Hook Hockey

Women's junior league round-up

Virtually all the Leinster women’s leagues have come to a conclusion in the past fortnight. Here’s a quick round-up of whose going up and down across the divisions as well as a couple of cup finals last Sunday:

Division Two:

One of the few issues yet to be resolved this season is the destination of the division two title with Loreto II and Railway Union II the two sides who are potential winners. Loreto must wait anxiously for Railway to play their last two matches against Hermes II (April 8) and a Skerries (April 20) side looking to escape relegation.

Genesis (pictured above left), currently in fourth, are the highest placed first team in the division but not near enough to the top to take an automatic promotion place and must now play-off with Corinthian for division one status at a date to be decided.

At the bottom, Our Lady’s drop out of the division with either Skerries or Clontarf to follow.

Division Three:

North Kildare were one of the first sides to pick up a league title as they eased to the divisional title. Pembroke III took second spot with a crucial final day win over the Kilcock-based side which kept their nose just in front of the chasing Corinthian II and Suttonians. Sutton picked up the division three/four cup with a 2-1 win over Bray.

North Kildare, meanwhile, are hoping to have an astroturf pitch in place at the Maws in time for the 2009/10 season.

Three Rock Ladies II (pictured, right) went down after a mid-season slump in one of the tightest divisions, having occupied the top half of the table in December. Diocesan picked up 18 points but still came ninth and also face the drop.

Division Four:

Rowland Rixon-Fuller’s Muckross added division four to their decent cup run in the Irish Hockey Trophy to make it a successful season as the Teresians-based club continues their rebuilding process.

Cup finalists Bray II will join them after they won the last game of the season against Trinity II 5-0 to push Weston out of the promotion places. Clontarf II and Corinthian III are relegated.

Division Five:

Naas translated top league form into a decent IHC cup run which was only ended after extra time by Fermoy. Consolation was quick to come, though, as they took the league with an immaculate nine wins from nine on the road. They followed up with cup success on Sunday, beating Swords 2-1 powered on by Tracey Dunlop.

Railway Union III took second in spite of a one-point penalty while Loreto IV and Fingal II propped up the table.

Division Six:

North Kildare II added to the success story around the Maws, topping division six, leading home Navan by two points. At the bottom, Loreto V drop a league while Tullamore have one last chance to escape the same fate with a refix against North Kildare. If they gain three points, Old Alex IV will end in ninth place.

Division Seven:

Skerries II took the league win with a dramatic 2-0 win over Bray III last Saturday to leap-frog Newbridge II – who have a cup final against Hermes III to come later this month. They end in second with Bray just outside the promotion places in third. Our Lady’s III and Corinthian IV occupy the last two spaces.

Division Eight:

Dalkey (left) continue their rise through the divisions as they sealed the title in mid-March. Suttonians II follow them up to division seven while Diocesan III and UCD IV go down.

Division Nine:

A 100pc league record and an IHC title, YMCA (below right) completed a perfect season at Grange Road on Sunday when they beat Old Alex V 2-0 in the division 9/10 cup final. With a goal difference of +83, YM look like they can definitely hold their own quite a few divisions higher.

Malahide were best of the rest, garnering 46 points which would have assured the league in the vast majority of the other final tables. Loreto VI and Genesis V were ninth and tenth respectively.

Division Ten:

Old Alex V’s may have been denied a double by the mighty YMCA but did have a league title in the bank to ease their worries. Bray IV go up with Tullamore II and Fingal III going the other way.

Division Eleven:

Avoca II took division eleven in emphatic style, taking the eight-team table by a massive eleven points from Corinthian V. Loreto VII were bottom of the table but league restructuring may ensue at this level of competition due to number of teams left in the table as a result of Three Rock Ladies V withdrawal.

Division Twelve:

Only the league’s most crucial fixture remains as Naas III and Mullingar occupy the top two slots. Naas have a one-point advantage but Mullingar have home comforts in what could be a thrilling end to the season. Pembroke VII came ninth of nine in this table.

Division Thirteen:

Newbridge IV came within one win of a perfect season, dropping just two points all year to take first place. Malahide II follow their first team’s lead and gain promotion too. UCD VI will finish bottom but RCSI have three games left to try and get safe with Skerries III and Phoenix Park II within reach.

Division Fourteen:

Monkstown’s return to women’s hockey has been greeted with a tenth successive promotion, though there has been quite a hiatus between the ninth and tenth. The latter preceded the club changing their moniker to Glenageary United and subsequently disbanding. This vintage has had a hugely impressive first year with an IHC semi-final and a near perfect league record yielding a goal difference of +90. Navan II take second place of the 14 team division.

No Responses to “Women's junior league round-up”

1. 
   
