International stars, fresh off the plane from South Africa, will be rested meaning squad management is once again a battle for the weekend with Loreto short four stars while the students miss Chloe Watkins.

In her absence, Jeamie Deacon has taken on a powerful role while Deirdre Duke and Anna O’Flanagan make up a forward line with hunger in the circle, banging in 20 goals between them this term.

Loreto’s source of goals is more direct, their corner machine their go-to method should the Rathfarnham venue escape the frost which has caught hold a couple of times this season already.

Railway’s firepower is a big cause for concern for Glenanne, the Park Avenue hosts with an incredible seven of the province’s top 14 scorers, five of whom are available for the tie.

Dean Maguire’s side is a determined one with Susan Byrne aided by a gritty defence but taming the likes of Kate McKenna, Jean McDonnell and the emerging Kate Lloyd could be too tough an ask.

Trinity will be looking to back up their victory over Three Rock with three points at home to Pembroke on the Santry sand to go into next Tuesday’s colours festival in upbeat mood as well as close the gap on the top five.

They currently reside in a no-man’s land between the IHL places and five clear of the relegation battle leaving their season with latent potential for a fifth place push.

Goals are still the main missing element but Kylie Deverell is getting a taste and a secure defence controlled by Vera Taaffe and Jessie Elliott will give Pembroke problems. Rachel McKeon in midfield and youngsters Avril Dooley-O’Carroll and Olivia Smartt will be among those to lead their target of a slight upset.

Hermes have been most affected by international absentees and it played a part in Corinthian grabbing a point in the first league meeting earlier this term. Six still out leaves the reigning champions out of contention at the moment but valuable experience has been garnered by Sadhbh Hoban-Logan, Vicky Walsh and Laura Pinder in their high profile absences.

The reds, though, are in hot form and bullish about their chances after another big win last Sunday, besting Old Alex, with belief high they can rise again on Saturday.

Old Alex, meanwhile, waited until the very last touch of the game to beat Three Rock Ladies with Emma Russell striking late to dash the Grange Road side’s hopes.

The Irish Junior Cup has seven Leinster hopefuls vying for the crown with Hermes and Railway’s derby a highlight along with the local tussle between division two high-flyers Pembroke and UCD. Division three side Dublin Uni travel to Cork to play Bandon, former school of Trin player Jessica Kingston but the students have shown few nerves against higher division opposition as they showed in last year’s run.

Women’s Leinster Division One: Corinthian v Hermes, 2.30pm, St Columba’s College; Loreto v University College Dublin, 2.15pm, Beaufort; Old Alexandra v Three Rock Ladies, 3pm, Milltown; Railway Union v Glenanne, 2.45pm, Park Avenue; Trinity v Pembroke, 4.30pm, Santry
Division Two: Genesis v North Kildare, 2.30pm, Belfield

Women’s Irish Junior Cup, second round: Hermes v Railway Union, 1.30pm, St Andrews; Cork Harlequins v Loreto, 1pm, Harlequin Park; Ballymoney v Cork C of I, 1pm, Joey Dunlop Centre; Galway v Corinthian, 1pm, Dangan; Pembroke v UCD, 3.30pm, Serpentine Avenue; Dromore v Pegasus, 2.30pm, Ferris Park; Bandon v Dublin University, 1pm, Bandon GS; Randalstown v Catholic Institute, 1pm, Antrim Forum

David Cole’s shoulder has opened the door for Richard Sykes to step up to the Irish panel for the second Spanish training camp, giving the Town three days in which to come up with a new corner go-to man and a considerable rock in their defence.

With switch-left, and forward talisman, Gareth Watkins also gone it robs some more of their scoring prowess – 19 goals between the pair – while creator-in-chief Stephen Cole is also out.

He is awaiting an MRI scan following a collision with Peter English after which Monkstown lost much of their spark, allowing Railway to come back and grab a draw.

Dave Fitzgerald’s international commitments have been eased somewhat by the arrival of Irish U-18 keeper Mark Ingram from Railway earlier in January but, with Frank Ryan and Gavin O’Halloran also unavailable, the sky-blues are scrambling.

