Institute and C of I surge into last four

Ollie O’Conor’s ever-improving Catholic Institute side have a real shot at earning some early silverware after they progressed to the last four of the Peard Cup with a well-deserved 3-1 win over Quins B at Rosbrien on Saturday. Munster U21 star Simon Brickenden, Gareth Creamer and Justin O’Sullivan claimed the all-important goals for the hosts, with Greg McClelland replying for Quins B. The draw had opened up kindly for the Limerick outfit, as they will now face C of I B – who had a bye to the semi-finals – at home at the penultimate stage, and they will be confident of targeting a win there that could propel them to a St Stephen’s Day glamour tie. The big guns all lie on the other side of the draw, where C of I A are safely ensconced in the semis following a 6-2 win at UCC that saw them teach the students a lesson in converting chances.

Alec Moffett’s early strike gave them the lead at The Mardyke, only for David Mills to equalise off Stephen Sweetnam’s pass after a superb surge up the left from John Catchpole. Nick Burns’ reverse from a short corner rebound gave C of I a 2-1 lead at the break, and despite being without talismanic drag-flicker John Jermyn, Burns and Clinton Sweetnam did their best impressions of him at corner time to make it 4-1. Moffett bagged his second before Karl Lynch made it six, before Andy Gray bagged a late consolation from a switch-flick. C of I will now face the winners of the rearranged Quins vs Bandon tie, which is a repeat of last year’s decider. Men’s Div 2: Quins C and Bandon B were the big winners in a reduced programme of games in Division Two, recording hefty wins over less experienced opponents. Greg McClelland hit his second and third goals of the weekend and his brace was matched by Alex Newman as Quins C cruised to a 7-0 win over Limerick A which puts them level at the top with C of I C, albeit with a game extra played. Bandon B kicked off their season with a comfortable 5-1 win at UCC B, largely thanks to the finishing prowess of Trevor Martin, who claimed a hat-trick. Glenn Forde and Jack Robinson claimed the others in a game that saw young guns Sam McElroy and Scott Sullivan star, while Sam Coogan hit College’s consolation. Men’s Div 3: There was further evidence this weekend that it is Division Three that could yet provide the most intrigue this season, as the old order were all upset by young upstarts. Quins D and C of I E ruled the roost at this level last year, but both found themselves on the wrong end of heavy defeats. The biggest statement of intent came from Catholic Institute B, who recorded a remarkable 5-0 away win over last year’s champions at Harlequin Park.

They now have three wins from three and have hit 11 goals in their past two games, suggesting they will be the team to beat this term. But just as shocking was Limerick B’s 6-1 demolition of C of I, in which Robert Ryan helped himself to four goals and Stefan Eckhardt grabbed the other two. Adding to the unpredictability are UCC C, who were the whipping boys last term, recording just a single win all season. But having seen off Limerick B last weekend, they held Bandon C to a 1-1 draw at The Mardyke yesterday to move up to fourth. Ian Hosford opened the scoring as Bandon dominated the first half, but College’s fitness paid dividends as the game opened up late on, albeit in fortunate fashion as Philip Brennan touched home Cormac Molony’s centre – with the aid of a deflection off a defender – to level it up with five minutes to go. That leaves the west Cork side second from bottom, an unusual scenario given they were a Division Two side last season but one they will surely recover from sooner rather than later. Another side who continue to impress are Midleton, for whom Clive Seale seemingly cannot stop scoring. He hit four of his side’s five goals in a 5-1 home win over Quins E, while the brilliantly-monikered Anthony Bones scored the solitary goal as Belvedere claimed their first win of the season at C of I F.