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

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

The numbers game in South Africa leaves the Park Avenue hosts down in the overall tally as Alex Speers, Emma Smyth and Nikki Evans while Chloe Watkins is UCD’s one absentee.

Plenty of international talent remains, though, as Railway can call on Jean McDonnell’s aggression up front with Julia O’Halloran pulling the strings while Niamh Atcheler and Anna O’Flanagan are in harness for the students. A winner on the day is guaranteed to top the table on Saturday evening but Railway, with a game extra played, have the more pressing need for points at this stage.

Kate Lloyd has been in scintillating form for the yellow and greens in recent times and will need to be shackled.
Lying in wait are Loreto as they host Corinthian and have a dilemma over goalkeeper selection following Ruth Murphy’s impressive showing against Railway last week.

She vyes with Mary Harkin to fill in for Louisa Healy at the base of a defence who have provided a wealth of goals for the Beaufort club. Sarah Clarke’s thunderous corner hits have seen her top score with Johannesburg-bound Nicci Daly while Hannah Matthews and Rachel Keegan have also weighed in for the league’s most potent corner routine.

But the reds will be keen to nab a result in this Rathfarnham derby, pushing Loreto all the way earlier this term in a 4-3 result. Corinthian are a much improved outfit this term with a growing number of youngsters coming through to make them tough to beat.

Their win over Glenanne last week lifted them to seventh, a place above Pembroke who bounced back against Three Rock Ladies with a well-judged 2-0 win over their vanquishers of five days earlier. Emma Kielthy and Rachel McGrath got the goals in midweek at Grange Road for a powerful comeback to Saturday’s setback which briefly placed them at the bottom of the table.

Hermes is a tough place to go for a third game in seven days in spite of six international absentees as top performers like Mary Goode, Jenny Burke, Christine Quinlan and Sinead Connery power them on.

Three Rock face Trinity hoping them can get back off the bottom, possibly using one of the youngest midfields around as Clare Samuel joined Wesley schoolmate Lauren Haughton and Ana Fabra.

The students are in the rare position of the experience differential being in their favour with Rachel Scott and Maebh Horan high level performers in this division but with just eight goals between the sides this term in total, expect a tight battle.

Old Alex, meanwhile, will hope to keep a comfortable grasp on their top five position, facing a Glenanne side who were frustrated by Corinthian last week.

The Irish Hockey Trophy begins to reach the business end, too, this Saturday with four Leinster sides contesting the last 16 stage. After a number of successful years in the Irish Hockey Challenge, YMCA are aiming to be the first side to clock up wins in both of the two recently introduced competitions.

Travelling to Bandon is a tough ask, though, a side riding high in Munster’s division one. Leinster’s highest ranked side is North Kildare and they have a division to spare over Clontarf for their tie at Kilcock.

Naas, meanwhile, make it two ties in Kildare with their hosting of Wexford – the South East’s last remaining side. Elsewhere, the competition has mainly an Ulster feel to it with seven entrants left with two from Munster and Connacht.

Women’s Division One: Railway Union v UCD, 1pm, Park Avenue; Loreto v Corinthian, 1pm, Beaufort; Hermes v Pembroke, 3.15pm, St Andrew’s; TRL v Trinity, 3.15pm, Grange Road; Old Alexandra v Glenanne, 4pm, Milltown
Division Two: Pembroke v Railway Union, 11am, Serpentine Ave; Hermes v Newbridge, 1.15pm, St Andrew’s; Genesis v UCD, 2.30pm, Belfield; Corinthian v Loreto, 3.30pm, Whitechurch

Electric Ireland Women’s Irish Hockey Trophy, round three: Omagh v Portadown, 2.30pm, Campsie Omagh; Greenfields v Ashton, 3pm, Dangan; Galway v Victorians, 1pm, Dangan; Bandon v YMCA, 1pm, Bandon GS; Naas v Wexford, 3.45pm, Caragh Road; North Kildare v Clontarf, 1.30pm, The Maws; NICS v Larne, 1pm, Maynard Sinclair Pavillion Stormont; Ballymena v Dromore, 2.30pm, Ballymena Showground