Rovers’ plight is less severe though Stephen West has been one of their standouts this year with cover hard to come by between the posts while Garry Ringwood has scored two in two since returning to the forward line, replacing Peter Blakeney.

All the ties this weekend have an air of unpredictability about them. YMCA are another sides with a rake of absentees with David Robinson joined on the long-term list by Andy Walker with a broken bone in his hand, robbing them of a pair of Leinster provincial regulars.

With Nick Burke now in France, their date with Railway is suitably tricky. Railway have the first semblances of injury issues, themselves, after scarcely a bruise in the first half of the season.

Mark English missed last week’s game with a neck issue, as did Eoin MacArtur with concussion, but both might return. Fiachra Maher’s groin, however, is a concern and kept him out of the majority of the date with the Town last time out

It is now or never for Clontarf when they meet UCD at the bullring on Saturday with a loss all but condemning them to tenth and a second successive yo-yo between the divisions.

On the plus side for Gareth Borland’s side is that two of the students more effective operators are absent with Conor Motyer and Shane O’Donoghue abroad but there is class in the likes of Patrick Shanahan, Keith Kenning and David Watkins that needs to tamed.

Aussies Maverick Yow and James Gurbiel, along with Rob Kelly, are central to their hopes but Andy Poynter is likely to miss the guts of the rest of the season with international cricket commitments, as he was named in the Ireland side to go to South Africa and then Dubai later this month.

Fingal and Glenanne usually provides plenty of drama with sparks often flying but the Glens will be hoping to keep their wits about them to profit from any slip from the two sides ahead of them. Joe Brennan remains on the recovery trail but they have found new scoring outlets this term with Richie Shaw (seven) and Jonathan Kane (ten) stepping up to the mark.

The Airport side’s half-court game frustrated Pembroke last time around and may be put into effect again, looking for the pace of Tom Manning and Adrian Sweeney to work the channels.

Corinthian and Pembroke, meanwhile, is a tie with potential to thrill as both prefer the open, flowing style. Davy Carson will aim to use his unique range of skills against his former club and can count himself unlucky – along with opponent Alan Sothern – not to get a call to Paul Revington’s latest selection.

Pembroke continue to be without Mossie Elliott and Timmy Hill but Patrick Good is back on the training paddock and contesting a place. Corinthian hope to add Neil Young after illness.

In division two, the rollercoaster continued in midweek with Weston hoping for the side that battled effectively in midweek to snatch a draw at Sutton rather than the one that capitulated against Avoca.

A third away day within seven days is tough going but Rathgar have lost twice at home in-a-row to see their promotion challenge falter as a half-dozen absentees have taken their toll.

The latter of those losses was to Mullingar who can now look to the remainder of the season with a monkey off their back. Chris Bull’s return and some other injury returns have buoyed Michael Gibson-Brabazon’s men and they will hope to catch an in-form Trinity off guard.

Suttonians will go top with any sort of result against Portrane in Glasnevin as Avoca are on the bye weekend. The Neville Davin Cup tips off on Sunday with plenty of evenly matched ties.

The Irish Junior Cup second round also takes place this weekend with five Leinster sides surviving thus far. Pembroke and Corinthian’s derby is the highlight from a local perspective.

Men’s Leinster Division One (Saturday): YMCA vs Railway Union, 1.15pm, Milltown; Clontarf vs UCD, 2pm, Mount Temple; Monkstown vs Three Rock Rovers,3pm, Rathdown; Fingal vs Glenanne, 1.30pm, ALSAA; Corinthian vs Pembroke Wanderers, 1pm, Whitechurch Park

Division Two: Portrane vs Suttonians, 1.30pm, Holy Faith, Glasnevin; Dublin University vs Mullingar, 12.45pm, Grange Road; Rathgar vs Weston, 2pm, High School

