Good weekend for Munster sides on national stage

While a plethora of postponements severely curtailed the league action in Munster this weekend, it proved to be a fruitful couple of days for the province on the national front, with six successes from seven games in round two of the Irish Trophy. Belvedere and UL’s decision to pull out of the women’s tournament robbed Munster of a better return, but there was still plenty of good news, notably for Catholic Institute who progressed in both competitions. The Rosbrien outfit’s men made light work of a trip to Weston, winning 3-0, while their women fared even better, handing Suttonians a 7-1 trouncing. UCC’s men repeated the feat of their women’s seconds last weekend in eking out a win up north against the odds. It looked like curtains for the students when they found themselves a goal and man down against Cliftonville, after Brendan Woods was red-carded early in the second half. Woods fell foul of the umpires after being sin-binned for a tackle he believed to be fair, but his dissent saw the yellow upgraded to a red. But Dickie Barrett hauled College level with a breakaway goal, before deflecting home a short corner with five minutes remaining. There was no such luck for Division Two promotion-chasers Galway however; they went down to South Antrim by the odd goal in seven at Dangan, with the winner coming via a heartbreaking extra-time golden goal. Both men’s winners must travel in the quarter-finals, with College heading north again to play Northern Ireland Civil Service, while Institute travel to Suttonians.

In the women’s competition, Bandon enjoyed a fruitful trip to Co Tyrone to face Dungannon, coming away with a comfortable 4-0 win, while Ashton ousted Moyne/Thurles on the same scoreline in a Munster derby. Division Two leaders Waterford scored a notable 2-1 win over Our Lady’s Terenure in Dublin. There’s another Munster derby set for round three, with Waterford hosting Institute, while Ashton host Queens University and Bandon must hit the capital again to visit Three Rock Ladies. While the Peard Cup quarter-final clash between C of I and Quins commanded most of the attention domestically, the old rivals also found themselves squaring off in all three men’s divisions this weekend. C of I B had little trouble recording a 4-1 win over bottom side Quins B in Division One, giving them a share of the lead with their firsts, albeit with a game extra played. The Rochestown outfit’s D side found things more difficult in Division Two, where they pulled off a 3-2 victory over Quins C, while the spoils were shared in a 2-2 draw between C of I F and Quins E in Division Three. Quins D’s domination of Division Three continued unabated as they met winless UCC C at the Mardyke, and  Sam Nicholson bagged a hat-trick in a facile 10-0 win that could have been far heavier were it not for a sterling goalkeeping performance from an under-pressure Eoin Donnelly. Quins now have six wins from six, a six-point lead and 40 goals to their name, but they will face the sternest test yet of their credentials next weekend when they meet second-placed Midleton, who were off duty this weekend and have a game in hand. While Wesley Bateman was one of Quins’ brightest lights today, he wasn’t the best goalkeeper-turned-outfielder on display in the division this weekend. That honour went to UCC B’s Phil Lecane, who struck a double against Ashton to add to his strike against Belvedere B last weekend. But Lecane’s goalscoring exploits weren’t enough to prevent his side being held to a 2-2 draw by Ashton in a bad-tempered encounter, as Keith Banks emulated the feat at the other end to keep his side in fourth spot. Elsewhere, Derek O’Sullivan and Simon O’Leary were both on target for Belvedere B as they picked up their first win of the season, a 3-2 success at Quins E, for whom Niall Kelleher and Chris Scannell hit the target. Both sides look set to be placed in Division Four when the league splits after Christmas, but the Ballincollig club will be pleased their form has picked up in recent weeks after a poor start to the season. In the women’s Division Two, Bandon moved up to third courtesy of a 1-0 win over Quins, with Orla Buttimer’s effort the difference between the sides. Caroline McCarthy hit the only goal of the game as Ashton picked up their first win of the season at UCC, who remain pointless and rooted to the bottom of the table. Belvedere have opened up a four-point lead at the top of Division Three, courtesy of a 1-0 win over Quins and Fermoy’s 4-2 loss to Waterford. Judy O’Gorman, Eileen and Paula Guiry and Faye Loughnan were on target for the Déise girls, with Trish Fitzpatrick and Nat Guile replying for Fermoy. C of I are now level on points with Fermoy following a routine 3-0 dismissal of Midleton, with Daragh Hill, Vikki Smith and Tracy Kingston sharing the goals, while Maria Conroy’s double saw Dungarvan keep pace with the leaders via a 2-1 win over Clonmel, who remain pointless despite Barbara Ryan’s strike. In Division Four, runaway leaders UL were brought back to earth with a bang as they surrendered their 100% record to Tipperary, with Lynda and Rhea Kelly’s goals securing a priceless 2-1 win. Fiona O’Connor hit the target twice as second-placed C of I took full advantage of that result with a 4-0 win at Fermoy, while Marie Moynihan’s goal helped Cobh move into fourth via a 1-0 defeat of Bandon. UCC and Waterford played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Mardyke, with Rosie Neery and Faye Loughnan – her second of the weekend – on target for the visitors, while Aisling O’Sullivan and Becky McCarthy struck for College. The draw does neither side any favours however, as they remain mired in mid-table. Mallow piled on the misery for bottom side Ashton, winning 1-0. Limerick struck a perfect ten as they moved top of Division Five via a crushing 10-0 defeat of basement girls UCC at the Mardyke. Incredibly, this was the second time the Treaty city side have bagged ten goals in one outing this term, having done the same to Cork Harlequins on the opening day. Ciara Hayes took the plaudits with a hat-trick, but Sinead Cremin, Maeve O’Reilly and Naomi Guerin weren’t far behind, all weighing in with doubles, while Aoife Williams completed the rout. Limerick’s win meant they moved to the summit at Belvedere’s expense, after the Ballincollig girls crashed to a 4-0 reverse at C of I A, with goals from Elma Groves, Niamh Gantly, Wendy Heath and Katie O’Donovan doing the damage. Clonmel and Ashton played out a 1-1 stalemate, with Jill Kelleher cancelling out Deirdre Morrissey’s goal for the hosts. In Division Six, Aine Lynch and Elma Walsh propelled Dungarvan to a 2-1 victory over Belvedere, a win that amazingly propels them from third bottom to joint top in what looks set to be a keenly-contested league. However, they must share that mantle with Bruff – who secured a 2-1 win at Cobh courtesy of Sharon Bulfin and Jennifer Liston, with Claire Stack netting for the hosts – and Limerick, who have two games in hand.