Wildcard win plunges Institute into pool of death

Catholic Institute defied the odds to win the women’s wildcard play-off, ensuring they will make their maiden voyage into the IHL next term – but they could hardly have been handed a tougher draw. With the balance of power in Irish women’s hockey clearly lying in Leinster, the wildcard winners often end up with a tougher draw than the runners-up. This is due to the rigid format of the IHL, which sees sides split into two pools on a seeded basis dependent on league ranking, and helps avoid a geographical anomaly where four sides from one province could be lumped together, as would be possible with an open draw.

Therefore, with the completion of the wildcard yesterday, Institute discovered they will have to face Irish Senior Cup holders Loreto and fellow Leinster powerhouses Hermes, for starters. Ulster champions Pegasus are also in the shake-up, as are Belfast Harlequins and Munster’s second seed, UCC, for whom revenge is in the air after narrow defeats to Loreto and Pegasus in particular this term. But that won’t matter too much to Ger O’Carroll’s troops this morning, as they reflect on a season which has seen them regain their seat at Irish hockey’s top table. A third-place league finish, a Munster Senior Cup final appearance and a maiden Irish Trophy victory would be enough to satisfy most clubs in their centenary year, but Institute went one step further with three adroit performances in Dublin this weekend. The first of those saw them claim a share of the spoils with Old Alex, an IHL side this season who defeated UCC and put Quins to the pin of their collar in the Irish Senior Cup. But goals from Rosie Pratt and Naomi Carroll ensured they claimed a share of the spoils with a 2-2 draw, ahead of Saturday’s crunch tie with 2008 Irish Senior Cup finalists Ballymoney. But Institute turned the formbook on its head with a spectacular 3-0 victory, coming via another effort from Ireland U18 livewire Carroll, and two short corner strikes from Elaine Bromell. That left them needing just a draw against Greenfields, whose interest was ended in style by Alex, who had romped to a 7-1 win on Saturday.

And Insta did the business once more against the side they had vanquished in the Irish Trophy decider. Pratt and Edel Higgins got the all-important strikes in a 2-0 win that saw them win the mini-competition with seven points, one clear of ‘Money, who beat Alex 2-1 to claim the last qualification spot. The Co Antrim side, led by Irish vice-captain Bridget Cleland, now perversely have an easier draw in Pool B next season, as one of three Ulster sides, with Armagh and Ards taking the automatic spots. That group is essentially Railway Union’s to lose on paper, though it does also include fellow finalists Cork Harlequins, and Leinster’s fourth-placed side, UCD. Very little change in the domestic order in the three provinces means the men’s pools are along similar lines to last year. Going in as Munster’s number one seed has again done C of I few favours, again due to the presence of Leinster’s second and third placed sides. They must contend with three IHL semi-finalists in the form of Glenanne, Corinthian and Lisnagarvey, with Cookstown and Annadale hardly providing any bankers either. Cork Harlequins will lock horns with four of the five teams they faced this year, in a group where they won two of their five games but still finished bottom of the pile. Pembroke, Banbridge, Instonians and Monkstown are the familiar foes, while YMCA are the new addition, giving Quins a chance to avenge this season’s Irish Senior Cup defeat to the Dubliners. 2010/11 IHL draw Men’s Pool A: Cookstown, Corinthian, Glenanne, Annadale, Cork C of I, Lisnagarvey. Men’s Pool B: Pembroke, Banbridge, Instonians, Monkstown, Cork Harlequins, YMCA. Women’s Pool A: Pegasus, Hermes, Loreto, Belfast Harlequins, UCC, Catholic Institute. Women’s Pool B: Railway, Armagh, Ards, UCD, Cork Harlequins, Ballymoney. Wildcard playoffs Old Alex 2 (A Budd, L McCoy) Catholic Institute 2 (R Pratt, N Carroll); Ballymoney 3 (R Sutherland, A Kearney, K Mullan) Greenfields 1 (T Garrett); Old Alex 7 (L McCoy 3, D Costigan 2, N Gray, A Budd) Greenfields 1 (N McGettigan); Catholic Institute 3 (E Bromell 2, N Carroll) Ballymoney 0; Greenfields 0 Catholic Institute 2 (E Higgins, R Pratt); Ballymoney 2 (B Cleland, D McNeill) Old Alex 1 (A Budd); Final standings (goal diff): 1 Catholic Institute 7 pts (+5); 2 Ballymoney 6 pts (0); 3 Old Alex 4 pts (+5); 4 Greenfields 0 pts (-10).