Pegasus out for elusive silverware

WOMEN'S HOCKEY: Surprisingly enough, considering they've been All-Ireland champions for the past five years, Pegasus haven't added the Sharwood's Irish Senior Cup to their annual haul of trophies since 1998, losing two finals since then.

That last success, though, was a resounding one - indeed, if it hadn't been for some fine goalkeeping by Jenny King on the day the Belfast club would have beaten Old Alexandra by more than a 5-0 margin.

Five years on the teams meet in Dublin at the quarter-final stage of the competition, with Jenny's sister Nikki in goal this time around for the Leinster club. "There aren't too many of that team still playing for Alex - just Trish Conway, Hazel Agar and Gillian O'Shea - but from a club point of view we'd like to put that ghost to rest," said Nikki King, who narrowly missed selection for Ireland's World Cup squad last year.

"We know what we're up against," she said, "but when we play as well as we can play we're a very difficult team for anyone to beat. If we can get out of the gates up and running tomorrow it's going to be a cracker. Everybody's up for it, there are ex-Alex players coming in from all over the country, so we can't wait for it."

Quite what Pegasus team Alexandra will face, though, will remain a mystery to all but Erika Henry, the Ulster champions' coach, until 1.30 tomorrow, with Irish internationals Arlene Boyles, Claire McMahon and Karen Humphreys yet to reappear on the club front since returning from the World Cup.

Alexandra, who last won the cup in 1991, were scheduled to play UCD in a crucial league game at Belfield on Tuesday night but floodlight failure caused its postponement.

Like Alexandra the students will go in to their cup quarter-final tomorrow as underdogs having been drawn against holders Loreto, whose 7-0 win over Railway Union on Tuesday put them top of the Leinster League, and took their goals tally to 27 in their last three games.

"It will be the biggest club game I've ever played," said UCD's Linda O'Neill, "and I've probably never looked forward to a game as much. They're extremely confident about beating us, I know that - I've been getting text messages from them telling me how many goals they've scored recently, just to remind me of what we're up against.

"We're definitely the underdogs and no one will expect us to beat them, but we always seem to click when we meet them - and we'll need to click again tomorrow to rattle them."

The remaining two quarter-finals take place up north, with 2000 cup winners Cork Harlequins away to Knock and Belfast Harlequins, conquerors of Hermes in the last round, at home to Pembroke Wanderers.

Most of the Knock players' grandmothers weren't even born when the club last tasted Irish Cup success, back in 1928, but the Munster side, favourites to go through to the last four, will be wary of their challenge, not least of the threat posed by one of Ulster hockey's most prolific goalscorers, Julie Doak.

Belfast Harlequins, by their own admission, produced their best performance in recent years when they ousted Hermes in the third round - Pembroke, who lost to a much-changed Hermes side in the league a week later, have been warned.

IRISH SENIOR CUP - Quarter-finals: Knock v Cork Harlequins, Queens, 1.0; UCD v Loreto, Belfield, 3.0; Belfast Harlequins v Pembroke Wanderers, Deramore, 1.0; Old Alexandra v Pegasus, Milltown, 1.30.

LEINSTER LEAGUE - Division One: Railway Union v Hermes, Sandymount, 3.30. Division Two: Genesis II v Our Lady's, Rathdown, 12.0; Clontarf v Corinthian II, Dardistown, 12.40; Hermes II v Aer Lingus, Belfield, 4.30.