Neville Davin Cup (Sunday): Avoca vs Dublin University, 3pm, Newpark; Portrane vs Mullingar, 1pm, The Maws; Rathgar vs Weston, 1pm, High School; Suttonians vs Navan, 4pm, Sutton Park

Men’s Irish Junior Cup (Saturday): Lisnagarvey v Bandon, 1pm, Comber Road; Newry v Banbridge, 4pm, Newry Olympic; TRR v Bangor, 2.30pm, Grange Road; Pembroke v Corinthian, 1.30pm, Serpentine Avenue; Raphoe v Cookstown, 1pm, Royal and Prior; Annadale v YMCA, 1pm, Lough Moss; Suttonians v Cork C of I, 3pm, Sutton Park; Kilkeel v Antrim, 4pm, Kilkeel HS

Injury to his central panel was a rarity in 2011 but leaves the Irish boss with a string of concerns ahead of next month’s Olympic qualifiers in Dublin. Drag-flick expert John Jermyn is one such worry while skipper Ronan Gormley, who suffered a knee injury in the series against the Netherlands, have both been rested for the Valencia trip as a result.

With David Cole also out due to his broken shoulder, sustained in a school’s match a day after returning to Ireland from the initial Spain trip, it leaves spaces for a couple of defenders in the panel.

To that end, Richard Sykes and Brian Doherty both fit the bill as defenders with corner skills to fill the gap while utility man Bruce McCandless is available after injury and has the edge in experience. On the goalkeeping front, Ian Hughes steps out with Stephen West moving up as number three keeper following Iain Walker’s shoulder surgery last week.

Centurion Phelie Maguire has been added to the panel as part of a half-dozen players taking the place of a quartet of the Alicante selection for the latest 26 player panel.

On the trip, Ireland will play five matches against sides ranked higher in the world; Spain twice (world number five) and Belgium three times (eleventh).

Electric Ireland, meanwhile, were unveiled on Monday as the title sponsor of the FIH Olympic Qualifying Tournament – the only direct Olympic Qualifying tournament taking place in Ireland across any discipline.

Electric Ireland have been long term supporters of the national women’s hockey team and Chief Executive of the Irish Hockey Association, Angus Kirkland, was thrilled about the increased association.

“The fact that they are now extending their involvement with Hockey and their recent sponsorship of Team Ireland for the Olympics is testament to their commitment to sport. We are looking forward to staging this prestigious event with Electric Ireland at our side and both our National sides, are working hard towards their goal of qualifying for the London Games and to be a part of Team Ireland this summer.”

Ireland (Valencia, February 4-13): David Ames (Beeston), Jonny Bell (Lisnagarvey), Peter Blakeney (Three Rock Rovers), Chris Cargo (Reading), Peter Caruth (Annadale), Tim Cockram (Lisnagarvey), Mitch Darling (SCHC), Brian Doherty (Beerschot), David Fitzgerald (Monkstown), Paul Gleghorne (Instonians), Conor Harte (SCHC), David Harte (SCHC), John Jackson (Braxgata), Stuart Loughrey (Loughborough Students), Jason Lynch (Royal Racing Club Brussels), Eugene Magee (Dragons), Phelie Maguire (Hurley), Geoff McCabe (R.S. Tenis), Bruce McCandless (Banbridge), Andy McConnell (Hurley), Shane O’Donoghue (UCD), Ian Sloan (Cookstown), Richard Sykes (Monkstown), Gareth Watkins (Monkstown), Michael Watt (R.S. Tenis), Stephen West (Three Rock Rovers)

Match schedule:
February 6: Ireland v Spain, 12pm
February 8: Ireland v Belgium, 12pm
February 9: Ireland v Belgium, 12pm
February 12: Ireland v Belgium, 4pm
February 13: Ireland v Spain, 12pm

** Match schedule may be subject to change

With both sides employing half-court games in the first half, chances were tight with Weston restricting the host to overhead balls while Lynch drew a good save from James Murtagh from the best chance of the half.