Hermes 1 (Jenny Burke) Loreto 2 (Rachel Keegan, Ali Meeke)
Ali Meeke proved the game-winner for Loreto as they snagged three points which looks to formally end Hermes’ hopes of claiming the title as she clipped home a second half corner at St Andrew’s. Rachel Keegan had put the Beaufort club into the lead inside five minutes when her initial corner push-out went slightly off course to Meeke. But she struck well and Keegan nipped in to deflect into the roof of the net. Jenny Burke levelled following Gillian Pinder’s sweet piece of skill and excellent ball forward from half-way to open up the visiting defence and the subsequent lay-up found Burke who finished on her reverse for 1-1 at the break. Hermes did earn five corners but Loreto looked more dangerous from play and moved into the lead when another corner found its way to Meeke who hit home. Loreto’s plight to maintain the slender advantage was helped by Sinead Connery’s sin-binning and the three points keeps them in touch with UCD and Railway while Hermes are now nine points off the pace.

Old Alexandra 1 (Emma Russell) Railway Union 2 (Sinead Dooley 2)
A deflected effort 20 seconds from time saw Railway Union keep pace at the top of the division as Sinead Dooley’s deflected effort saw them get out of jail against Old Alex. The Milltown hosts went in front a mere 12 seconds into the second period as Alex worked the ball forward straight from the tip off with Erika Hinkson’s touch playing in Emma Russell who won the foot-race to the ball before the Railway goalkeeper and scored. Dooley put her side in level with a neat touch by her right foot to Kate Lloyd’s cross. Hinkson, Roisin Flinn and Emily Beatty all had chances on the counter while the visitors bossed regular play and had five corners to their name. From the fifth, Dooley shot to the far post with Cecelia Joyce waiting but a defender’s stick got a touch to give Pam Smithwick little chance to readjust to see Railway keep in touch.

Pembroke Wanderers 1 (Ciara Howard) Three Rock Ladies 2 (Anna Carson, Suzanne Mellon)
Suzanne Mellon’s sweetly swept effort handed Three Rock Ladies their first win since returning to division one to make it incredibly tight at the bottom of the table as TRL moved ahead of Pembroke on goal difference. A dramatic tie, Pembroke thought they had the lead when Rachel McKeon scrambled in a corner rebound in the first half but it was ruled out after consultation between the umpires. Anna Carson put her side in front when Mellon ran clear down the left-wing and her flip over Lisa O’Rourke caught the top of the keeper’s pads and fell invitingly for Carson to tap home.

The hosts, though, won a string of second half corners and were level from a corner which again went to consultation as injector Ciara Howard took in a thigh-high shot and nudged home for the equaliser with 14 minutes to go. But the killer goal came moments later as Sarah-Ann O’Connor beat a player to set up a three-on-one which was slipped to Mellon to hit home first time. Pembroke piled forward, winning a series of late corners but none were converted to hand TRL a vital set of three points. They handed debuts to Clare Samuel and Meabh Holden, too.

Trinity College 0 University College Dublin 3 (Rachel O’Reilly, Anna O’Flanagan, Dora Gorman)
UCD scrapped their way to three more points at Santry, starting off a chain of five away wins in women’s division one and maintain their title charge. Rachel O’Reilly got the first when she got a touch to Nicola Gray smashed corner shot. Anna O’Flanagan got the second, latching onto Niamh Atcheler’s superb overhead ball before Dora Gorman completed the victory. For College, Laura Wilson was a stand-out performer but took a blow to the toe which may need further inspection.

Loreto were thankful to stand-in goalkeeper Ruth Murphy in the final reckoning, the regular third teamer filling in for the international-tied Louisa Healy and the unavailable Mary Harkin. She and Clarke kept out two corners after the final whistle to hold onto a point as well as picking off a decent late save to deny Jean McDonnell.

In the first half, Lloyd finished off the first goal of the game with a nicely clipped reverse but a penalty stroke was conceded within two minutes which Hannah Matthews converted for her fourth goal of the campaign.

The second period followed a similar pattern despite the hosts enjoying more of the possession. Railway, as is their wont, were sharp on the break and were back in front when McDonnell picked up a loose ball and tore into the circle. She feigned to shoot before squaring for Lloyd to put her side back in front going into the closing quarter.

But Niamh Small jagged back inside to win a corner in the next wave of play and Clarke applied a thunderous strike. With Matthews, the two defenders have now provided 11 goals between them showing the value of their set piece routines.

Railway went closest to winning it as both sides were down to ten players for breaking down play; Zara Delany just missed out on the back post while McDonnell’s corner hits were denied. It leaves them a point off UCD who now have a game in hand while Loreto are one further back.

