Ruthless C of I show Institute no mercy

Cork Church of Ireland were the big winners on a quiet weekend for Munster hockey, as both their men’s and women’s teams did their title chances a world of good. The men showed no mercy to Catholic Institute at Garryduff on Saturday morning, slamming in 13 unanswered strikes to significantly swell their goal difference column. John Jermyn and Alec Moffett both claimed hat-tricks as C of I got last weekend’s ISC defeat to Pembroke out of their system. Roger Gray bagged a double, while Adam Pritchard, David Harvey, Andy Herbert, Andrew Daunt and Jonny Bruton were also on target. Nearest rivals Cork Harlequins got a slightly sterner examination from UCC, but nonetheless ran out 5-0 winners thanks to a Jason Black brace, Paul Lombard, Paul Murray and David Egner.

In the women’s league, C of I closed the gap on leaders Quins to three points via a 5-1 win over Ashton. Grace Young and Scoil Mhuire schoolgirl Lauragh O’Neill both found a way past Vanessa Sargent twice, with Suzy Herbert getting the other. In the men’s Division Two, Limerick and Galway allayed any lingering fears of relegation with 3-1 wins over Quins C and C of I D respectively. It will be interesting to see how the race for top spot unfolds in the coming weeks; C of I C currently lead Belvedere by two points, but if the Ballincollig men can overhaul them, it may give them a promotion dilemma, given they voluntarily demoted themselves last term. The sides meet in a fortnight’s time. Meanwhile, the strangest result of the weekend came at Harlequin Park, where Quins C put 10 past an under-strength UCC B – with Killian Deasy getting four of those – and shipped three at the other end, including one to Grant Sweetnam, who netted for the first time after six years in College red. In the only game in the women’s Division Two, Kay Gaffney was on target twice as Cork Harlequins defeated Ashton 3-0. Other noteworthy results were Clonmel’s 4-0 defeat of Athlone in the Irish Challenge, and the final of the Division 5/6 Cup, which was claimed by Limerick after Munster U18 captain Jennifer Lyttle hit the winner in a 1-0 defeat of C of I A. Further afield, Leinster’s top two played out a thrilling 3-3 draw, with Glenanne bouncing back from conceding three inside ten minutes to draw with Pembroke, while Cookstown put one hand on the men’s title in Ulster thanks to a 4-2 win over Raphoe, which leaves them needing just a point from their final three games to retain their crown.