Quins gleefully accept Christmas gifts

Cork Church of Ireland were left to rue a couple of early defensive howlers as their title ambitions were taken out of their hands by Cork Harlequins on Saturday. Quins’ 2-0 victory in a disappointing encounter at Garryduff owed mainly to their ability to make the most of some early Christmas gifts from the C of I defence. Twice they failed to clear their lines, allowing Paul Lombard to square for David Eakins to bundle home the opener inside four minutes. And that lead was doubled as C of I got their marking all wrong, leaving Phil McLaughlin all alone to be picked out by Jason Black. He surged into the circle unopposed before calmly rounding C of I keeper Billy Lynch to score.

C of I badly missed their absent quartet of John Jermyn, Phil Smith, Alex Moffett and Shane O’Donnell — and they later lost Clinton Sweetnam to a back injury — but nonetheless had the better of things thereafter. Philip Sweetnam dinged the post with a deft deflection but that was the closest they got, spurning seven short corner chances — Quins didn’t force any — and finding goalkeeper Chris Daunt and John Hobbs in uncharitable mood at the back. The one time C of I got in behind Daunt, who thwarted Stephen Sweetnam and Karl Burns with some top-notch short corner saves, saw Hobbs cover to clear off the line with a couple of minutes to go. It leaves Quins six points clear of their rivals albeit with a game extra played — going into 2012, although C of I will have an instant chance of revenge as the sides meet against in the Peard Cup final on St Stephen’s Day. Meanwhile, a contentious penalty stroke was all that separated Catholic Institute and Cork Harlequins in a tense encounter at Farmer’s Cross that ultimately saw the Limerick side tighten their grip on the Munster women’s title. Missing defensive totem Elaine Bromell, Institute were matched in almost every department by a resurgent Quins, who have flourished since the return of Karen Bateman and Jane Chapple.

But it was some lesser lauded names who anchored their effort here, with Elisa Buckley, Kay Gaffney and Dale Burkley all having fine games as defences were on top. Institute also had unsung heroes playing starring roles, with Claire Sullivan and Aoife Kenny keeping the Quins hordes at bay during their late bid to sniff out an equaliser. The game was decided in the 55th minute, when a moment of Eimear Cregan magic saw her turn Yvonne O’Byrne before being taken down by Vanessa Sargent. Quins vehemently claimed their goalkeeper had taken the ball too, but the stroke was awarded and Kym Daly made no mistake from the flick spot, scoring down Sargent’s glove side. Cregan had in the first half served warning of such a trick, again getting the better of O’Byrne and coming at Sargent from an angle and flipping the ball over her, but wide of the far post. But she was otherwise well marshalled by the young Quins skipper, who saw her side’s best chance fall to Claire Bergin. She intercepted a botched first-half hit-out by Róisín Upton – playing centre-back in the absence of Bromell – but Ciara Ronan was alert to make the save. Both sides forced plenty of corners – Quins’ five to Institute’s six – but the majority were exceptionally well defended; Rachel McSharry taking two off the line in the same sequence for the hosts. Institute now lead the chasing pack by four points, with UCC leading the chase despite having played a game more. The Cork students eked out an equally important victory amid sleet and snow in west Cork, Ali O’Regan displaying her poacher’s instinct to nab the only goal of the game with three minutes to go against Bandon, following a nip and tuck game of few chances. Men’s Div 1: Cork C of I 0 Cork Harlequins 2 (D Eakins, P McLaughlin) Women’s Div 1: Cork Harlequins 0 Catholic Institute 1 (K Daly); Bandon 0 UCC 1 (A O’Regan)