Of the three main contenders, the students appear to be the ones most likely to push on after the weekend, too, as they face colours rivals early on Saturday in Santry. They must do it without Chloe Watkins but Niamh Atcheler is available for selection for the game as she has been rested for the national team’s South Africa trip.

Railway and Loreto, though, have tough battles ahead as they play Old Alex and Hermes away, respectively. Attack-wise, the Park Avenue outfit’s forward line will be blunted by the absence of Nikki Evans and Alex Speers and the creative drive of Emma Smyth for much of the remainder of this campaign.

Alex have to cope without netminder Pam Smithwick and midfield firebrand Shirley McCay while Loreto are shy a quartet of players – including a fit-again Nikki Symmons.

But it is Hermes who are most affected as six of their number travel out to Johannesburg on Sunday. Mary Goode will cover goalkeeping duties while a number of their youngsters will likely be added to a panel short Miriam Crowley, Lisa Jacob, Aine Connery, Sinead McCarthy and Audrey O’Flynn.

At the bottom, there are also two vital games. Three Rock travel to Pembroke in a make or break tie between the basement pair with the visitors needing a win to move level on four points.

It is one of two meetings between the sides in quick succession – the next coming next Wednesday night – which could go a long way to defining their respective seasons. Corinthian and Glenanne, meanwhile, will be looking for points to pull themselves further away from impending danger.

On the men’s side, Pembroke started the New Year’s action with a comprehensive 6-1 win over Weston at Serpentine Avenue to knock out the last remaining division two side from the Mills Cup.

Alan Sothern snagged a hat-trick while Mick O’Connor got two to build a 6-0 half-time lead. Rob Lynch finished off a two-on-two attack to pull one back and win the second half for Weston – his tenth goal of the campaign.

All the rest of the Mills’ ties have also been brought forward from their initial Sunday date to Saturday. Monkstown against YMCA is the pick of the bunch at 1.30pm in Rathdown while Corinthian face Glenanne and UCD host a Three Rock side with a few players set to return.

The students will miss Shane O’Donoghue and possibly Conor Motyer while Rovers will need to find an alternative scoring source than Peter Blakeney. Alan Bothwell returns from suspension while Ali Haughton and Peter McConnell eased back over Christmas through the indoor campaign.

The Town are the side most affected by the international trip to Spain with goalkeeper Dave Fitzgerald unavailable along with David Cole and attacking linchpin Gareth Watkins. With Iain Walker unable to tend the goal, YM have top back-up in the form of Graham Woods.

Division two sees Avoca, Portrane and Trinity all make their first appearances of 2012 as the race hots up considerably for the title.

Mills Cup, round two result: Pembroke 6 (Alan Sothern 3, Mick O’Connor 2, Scott Furlong) Weston 1 (Rob Lynch)
Fixtures, Saturday: UCD v Three Rock Rovers, 1pm, Belfield; Corinthian v Glenanne, 1pm, Whitechurch Park’ Monkstown v YMCA, 1.30pm, Rathdown
Men’s Leinster Division Two: Avoca v Portrane, 2pm, Newpark; Suttonians v Dublin University, 2pm, Sutton Park; Mullingar v Rathgar, 2pm, Tullamore Harriers’ pitch

Women’s Leinster Division One, result: Loreto 2 (Hannah Matthews, Sarah Clarke) Railway Union 2 (Kate Lloyd 2)
Fixtures, Saturday: Trinity v UCD, 11.15am, Santry; Hermes v Loreto, 1.30pm, St Andrew’s; Old Alexandra v Railway Union, 3pm, Milltown; Glenanne v Corinthian, 3pm, St Mark’s; Pembroke v Three Rock Ladies, 3.30pm, Serpentine Ave
Division Two: Pembroke v Newbridge, 12.30pm, Serpentine Ave; Loreto v North Kildare, 12.45pm, Beaufort; Hermes v Genesis, 3.15pm, St Andrew’s; Corinthian v Railway Union, 3.45pm, Whitechurch Park; UCD v Old Alexandra, 4.15pm, Belfield

They will be joined by Cookstown who topped the Ulster pool while NICS’ goal difference saw them through as runners-up on goal difference after a three-way tie on points with Instonians and Annadale.

It completes the finals line-up – with Clontarf and Three Rock qualifying on Saturday afternoon – with two, three-team groups facing off next Saturday in Gormanston, hosting indoor hockey for the first time.

