Pembroke pounce late

HOCKEY:Only Muckross, with 15 victories in the competition, have won more ESB Irish Senior Cups than Pembroke Wanderers, but you have to go all the way back to 1975 for Pembroke's last success, the 12th in their history. The team they beat that day? Pegasus. The team they'll play in this year's final? Pegasus.

"Well, it would have to be an Ulster team, wouldn't it," said Pembroke's goalkeeper Mary Goode after Saturday's 2-1 victory over Ballymoney in the semi-finals. In the first round the Dublin club beat Ballymena, in the second Victorians. In the third it was Armagh, followed by Lurgan in the quarter-finals, then Ballymoney. And now Pegasus in the final.

For long periods on Saturday it looked as though Ballymoney would repeat their 2001 semi-final success over Pembroke, outplaying their opponents for much of the game and winning a succession of short corners.

It wasn't until the second half, however, they took the lead, Lynsey McVicker taking advantage of sloppy play at the back, intercepting a Pembroke pass across the face of goal to fire past Goode.

From only their second corner, though, Pembroke levelled, Sammy Jo Greer failing to keep out Sarah Clarke's shot, giving Clarke her sixth goal in her last three Irish Cup games.

There were no more scores in normal time, and penalty strokes loomed with just 35 seconds to go in extra time, but Dawn Kelly stole victory for Jonathan Harte's team when Clarke's deflected free fell to her in front of goal and she fired the golden-goal winner.

There was, then, no repeat of history at the Joey Dunlop Centre, but the game at Booterstown ended just as the semi-final between Hermes and Pegasus did in 2001, with a 3-0 victory for the Ulster champions.

"We must have had about 80 per cent of the play," said a surprised Pegasus captain Arlene Boyles who had expected a more difficult test.

Boyles, though, made it 2-0 at half-time for Pegasus, after Alex Speers had given them the lead. Kristin Farrell and Carol Devine forced Sharon Moffett into saves as Hermes fought back, but the former Ireland international Claire McMahon sealed the win in the 60th minute when she jinked past Nikki King in the Hermes goal to make it 3-0.

There ended the cup holders' hopes of a three-in-a-row, their only consolation at the weekend Loreto's failure to beat Corinthian in the league, renewing for Hermes, Old Alexandra's (5-1 winners over Trinity) and Pembroke hopes of catching the leaders.