   

   April 7, 2009 9:06 am
   Anonymous says

   Thanks for that Steven, it’s great to get an overview of the leagues like that.

2. 
   
   

   April 7, 2009 11:40 am
   Anonymous says

   Just wanted to point out that in Division 2 UCD are on the same points as Suttonians (27)!

3. 
   
   

   April 7, 2009 11:45 am
   Anonymous says

   Stephen, as far as i was aware 1 team from each division is promoted and the next highest team goes into a playoff against the 2nd last team of the division above them (obviously excluding division 1). If this is correct who will go into a play off from division 3. NK will obviously be promoted but will CHC, Suttonians or UCD have the chance of a playoff?

4. 
   
   

   April 7, 2009 11:52 am
   Stephen Findlater says

   To be honest, I had not hear that but it may well be the case. I was under the impression that two went up and two went down from all divisions from three downwards and this seemed to be backed up from reading a couple of clubs websites.

   I don’t have a copy of the rulebook so if someone could send me one or has more information, contact me at stevie_findlats@yahoo.com

5. 
   
   

   April 7, 2009 1:00 pm
   Anonymous says

   stephen i’m sure you’re on the case alreayd and i’m just being impatient but any chance of getting the mens lower leagues up?

   there’s quite an interesting end shaping up at the top of mens div 3.

6. 
   
   

   April 7, 2009 1:05 pm
   Stephen Findlater says

   The plan is to get something up on the site either tonight or tomorrow evening depending on free time.

7. 
   
   

   April 7, 2009 2:07 pm
   Anonymous says

   In divison 2, the top team is promoted and the team coming second goes into a play-off with 9th in division 1. In all other divisions, the top 2 get promoted and the bottom 2 are relegated.

8. 
   
   

   April 7, 2009 7:15 pm
   Anonymous says

   Congratulations to Jimmy Dunne and the girls from Malahide on a fantastic season. Well done on getting your new pitch as well

9. 
   
   

   April 7, 2009 7:26 pm
   Anonymous says

   in all of the ladies divisions except div 1, two teams go up and two go down. theres no playoff. waht i dont know about div 3 is whether pembroke 2nds and 3rds can be in the same league

10. 
    
    

    April 7, 2009 7:56 pm
    Anonymous says

    AFAIK Pembroke 3′s can’t go up to Div. 2 despite coming 2nd, as their 2′s are already in Div 2. This would mean that CHC should go up as they came 3rd. But not sure if they face a play-off? From what I’ve read here it wouldn’t appear so. Mind you, if CHC 1′s get relegated, I presume the 2′s won’t be going anywhere!

11. 
    
    

    April 7, 2009 8:13 pm
    Anonymous says

    Referring to 8.26pm

    In ladies division 3 to 14 the top two teams go up and the bottom two go down. A new bye law now means unless a 1st team in div two finishes first or second there is no automatic promotion, instead the highest finished 1st team goes into a promotion/relegation playoff with bottom of div 1, this is why genesis are playing corinthians in the playoff on the 19th. the bottom two teams in div 2 are still relegated.
    div 2-14 you can have a clubs 2nd and 3rd team in the same league its only in div 1 its not allowed

12. 
    
    

    April 7, 2009 8:21 pm
    Anonymous says

    so could suttoninas get a play off place then ??

13. 
    
    

    April 8, 2009 8:49 pm
    Anonymous says

    U defo can’t have two team from the same club in the same league. pembroke 3rds and division three again next yr as ther 2nds are in division 2 already

14. 
    
    

    April 18, 2009 1:24 pm
    Anonymous says

    We were under the impression that you CANNOT have two teams in the same division. Look at all 14 womans divisions there is not one league with 2 teams from same club. Certainly not a cooincidence here. However maybe a rule could be considered with registration restrictions for same club teams in the same division or if a team achieve top 2 two years running they can go up. Why should players suffer for achieving success and then not be allowed reap their reward because of the club they play for ???thw right players should be in the right division regardless of club, is this not ovrall better way to allow players achieve their proper potential regardless of what club they play for. What do you think?

15. 
    
    

    May 5, 2009 5:32 pm
    Anonymous says

    bottom divisions of leinster in the last few years have had two teams from the same club eg. railway ladies 6 and 7s-could be an exception if both teams are in the lowest div? but i thought the rule only applied to div.1

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Launched in August 2007, The Hook has set out to provide news and information for hockey in Leinster. The site has developed since then to cover all levels of the sport in Ireland and beyond, providing stories on schools, club, interprovincial and international. Working in tandem with the superb Irish Hockey Photographers, The Hook aims to offer the best coverage of the sport in the province. Should you have any queries or suggestions, please email founder, Stephen Findlater, at stevie_findlats@yahoo.com.