With two EY Hockey League games still to play, Pembroke Wanderers won’t be partying just yet, but after they stretched their lead over Catholic Institute to five points on Saturday, it’s probably safe enough to say that they have one hand on the trophy.
Institute now have to beat Pembroke when the teams meet in Limerick next weekend if they are to push the title race to the final weekend, but with a home game against second-from-bottom Muckross rounding off their campaign, the Dublin side would still remain firm favourites to take the title for the first time.
Institute’s second defeat in Dublin in six days not only put a severe dent in their own title hopes, it now has them looking over their shoulders at Old Alexandra (a point behind) and Pegasus (two behind), both of whom could still overtake them and secure automatic qualification for the Champions Trophy.
Following their defeat by Railway Union a week ago, it was Loreto who did the damage to Institute this time around, an Aoife Taaffe double, her second goal a peach of a reverse strike, sending the Beaufort side on their way to a 4-2 win.
Over at Serpentine Avenue, Pembroke got the job done against Belfast Harlequins, but it was far from plain sailing, the game scoreless at half-time before Amy Kate Trevor broke the deadlock, Sinead Loughran and Orla Macken sealing a 3-0 win in the final five minutes.
Alexandra and Pegasus held on to third and fourth spots with away victories, Alexandra winning 4-1 at Cork Harlequins, a defeat that confirmed Cork’s relegation, while the Belfast side beat Muckross 3-0. And UCD moved above Railway Union in to the top six by beating them at Park Avenue, Aine Naughton’s third-quarter goal giving the students the points.
Come Sunday, Institute ensured a testing weekend finished on a high when their 5-0 win away to Banbridge earned them a place in the semi-finals of the Irish Senior Cup for the first time. They meet holders UCD on March 27th, while Pegasus will take on Pembroke.
And also on Sunday, Muckross kept alive their hopes of staying in the top flight by beating Belfast Harlequins 3-1, Harlequins now just two points clear of them with two games to play.
Saturday – Hockey League, Division One: Cork Harlequins 1 (L O'Shea), Old Alexandra 4 (J McGirr 2, A Russell, M O'Donnell); Loreto 4 (A Murray, A Taaffe 2, H Matthews), Catholic Institute 2 (L Clery, N Carroll); Muckross 0, Pegasus 3 (A Speers 2 N McIvor); Pembroke Wanderers 3 (A K Trevor, S Loughran, O Macken), Belfast Harlequins 0; Railway Union 0, UCD 1 (A Naughton).
Sunday – Hockey League, Division One: Muckross 3 (S Quill, S Barnwell, E Mathews), Belfast Harlequins 1 (J Watt).
Irish Senior Cup – Quarter-final: Banbridge 0, Catholic Institute 5 (N Carroll, L Clery, H Kelly, J Clein, C O'Shea).
