Hermes face compelling tie

WOMEN'S HOCKEY:THE CHAMPIONS of Ulster and Munster and the second and third-placed sides in Leinster this season will vie for a place in Sunday's Irish Hockey League final at Grange Road tomorrow, when Loreto take on Cork Harlequins and Hermes play Pegasus in the semi-finals of the competition.

That second semi-final pairing should be a compelling one, Hermes and Pegasus having won the last 11 All-Ireland club titles between them. The Leinster side, though, could probably have done without Pegasus being so comprehensively defeated in last weekend’s Irish Senior Cup final when UCD produced a performance that will live long in the memory.

The Belfast club will, no doubt, be intent on proving that far from being a spent force in Irish hockey they are merely a wounded lion ready to bounce back from that defeat. The IHL is their last hope of qualification for Europe next season, as it is for the other three semi-finalists, with captain Arlene Boyles describing the weekend as “win or bust” for the club.

Hermes coach Colin Stewart will, then, be wary of his team’s old rivals. Stewart, incidentally, was a somewhat bewildering omission this week from the shortlist of candidates for the Coach of the Year award. He led the club to the All-Ireland and Leinster first division titles last season, as well as the Leinster Senior Cup – all in the timeframe for the honour.

Cork Harlequins go in to the day’s first semi-final buoyed by the clinching of their 14th consecutive Munster title earlier this week, when they beat UCC 3-2 in a play-off. They, though, are up against the only side to come through the league phase of the competition unbeaten, Loreto.

Meanwhile Irish senior coach Gene Muller has named his squad for the two matches against Germany in Nurnburg later this month that form part of the German Hockey Federation’s 100th anniversary celebrations.

SQUAD:L Barr, B Cleland (both Ballymoney), E Clarke, (Ulster Elks), E Cregan (capt, Cork Harlequins), R Flinn, L Jacob (both UCD), E Gray (Hermes), M Harvey (Pegasus), N Small, N Symmons, C McKean, L Healy (all Loreto), R Mulligan, E Stewart (both Armagh), C O'Brien (Chelmsford), E Smyth, (Railway Union).

Irish Hockey League(at Grange Road) – Tomorrow – semi-finals: Loreto v Cork Harlequins, 10.30; Hermes v Pegasus, 12.30. Sunday: Final, 1.30.