Connacht U-16s on high

 Women's HockeyIt was a weekend to savour for Connacht hockey when their under-16 team, coached by Richard Malone and managed by Finola McGuinness, won the province its first ever interprovincial title at underage level when they beat Leinster and holders Ulster, who were going for a three-in-a-row, to the crown on goal difference in Galway.

"The girls were absolutely fantastic," said Malone, who also coaches Galway Hockey Club.

"We started planning for this five years ago but when you think of the number of schools Ulster and Leinster can pick players from, well, it was always going to be difficult.

"Our squad is made up of players from just three Galway schools - Salerno, Taylor's Hill and Jesuits - so for them to achieve this is incredible."

On Saturday Connacht beat South East 2-0 and Munster 4-0, maintaining their perfect record in their first game yesterday, a 4-1 defeat of Leinster.

Having fallen 2-0 and then 3-1 behind to Ulster, in the final game of the tournament, they fought back to level at 3-3 with two minutes to go, but Ulster snatched the winner at the death.

The margin of that win, though, wasn't enough for Ulster to prevail, Connacht taking the title by two goals from the holders, with Leinster in third. Katie Codyre, a sporting all-rounder who is also an athlete and plays Gaelic football for Barna, scored in all four of Connacht's games.

Along with Codyre, Eavan Murphy, Tara Melvin, captain Freddie Timmins, Lynsey Trainor and Dora Gorman were the leading performers for Connacht over the weekend.

On the club front, Pegasus won through to the quarter-finals of the Irish Senior Cup, where they will play Randalstown, with a comprehensive 4-0 defeat of Belfast Harlequins, while Pembroke Wanderers won the battle of the top two in Leinster when a late Natalie Fulton goal gave them a 2-1 win over Railway Union.

Loreto moved up to second in the table after their 7-1 defeat of Trinity, with Cathy McKean scoring four of their goals.

Irish Senior Cup - Third round: Belfast Harlequins 0, Pegasus 4 (C McMahon, S Beaney, J Orbinson, A Speers).

Revised quarter-final draw: Ballymoney v Hermes, Loreto v Victorians, Pegasus v Randalstown, Railway Union v Church of Ireland. Ties to be played December 8th.