Hermes are the team to watch

When they added players of the quality of Carol Devine, Zanya Dahl, Aoife Byrne and Aisling Keane to their already impressive squad during the summer, the general consensus amongst their Leinster League rivals was that Hermes would be the team to watch this season. Their 8-0 mauling of Clontarf at Dardistown on Saturday would appear to add weight to the view that they stand a very real chance of adding the league title to the Irish Senior Cup they won last March.

A hat-trick from international forward Jenny Burke, two from Dahl and further goals from Byrne, Dawn Kelly and Sinead McDonnell (a penalty stroke) completed the rout and moves Hermes to the top of the table.

Level on points with the Belfield club are Old Alexandra and Muckross, who drew 1-1 at Whitechurch. The defending champions had Sarah Scott to thank for salvaging a draw when she scored a goal in the closing seconds of the game to cancel out Tracey Skoyles' first half strike from a short corner.

At Park Avenue, Railway took an early two-goal lead but Pembroke, to their credit, fought back to level before half time but the impressive Cathy McKean scored a late winner for Railway, spurred by Mary Logue.

Two goals from Mary Barnwell helped Loreto to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Genesis at Grange Road while Glenanne collected their first points of the season with a 2-0 win against Trinity in Tallaght.