Pembroke were the first side to confirm their progression as they came from a goal behind to lead 4-2 going into the closing stage of the tie with Sothern shining in his first appearance in the competition this season.

Shane O’Donoghue’s second closed the gap going into the closing phases but Pembroke held on for the win to go with earlier successes against Corinthian and Fingal to push on.

Railway needed just a draw to advance from group two and looked well set when Kenny Carroll and Eoin MacArthur put them 2-0 up on YMCA. But YM rallied with Stephen and Andrew Walker to put the game on a knife-edge at 2-2 going into the latter stages.

Rob Abbott, though, finished off a slick left-wing move with a near post touch to put Railway back in front and, despite MacArthur’s sin-binning, the 2011 finalists were unable to get the goals required to make it back to the playoffs.

TRR closed out the group stages with a 3-1 win over Fingal to make it five wins from five, the ALSAA side matching Rovers well in the first half but were caught early in the second as Garry Ringwood broke the deadlock before Ross Canning and Jody Hosking made the game safe.

In Ulster, Cookstown completed the group phases with a perfect record with a 4-3 win over NICS and a 3-0 success over Mossley. Service were in decent shape after day one two single goal losses – the second coming against Instonians – left them in danger of elimination.

A draw for Inst against Annadale in the group’s final game would have been enough to eliminate NICS but Dale popped up with a 3-2 win to put the Stormont club through by two goals on goal difference.

On the women’s side, Railway Union emerged from the pack with three successive victories in group one to advance. They started the day with an impressive 7-1 win over runners-up Old Alex with Kate Dillon doing most of the goalscoring while German player Silja Dornow’s slick skills and indoor know-how was a cut above.

The 2010 champions were pushed all the way by a Trinity side who needed to win to keep alive their chances but Railway nabbed a 4-3 victory after being level 1-1 at the break. With Alex edging past Trinity 3-2 on Saturday, it meant the Milltown club and Railway were through, leaving a couple of dead rubbers.

Pembroke finished strong with a couple of wins to get off the mark while Railway’s 7-1 win over Genesis confirmed their place at the top of the table.

Newbridge’s withdrawal from the competition meant Glenanne were all but through, making it 12 points from four games and Hermes followed them onto that mark with an emphatic 10-2 success against Corinthian. It left the pair to face each other for top spot and Hermes prevailed 3-2.

In Connacht, 2009 finalists Galway recorded two wins and a draw against Greenfields to be their provincial representative at the finals and will face Ards, Old Alex and Hermes next week. Railway, Ulster Elks and Glenanne are in the other group.

Leinster Men’s (all at Loughlinstown Lesiure Centre)
Men’s Indoor, Group One: Pembroke 4 (Alan Sothern 4) Glenanne 3 (Shane O’Donoghue 2, Gary Shaw); TRR 3 (Garry Ringwood, Jody Hosking, Ross Canning) Fingal 1 (Luke Hayden)
Standings: 1. TRR 15pts (+20) 2. Pembroke 12pts (+16) 3. Glenanne 7pts (+3) 4. Corinthian 5pts (8) 5. Fingal 4pts (-7) 6. Weston 0pts (-25)

Group Two: YMCA 2 (Stephen Walker, Andrew Walker) Railway Union 3 (Kenny Carroll, Eoin MacArthur, Rob Abbott)

Standings: 1. Railway 10pts (+9) 2. Clontarf 10pts (+7) 3. YMCA 6pts (+5) 4. Suttonians 3pts (-1) 5. Dublin University 0pts (-20)

Ulster Men’s results:

Sunday results: NICS 3 Cookstown 4; Annadale 5 Mossley 3; NICS 1 Instonians 2; Mossley 0 Cookstown 3; Annadale 3 Instonians 2

Standings: 1. Cookstown 12pts (+6) 2. NICS 6pts (+5) 3. Instonians 6pts (+2) 4. Annadale 6pts (-2) 5. Mossley 0pts (-9)

Men’s finals weekend fixtures (all at Gormaston College)

Group A: Three Rock Rovers v Clontarf, 10.30am; Clontarf v Cookstown, 12.10pm; Cookstown v Three Rock Rovers, 2.40pm

Group B: NICS v Pembroke Wanderers, 11.20am; Pembroke Wanderers v Railway Union, 1pm; Railway Union v NICS, 4.20pm

Leinster women’s Group One: Old Alex 1 Railway Union 7; Trinity 3 Pembroke 4; Trinity 3 Railway Union 4; Pembroke 4 Genesis 2; Trinity 2 Old Alex 3; Genesis 1 Railway 7