The second half proved more open and free-flowing with both sides pushing on. Weston went 1-0 up with a good long corner move which, after a couple of one-twos, saw the ball crashed across goal for Daryl Carey to slide in and deflect on his reverse.

Suttonians levelled five minutes later when Mick MGuinness’ crash ball fell to Conor Gillett at the top of the circle who hit open side into the corner. With plenty of chances at each end, Harry Spain fired Sutton into the lead for the first time, a precision drag to the bottom corner with ten minutes to go. But Weston responded with a corner of their own with Lynch nailing his effort for the draw.

The point lifts Suttonians level with Avoca at the top of the heap after 11 games while Weston are five off top with a game in hand.

The first was not stopped but O’Donoghue spun onto his reverse and drew a smart, low save from Stephen West while Dave McCrea took Nick Burns’ drag off the line. Into the second half, UCD were stung almost instantly as Colin Huet found Garry Ringwood on the baseline to play in Ross Canning for his fourth of the season.

Patrick Shanahan became the second player to take a yellow in the 43rd minute against his former club – following Gavin Bourke’s first half binning – and during his absence, former UCD man Paddy O’Connor caused problems to win the host’s only corner. Peter McConnell’s drag hit John Brennan on the line and Ringwood nailed his fifth goal of the campaign.

From there, Rovers sat at half court as UCD held copious possession but struggled to find shots while Luke Madeley was binned. Shanahan did pummel one at West from a narrow angle before O’Donoghue was unceremoniously dumped by Jody Hosking – yet another yellow shown – for a stroke but West dived low to stick save O’Donoghue’s under-cooked push with four minutes remaining to keep his clean sheet.

Railway Union 2 (Zara Delany, Isobel Joyce) UCD 1 (Jeamie Deacon)
Railway Union swapped places with UCD as two corner goals from Emer Lucey assists turned the game on its head. Former Railway player Jeamie Deacon gave the Belfielders the perfect start in the third minute from a deflection routine after Grace O’Flanagan had initially saved. Zara Delany got the game back to 1-1 when she used an open-hand touch to guide home from Lucey’s hit and Isobel Joyce repeated the trick when she guided home with her reverse-stick with 15 minutes to go. The result puts the Park Avenue side two points clear, upping the ante for UCD’s back-match with Old Alex, needing a win to return to the summit.

Old Alex 4 (Erika Hinkson 2, Emma Russell, Sarah Canning) Glenanne 0
Old Alex showed a clinical nature to get the better of Glenanne at Milltown as they picked up a healthy, if slightly flattering, scoreline to maintain their push for an automatic IHL place. Erika Hinkson opened the scoring when she rebounded off the post before dragging home low for 2-0 – her seventh of the campaign. Sarah Canning hit in the third of the game before the break from another corner. Emma Russell completed the win in the second half. Glenanne created a number of decent chances, drawing Babs Luke into a couple of good saves in the first half but Alex had more control on the tie in the second. Alex featured Catriona Bailey-Price for the second time, the Australian U-21 arriving from the Canberra Lalor Club Strikers where she was coached by former Annadale man Ian McKeown.

Hermes 5 (Laura Pinder 2, Caitriona McGilp, Vicky Walsh, Christine Quinlan) Pembroke 0
Hermes cut loose in the second half of their tie with Pembroke to get their second win of the week over the Serpentine Avenue side. Laura Pinder nabbed two, in the process becoming the 17^th different Hermes goalscorer this term as well as the 100^th different goalscorer in Leinster women’s senior hockey this term. It was 1-0 at half-time before Hermes notched up the goals in the second period. (Click here to see Deryck Vincent’s video of the second goal)

Loreto vs Corinthian – postponed due to a frozen pitch

Jacqui Potter Cup, quarter-finals
Corinthian set up a semi-final day-out as a goal in each half saw them overcome Old Alex as they dealt better with the downpour which left Whitechurch Park slow and tough to play on. Sally Cory’s good ball forward found Georgina Fagan through to slide home the opening goal. Lyndsey Watson notched the second as she got a touch to Argentine Valentina Galmozzi’s cross to complete another formative win.

