Hook Hockey

Top five too strong for bottom five

Women’s Leinster Division One
Railway Union 3 (Jean McDonnell 2, Zara Delany) Trinity 0
It’s as you were in women’s Leinster division as the top five defeated the bottom five with something to spare as the full return of international players for the first time since November made a big impact. They will play once more on March 3 before the Olympic qualifiers will see the top stars ruled out until the IHL games in April. For Railway, they stay ahead of the pack as they beat a Trinity side shy stalwarts Jessie Elliott and Maebh Horan. Zara Delany got the first in the 20^th minute from Jean McDonnell’s pass and the latter completed the scoring with a reverse from the top of the circle, her second of the game.

UCD 5 (Jeamie Deacon 2, Brenda Flannery, Leah Ewart, Chloe Watkins) Corinthian 0
UCD kept pace in the hunt for the women’s division one title as their five-star performance was too much for Corinthian. Jeamie Deacon started the run when Anna O’Flanagan’s shot was saved but the midfielder latched onto the rebound with an instinctive finish into the top corner. Brenda Flannery added a solo second, running from halfway past a barrage of defenders before slipping casually home. Nicola Gray’s corner sweep was deflected in by Deacon for her second and her side’s third goal and Leah Ewart found herself at the top of the circle and made no mistake with a powerful strike. Chloe Watkins – back in the side for the first time since before Christmas – completed the run with a smart upright finish, capping a fine performance.

Hermes 6 (Audrey O’Flynn 2, Lisa Jacob 2, Miriam Crowley, Aine Connery) Three Rock Ladies 0
Hermes showed the potency they have when all their international contingent are in effect as they accounted for all of their half dozen at St Andrews. Audrey O’Flynn had  already dinged the crossbar before Miriam Crowley got the first on the quarter hour. O’Flynn’s next corner drew a save and she duly pumped in her own rebound and Aine Connery made it a treble on the half-time whistle. From Lisa Jacob added two more in the second period, sandwiching another O’Flynn corner while Three Rock’s best chances came from three corners late on.

Loreto 4 (Nikki Symmons 2, Jessie McGirr, Rachel Keegan) Glenanne 0
Two goals in each half kept Loreto in touch in third place in the division, keeping Glenanne in ninth place. Nikki Symmons marked her return with a corner switch to open the account before teenager Jessie McGirr continued her scoring form for 2-0. In the second period, Rachel Keegan got her third of the season from a corner breakdown while a Symmons’ special, a reverse-stick cracker rounded out the win.

Pembroke 1 (Claire Mulcahy) Old Alex 4 (Becca Coll, Catriona Bailey-Price, Hannah McDermott, Erika Hinkson)
After sustained pressure from the start, Becca Coll gave Alex the impetus inside ten minutes as she used neat hands  to beat a couple of players and score at the near post. Pembroke bounced back to force a couple of corners and enjoyed more of the pressure but could not force an equaliser, leaving the minimum between the sides. Into the second half, Alex re-asserted their control and were two up when Catriona Bailey-Price scored her first goal for the club when a corner pull-out went off course and she trapped herself and shot home. The next goal came on the counter-attack as Emily Beatty and Hannah McDermott eliminated the last defender and goalkeeper with the latter scoring. Claire Mulcahy got one back from a corner deflection to a straight hit but Erika Hinkson restored the three-goal wedge on the final hooter when her drag-flick came off the number two runner and looped into the goal.

Electric Ireland (women’s) Irish Hockey Challenge – Semi Finals: Botanic 3 (Aoife Nolan, Cliona McCullough, Maeve Madigan) Monkstown 2 (Laura Moore, Courtney Watkins); Kilkenny 2 (Sue Shirley 2) Clonmel 1 (Dawn Grace)

Electric Ireland (women’s) Irish Hockey Trophy – Quarter Finals: Ballymena 1 (Louise Kennedy) Galway 2 (Tara Melvin, Louise Conlon); Clontarf 1 (Jen Keating) Omagh 2 (Ann Buchannan 2)