Standings: 1. Railway 12pts (+22) 2. Old Alex 9pts (+6) 3. Pembroke 6pts (-10) 4. Trinity 3pts (-1) 5. Genesis 0pts (-17)

Group Two: Newbridge 0 Glenanne 5 (w/o); Corinthian 4 Clontarf 2; Hermes 3 Glenanne 2; Newbridge 0 Avoca 5 (w/o); Hermes 10 Corinthian 2; Avoca 6 Clontarf 3

Standings: 1. Hermes 15pts (+19) 2. Glenanne 12pts (+12) 3. Clontarf 6pts (-4) 4. Avoca 6pts (-6) 5. Corinthian 6pts (-9) 6. Newbridge 0pts (-25)

Group Three: Greenfields 1 Galway 3; Galway 1 Greenfields 1; Galway 6 Greenfields 1

Group A (Loughlinstown): Galway v Ards, 1.15pm; Old Alex v Hermes, 2.10pm; Old Alex v Galway, 3.05pm; Ards v Hermes, 4pm; Galway v Hermes, 4.55pm; Ards v Old Alex, 5.50pm
Group B (Gormanston, Co. Meath): Ulster Elks v Glenanne, 1.50pm; Glenanne v Railway Union, 3.30pm; Railway Union v Ulster Elks, 5.10pm

Women’s Leinster Division Two: Railway Union 2 (Kate Lloyd, Kate McKenna) Loreto 0; North Kildare 3 (Michelle Spillane 2, Aideen Griffin) UCD 1; Newbridge 4 (Clara Brody, Jane Tynan, Pam Ryan, Jill Ennis) Corinthian 2 (Sally Cory 2); Pembroke 3 (Louise Tolerton, Sorcha Conway, Joanne McDonnell) Genesis 0

And, when Sinead McGirr was binned for taking an overhead over shoulder height, Trinity got back in the game when a Rachel Scott corner hit caused havoc in front go the Loreto goal and was scrambled in. It led to a tense closing phase but the Beaufort side held on and are very much in the mix for the New Year. For the remainder of the season, along with Railway and UCD, it will be an interesting balancing act as they are likely to be without some or all of their international players for all but three of their remaining games.

The Belgian winter break has allowed Michael Maguire to return to the fray while indoor specialist Stephen Bredin is back from Qatar, too, boosting their options around the boards.

They will be without the injured Peter McConnell at the back but Colin Huet will seek to guide the side to a fourth title in five years. They face what looks the tougher of the two pools with last season’s semi-finalists Glenanne and 2010 winners Pembroke competing for the one confirmed finals weekend place on offer from the initial phase.

Corinthian always throw up a decent challenge and their opening game against the Glens in Loughlinstown on Saturday morning offers an early insight into both of their credentials.

Weston and Fingal take on the outsider’s tag with each side playing between two and three games over this initial weekend before finishing the preliminaries on January 7 and 8.

YMCA will hope to finally make the breakthrough after a couple of near misses. Ian McHugh, with his low to the ground style, has been touted as a valuable addition while Will Powderly could be included and has the silky skills to find unlikely routes to goal.

Railway Union are the main challenger while Clontarf went well in their debut season. Division Two sides Suttonians and Dublin University complete the group.

The winners from these two Leinster pools advance automatically to the final’s day, together the Ulster winners and runners-up. UCC will play-off against the runners-up in the two Leinster pools for two wildcard entries in the finals.

On the women’s side, the format is the same, making the initially phases full of pitfalls. Railway Union showed their ability in winning the fourth tier of European competition last Spring.

Kate Dillon is their queen of the boards, a dominant performer on the circuit and source of a huge amount of goals. Shutting her down will be the key to Old Alex’s bid to break them down in the manner in which Armagh did in last season’s final.

Newbridge make their debut in Group Two with sides from division three and four also involved in the six-team pool. Armagh’s defence begins against Ards in an extended Ulster pool with six teams in the mix.

Emma Stewart was sensational last term, aided by younger sister Amy and Lucy McKee. Leah Ewart has since moved to UCD outdoors but could be coaxed back in as a guest for the competition as the students have not entered a side.

Outdoors, Loreto’s late game with Railway Union – set for a 9.15pm tip-off on Wednesday – was called off due to the frost and is now likely to be played in the New Year.

