just as they had done at Harlequin Park back in October, they gave their Cork neighbours a lesson in finishing.

The game started at a breakneck pace, with six corners coming inside the opening quarter. Quins’ Amy O’Neill made a great reaction stop from a rasping Deirdre Casey volley at one end, but Quins were far more clinical at the other, netting twice from set-pieces inside 15 minutes. The first, on eight minutes, saw an intricate set of switches at the top of the D before Chapple touched home Bateman’s ball to the left post. And seven minutes later, Cregan marked her first match in Quins colours since before Christmas with a sublime dink, after the ball had been switched left to Rachel McSharry. The Irish international skipper was unlucky with an even more audacious effort two minutes later, before being called ashore until the second half, having made a serious impact in her limited time on the field. Chapple could have ended it as a contest on 22 minutes when she swivelled brilliantly around two players but fired just six inches wide, while C of I keeper Orla McCarthy made three good stops before the half was out as the onslaught continued. But to their credit, C of I came out fighting on the resumption, following what must have been some strong words from coach Phil Oakley, with Casey and Michaela Mihailou starting to assert some dominance in midfield. Jenny Kenefick will still be wondering how she missed from point-blank range after a good short corner move involving Mel Ryan and Grace Young, while the latter was unlucky not to connect with a superb crash ball from Mihailou minutes later. But Quins made C of I pay for those misses with their single attack in a 20-minute period on 51 minutes. Cliodhna Sargent’s hit was superbly deflected in by Bateman, who got low to loop the ball over McCarthy and seemingly put the result beyond doubt at 3-0.

But once again, C of I refused to throw in the towel. Mihailou gave them a lifeline five minutes later, hammering home a volley on the rebound after O’Neill had saved brilliantly from Ryan. Quins should have made it safe on 59 minutes when Bateman capitalised on a defensive error to feed Chapple, but she miscontrolled on the penalty spot and McCarthy was out in a flash to smother the chance. Bateman struck an upright minutes later, before C of I set up a nervy final 60 seconds when Mel Ryan’s booming straight hit from a corner clipped the top of the backboard for 3-2. But there wasn’t enough tie for the hosts to claim a draw to keep their title hopes alive, and Quins must now be clear favourites to make it 14 in-a-row given they have home advantage in 10 days’ time. C of I can still claim the second automatic IHL spot, but for now that is also out of their own hands. Should College claim the six points they need to send the title to a playoff, that will also consign C of I to the wildcard playoffs. Both C of I’s remaining games, away to Institute and at home to Bandon, come after that encounter, so they will know exactly what is required of them to claim second, should College slip up. At the other end, strikes from Laura Peters and Sharon Carey helped UL to a nervy 2-1 win over Belvedere, whose strike came from the prolific Anne Marie Dooley. Belvedere’s next assignment comes at the Mardyke on Tuesday night, before they host Catholic Institute next Saturday. They must take at least three points from those two games to force a relegation playoff with Ashton – anything less and they are likely to be spending life in Division Two next season. For the full set of Eoin Tyrrell’s pictures from today’s Quins/C of I game, click here.