On the weekend that their second team finished joint top of Leinster Senior B, Hermes' firsts kept their Statoil Senior A title hopes alive by beating Trinity at Santry Avenue yesterday. But not for the first time this season, they had goalkeeper Tara Browne to thank for a superb late double-save that helped them hold out for a 32 win.
Jenny Burke brought her season's tally to 24 with a hat-trick, putting her six ahead of the second top scorer in Senior A (Old Alexandra's Trish Conway), but Trinity ended their campaign with a spirited display against the defending league champions, who had to work hard for their three points. Hermes were leading 3-1 with just 12 minutes to play when Aoife Budd pulled a goal back for the students and they went on to threaten an equaliser in a frantic closing spell, but were denied by Browne's heroics.
So, the title race moves on to Wednesday night when Hermes must beat Senior A leaders Old Alexandra (four points ahead with an extra game played) at Belfield. If they fail Alex will be crowned champions, if they succeed they must then take at least two points from their final match against Muckross the following week to pip David Judge's team to the title.
Loreto secured a third-place finish yesterday, beating fourth-placed Muckross 2-0 with goals from Gillian Dawson and Carole Parnell. In Senior B, goals from Ruth Pritchard and Cara Weldrick helped UCD to a 2-1 win over Railway Union II on Saturday, leaving them level on points with Hermes II at the top of the table at the end of the campaign. UCD and Hermes II will now meet in a title play-off (the date is yet to be confirmed), but even if UCD lose they will have a second chance to win promotion to Senior A through another play-off against Clontarf, who finished bottom of the top division this season.
Meanwhile Harlequins won the Munster Senior Cup yesterday, beating UCC in the final for the fourth successive year. Amalia Scannell saved a first-minute penalty stroke from Harlequins' Rachel Kohler, but the Irish international went on to score a goal in each half to give her team a 2-0 win. A point against Bandon in their league fixture of the season later this week will secure Harlequins the double in Munster and win them a place in next month's All-Ireland League play-offs.
In the Home Nations' Tournament in Dundee the Irish under16 and under-18 teams brought their campaigns to a winning end on Saturday, beating Wales 3-0 and 2-0, respectively.
The under-16s, for whom Munster's Emer Harte and Ulster's Bridget McKeever starred through the tournament, finished runnersup behind England, who won all three of their matches, while the under-18s tied on three points with Scotland and Wales but finished bottom on goal difference.
