Lynch on the mend after health scare

Cork native Jason Lynch was hospitalised in Dublin on Saturday after collapsing during the warm-up as Lisnagarvey prepared for their Irish Hockey League wildcard playoff clash with Corinthian at Grange Road. It’s unknown what caused the issue for Irish international star, but he is reportedly thankfully none the worse for the experience. ‘Garvey floundered in his absence, going down 4-2, but recovered to hammer Bandon 6-0 yesterday – with fit-again Timmy Cockram bagging a hat-trick – to all but secure their IHL spot for next season.

The only way the west Cork side can progress is if they rack up the goals against Corinthian today (10am), an eventuality that looks unlikely based on results so far. Meanwhile, despite shipping a 4-1 loss to Old Alex yesterday, Cork C of I can seal their own place in next season’s IHL if they defeat Belfast Harlequins later today (12pm). The latter went down to a shock 1-0 defeat to Greenfields yesterday – a side C of I defeated 3-0 on Saturday with strikes from Grace Younf, Sinead Connery and Julie O’Sullivan. That leaves the Belfast girls as the only side with no points, and if C of I can reverse their 5-1 IHL defeat earlier this season, only a spectacular collapse from all-but-qualified Alex will deny them a place. Should Harlequins win, the calculators are likely to come out.