UCD, meanwhile, were made to work hard for victory over Railway Union seconds. Cecelia Joyce’s classy opening goal had Railway in the lead and they held on until the break. Deirdre Duke, though, powered through to level before Anna O’Flanagan grabbed a couple with Joyce getting her second in the closing stages.

Railway’s first team, however, fared better as they cruised to an 8-0 win over Genesis with Jean McDonnell bringing her seasonal tally to 19, six clear of her nearest rival in these standings, with a hat-trick while Kate Lloyd also netted three times.

They join Hermes, 3-0 winners over Pembroke seven days ago with Jenny Burke, Eimear Horan and Rachel Burke on target.

Clontarf, meanwhile, are the last Leinster side standing in the Irish Hockey Trophy as they got the better of North Kildare on penalty strokes as YMCA and Naas bowed out.

Jacqui Potter Cup, quarter-final results: Corinthian 2 (Georgina Fagan, Lyndsey Watson) Old Alex 0; Railway Union 8 (Jean McDonnell 3, Kate Lloyd 3, Julia O’Halloran, Emer Lucey) Genesis 0; Railway Union 2 (Cecelia Joyce 2) UCD 3 (Deirdre Duke, Anna O’Flanagan 2)

Electric Ireland Women’s Irish Hockey Trophy, round three: Omagh v Portadown, postponed; Greenfields 1 (Alma Whelan) Ashton 1 (Caroline McCarthy, Greenfields won 4-2 on penalties; Galway 3 (Louise Conlon, Tara Melvin, Lynsey Trainor) Victorians 1 (Rachel McMillan); Bandon 5 (Ciara McCarthy 4, Louise O’Flynn) YMCA 1 (Sarah Bradshaw); Naas 0 Wexford 3 (Lisa Codd, Deirdre Bolger, Ciara O’Leary); North Kildare 1 (Jen Keating) Clontarf 1 (Shelly Spillane), Clontarf won 4-3 on penalties; NICS 0 Larne 0, NICS won 5-4 on penalties; Ballymena v Dromore, postponed

The draw for the fourth round will be made on Monday, January 30 at 10.30am in the Irish Hockey Offices

Kirk Shimmins went close to another but was denied by Grothier’s instep, the ball flashing across the face of goal while Sothern was driven wide before shooting a reverse into the side-netting from two of their better chances. David Bane laid up Gray’s goal from a long corner, moving the ball to the endline and crossing for Gray to apply a touch of real quality with an upright deflection into the roof.

Three Rock Rovers 3 (Gavin Bourke 2, Garry Ringwood) Corinthian 3 (Dan Treacy 2, Glenn Holmes)
A cracking game at Grange Road, Gavin Bourke snatched a late point for Three Rock but the result was not ideal for either side in their pursuit of Irish Hockey League hockey in 2012/13. The first half was played at a high tempo with both sides creating decent chances with the ball transferred at pace around the park. No goals accrued but this stat was turned around in a less exact, more frantic second period. Glenn Holmes thumped home his own corner rebound before Dan Treacy’s neat finish made it 2-0. Bourke responded instantly with a ripped forehand hit from the top of the circle. Then, the fun and games began with three defensive mistakes defining the late stages. Garry Ringwood levelled when a loose ball around the back was gifted his way and he lifted over Ross Murray. A similar mistake at the far end allowed Treacy in for his second to restore the reds’ lead with six minutes to go. Ross Canning’s right-wing cross, then, caused confusion at the near post and as the visitors dallied, Bourke took the initiative to poke in a bouncing ball.

