Ireland fall short in final

WOMEN'S HOCKEY: LESS THAN two months before the teams are due to meet again in their World Cup qualifying tournament, Scotland got the better of Ireland in Nice yesterday, their 2-1 win clinching them the Celtic Cup.

Both sides had beaten France, Ireland winning 3-2 on Friday and Scotland 2-1 on Saturday, making yesterday’s match the tournament decider.

Ireland, without captain Eimear Cregan who has an ankle injury, went behind to a 15th-minute strike from a short corner, but they were level three minutes after the break, through Lisa Jacob. Scotland regained the lead eight minutes from time, from another corner, and withstood intense pressure, Michelle Harvey and Jacob both denied by saves, to hold on.

Both sides, meanwhile, are awaiting an update from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on whether Chile, in light of the recent earthquake that struck the country, will be able to host the qualifier. While the Chileans still hope to stage the tournament in Santiago the FIH has asked the other nations in the line-up – Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Malaysia and Ukraine (who have replaced Trinidad and Tobago) – to consider hosting the event if Chile is unable to do so.

It was a fruitful weekend for Leinster League leaders Hermes after a Deirdre Duke goal gave them a 1-0 win over Old Alexandra, while their closest rivals, Railway Union and Loreto, drew 1-1. Those results put Hermes three and six points clear of Railway and Loreto, respectively, but both sides have a game in hand. Without four internationals, Louisa Healy, Nikki Symmons, Niamh Small and Liz Colvin, it was a fine result for Loreto against the champions, who were without Emma Smyth, but it would have been better still but for Jean McDonnell’s late equaliser.