Veterans seek cup glory

HOCKEY: It won't deter the likes of stalwarts Eddie O'Malley and Kieran Bolger from effectively doing their job on Sunday in the Irish Junior Cup final but two names on the opposing Annadale line-up should be familiar to the two Glenanne veterans.

During their peak days in the 1980s, Stephen Martin and Kenny Morris were two of Ireland's top international players, Morris on the wing and Irish captain Martin one of the rocks in defence along with Billy McConnell.

Martin captained the Irish team on more than 30 occasions, winning 135 Irish caps in a long career. He also played in three Olympic Games, in Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992, in total playing 94 times for the British team during its golden years and won an Olympic gold medal in Seoul and bronze in LA. He also played in a World Cup and three European Championships with Ireland for a career total of 229 international matches. Morris was considered unfortunate not to have been selected on one of those same British teams.

But Glenanne carry a number of names that are used to a higher level too, in Nasir Munir, Albert O'Donoghue, and Alan Goulding. Nothing of Olympic standard but enough to give Annadale, whose senior team has won another Ulster league title, a typically up-for-it match in Belfield before the women's Irish Senior Cup final.

In the Leinster League it is coming down to the end game with a number of clubs seeking points. Glenanne may be weakened by the loss of their international players to Ireland's tilt at World Cup qualification in three weeks' time as well as the Irish Junior Cup final on Sunday. That should be encouraging for impressive Leinster Senior Cup winners Pembroke, who travel to St Marks for the meeting.

At the bottom of the table Trinity meet YMCA with both sides needing the points, while Avoca will be eager to ease their relegation fears when they take on Three Rock Rovers at Newpark on Sunday.

WEEKEND FIXTURES: Saturday: Leinster Senior League: Division One: Railway Union v Fingal, 12.15, Park Avenue; Monkstown v Corinthians, 1.30, Rathdown; Glenanne v Pembroke Wanderers, 2.0, Glenanne Park; Dublin University v YMCA, 1.0, Santry. Division Two: Skerries v Kilkenny, 12.0, Skerries; Suttonians v Bray, 1.0, Sutton Park School; UCD v Weston tbc; Naas v Portrane, 3.0, Naas.

Sunday: Division One: Avoca v Three Rock Rovers, 1.30, Newpark. Irish Junior Cup final: Annadale 2nds v Glenanne 2nds, Belfield, 11.0.