Coláiste Iognáid on course for crown

WOMEN'S HOCKEY:IT'S ANOTHER hectic weekend on the club front with the provincial league seasons edging towards a conclusion, the Irish Junior Cup reaching the semi-final stage and the Irish Challenge and Trophy finals taking place at Belfield.

Before then the outcome of the All-Ireland Schools Championships in Galway will have been decided, yesterday’s pool games seeing hosts and defending champions Coláiste Iognáid going through to today’s final, where they face Leinster’s St Andrew’s.

When they went 3-0 down to Royal School Armagh in the final game of the day St Andrew’s hopes of reaching the final appeared to have died, but a trio of their Hermes players, Laura Pinder, Niamh Atcheler and Chloe Watkins, got the goals for a draw and pip Armagh on goal difference to first place in the pool. Wins over Munster’s Crescent and Loreto Kilkenny kept Coláiste Iognáid on course for retaining their crown.

Also in action yesterday was the Ireland A team who had an impressive 4-2 win over the Germany Under-21 side at Belfield, Katherine Steenson, Nicola Evans (2) and Anna O’Flanagan getting Ireland’s goals.

Back on the club front, Loreto’s 3-3 draw with UCD last Monday night put a big dent in their title hopes, leaving them trailing Hermes and Railway Union by five points with just four games to play. They can add six points to their tally this weekend if they get the better of Leinster Cup winners Old Alexandra tomorrow and Pembroke on Sunday, but Hermes also have a double-header, away to Corinthian and then home to Trinity.

Railway host Pembroke a week after the teams played out a nine-goal thriller in the Irish Hockey League, Railway taking the points in a 5-4 win that denied Pembroke a place in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, at Belfield tomorrow YMCA defend the Irish Challenge Cup against Fermoy, the team they beat on strokes in last year’s final, while Catholic Institute will hope to put this week’s Munster Senior Cup defeat to Cork Harlequins behind them when they play Greenfields in Sunday’s Trophy final.

Railway Union and Old Alexandra’s second teams meet in the semi-finals of the Irish Junior Cup at Park Avenue tomorrow, the winners playing whoever emerges from the game between Randalstown and Lurgan’s seconds.

ALL-IRELAND SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP(at Dangan) – Pool A: Coláiste Iognáid 3 (N Codyre, L Trainor, N Codyre) Crescent Comprehensive 0; Loreto Kilkenny 2 (A O'Grady, A Curran) Crescent 1; Coláiste Iognáid 3 (E Carey, M Carey, E Murphy) Loreto Kilkenny 2 (G Walsh, A Murphy). Pool B: Royal School Armagh 4 (J Orr, S McMahon, L Ewart, B Anderson) Salerno 0; St Andrews 6 (N Atcheler, L Stephens, H Sarratt, C Watkins, S Marshall, J Lavery) Salerno 0; Armagh 3 (L Ewart, AM Morton, J Johnston) St Andrew's 3 (L Pinder, N Atcheler, C Watkins). Today – Final: Coláiste Iognáid v St Andrew's, 1.30.