Railway Union 2 (Karl Chapple, Richard Forrest) Monkstown 2 (Stephen Cole, Robbie McFarlane)
Monkstown gave up half of their four-point lead at the top of division one as Railway Union continued their impressive pre-Christmas form into the new year as they came back from 2-0 down at half-time to grab a draw and strengthen their place in the top five. The Town were dominant in the first half at Park Avenue and built a lead as Stephen Cole and Robbie McFarlane finished off good moves. But half-time saw the tide turn as Karl Chapple was found unmarked in the circle and he controlled and slipped under David Fitzgerald. And they nabbed the equaliser when Richard Forrest deflected home despite Fitzgerald’s strong effort to deny him. Monkstown came back into the game after that while Kenny Carroll almost had a late chance for Railway from a corner rebound but the Unionites will still be pleased to earn the draw in spite of the absence of Eoin MacArthur (concussion) and Mark English (neck injury) and Fiachra Maher went off early with a groin strain.

Glenanne 5 (Rowland Rixon-Fuller, Stephen Brownlow, Richie Shaw, Eddie O’Malley, Jonathan Kane) Clontarf 0
Glenanne moved a little bit closer to the top as they ran up a comfortable victory over Clontarf in Tallaght. Eddie O’Malley started them on their way, shooting home his sixth of the season from the top of the circle. Stephen Brownlow swept in the second of the first half before Richie Shaw netted the third on the volley from a corner. Rowland Rixon-Fuller scored his first for the club for 4-0 before Jonathan Kane completed the win, set up by O’Malley, to complete the rout.

UCD 1 (David Watkins) YMCA 1 (Jamie Tobin)
UCD clung on for a gutsy point as they held out YM to earn what could be a valuable point, lifting themselves level with Fingal on seven points in a tie for eighth place. Stephen Walker was the root of the opening goal, shooting from the edge of the circle before the ball scrambled in with Jamie Tobin getting the final touch. But Shane O’Donoghue’s introduction made a big impact as he was let run from the halfway line into the circle and crashed a brilliant shot off the stanchion of the goal and David Watkins was on hand to knock in the rebound. Jonny Bruton hit the post twice on the day while he and Dash Hewett also missed out on inviting chances from baseline pull-backs. YM were missing Andrew Walker through a broken thumb sustained recently.

Rathgar 0 Mullingar 3 (Torben Marl, Ed Lindsay, Stephen Synott)
Mullingar picked up their first ever win in division two as they over-turned a defeat seven days earlier to the Rathgar Chiefs with a strong result. Chris Bull (pictured), back from injury which ruled him out since October, was central to the first two goals. He rounded the home goalkeeper to square to Torben Marl to finish off. Corner injector Bull then saw his shot hit a foot on the line, earning a stroke which Ed Lindsay finished off early in the second half. Stephen Synott completed the win 15 minutes from time, spinning on the ball and finishing off well. From Rathgar’s perspective, they had a first half goal disallowed for taking a shot from over shoulder height and hit the post, too, but Mullinger were decent value for the win.

Portrane 1 (Nasir Munir) Dublin University 3 (Theo Kirwan, Steven Roberts, Roger Clarke)
Trinity started a fine weekend which saw them rise to third in the standings. Theo Kirwan started them on their way but Nasir Munir scored against the side he used to coach, five minutes into the second half, taking in a long ball and finishing with aplomb. Steven Roberts reversed home the second before Roger Clarke completed the victory as Trinity showed decent composure to hold possession and see out the tie. Ralph Billings’ drag-flick was earlier well saved by Cian Booth but, otherwise, Trinity held the box seat for the most part.

Sunday: Dublin University 4 (Stephen Horsfall 2, Freddie Hill, Theo Kirwan) Avoca 1 (Sean Walsh)
A fine second half showing at a drenched Grange Road saw Trinity garner their second win of the weekend and close in a little further on Avoca in the title race. Freddie Hill opened the scoring with a cracker, starting the move from left-back, emerging through the midfield and exchanging passes which played him into the circle and finishing off. Sean Walsh levelled five minutes into the second half but the students kept pressing hard, consistently finding overloads up front. Theo Kirwan made it 2-1 after good work from Steven Nolan and Roger Clarke in the build-up. Stephen Horsfall finished off the next goal before the umpires consulted with a view to calling the game off due to the volume of water on the pitch with 18 minutes to go. They played on and Horsfall completed the win.