It leaves two games still on the calendar for 2011 in women’s division one. In the relegation battle, tenth plays ninth at Grange Road as Three Rock Ladies host Pembroke with the former needing a result to stay in touch.

Defensive rigidity has been their watchword with Louise Lehane and Claire Fitzpatrick to the fore. Should Anna Fabra provide the creative instinct, they could cause problems for Pembroke.

Getting past Avril Dooley-O’Carroll and Lisa O’Rourke, though, will prove troublesome and if the likes of Lizzie de Araugo get going, they could nab the vital spoils.

Should it beat the weather at the second attempt, Monday night’s game between Trinity and Loreto could see the Beaufort side move closer to contention in the title race in pursuit of UCD.

Men’s National Indoor Trophy
Group 1 (Leinster): Glenanne, Corinthian, Fingal, Pembroke Wdrs, Three Rock Rovers, Weston
Group 2 (Leinster): YMCA, Clontarf, Suttonians, Railway Union, Dublin University
Group 3 (Munster/Connacht): UCC
Group 4 (Ulster): Belfast Harlequins, NICS, Annadale, Instonians, Mossley, Cookstown

Leinster groups:
Saturday (all at Loughlinstown): Glenanne v Corinthian, 10am; Fingal v Pembroke Wdrs, 10.55am; Three Rock Rovers v Weston, 11.50am; YMCA v Clontarf, 12.45pm; Corinthian v Weston, 1.40pm; Glenanne v Fingal, 2.35pm; Clontarf v Dublin Univ, 3.30pm

Sunday: Corinthian v Fingal, 10am; YMCA v Dublin Univ, 10.55am; Clontarf v Suttonians, 11.50am; Pembroke Wdrs v Three Rock Rovers, 12.45pm; Railway Union v Dublin Univ, 1.30pm; Corinthian v Pembroke Wdrs, 2.35pm; YMCA v Suttonians, 3.30pm; Glenanne v Weston, 4.25pm; Suttonians v Railway Union, 5.20pm

Women’s National Indoor Trophy
Group 1 (Leinster): Old Alex, Genesis, Pembroke Wanderers, Railway Union, Trinity
Group 2 (Leinster): Newbridge, Hermes, Corinthian, Avoca, Glennane, Clontarf
Group 3 (Munster/Connacht): Greenfields, Galway
Group 4 (Ulster): Portadown, Ulster Elks, Armagh, Ards, Queens Uni, Lurgan

Leinster groups
Saturday (all at the Shoreline SC, Greystones): Glenanne v Clontarf, 3.30pm; Old Alex v Genesis, 4.15pm; Newbridge v Hermes, 5pm; Pembroke v Railway Union, 5.45pm; Corinthian v Avoca, 6.30pm
Sunday: Corinthian v Glenanne, 10am; Newbridge v Clontarf, 10.45am; Hermes v Avoca, 11.30am; Old Alex v Pembroke, 12.15pm; Hermes v Clontarf, 1pm; Trinity v Genesis, 1.45pm; Newbridge v Corinthian, 2.30pm; Avoca v Glenanne, 3.15pm

Ulster group
Saturday (all at Queen’s University): Portadown v Lurgan, 9.30am; Armagh v Ards, 10.30am; Portadown v Ulster Elks, 11.30am; Queens Uni v Lurgan, 12pm; Ulster Elks v Ards, 1.30pm; Armagh v Queens Uni, 2.30pm; Portadown v Ards, 3.30pm; Ulster Elks v Queens Uni, 4.30pm

Sunday: Ulster Elks v Armagh, 10am; Ards v Queens Uni, 11am; Armagh v Lurgan, 12pm; Portadown v Queens Uni, 1pm; Ulster Elks v Lurgan, 2pm; Portadown v Armagh, 3pm; Ards v Lurgan, 4pm

Women’s Leinster Division One (Saturday): Three Rock Ladies v Pembroke, 1pm, Grange Road

Monday: Trinity v Loreto, 8pm, Santry
Division Two (Saturday): Old Alexandra v Corinthian, 12.15pm, Milltown; Loreto v Newbridge, 1.45pm, Beaufort; Pembroke v North Kildare, 3.30pm, Serpentine Ave

Trinity vs Loreto – postponed due to frozen pitch

Division Two: North Kildare 3 (Shelly Spillane, Liz Hasset, Louise Kelly) Hermes II 0; Railway Union 0 Newbridge 0; Corinthian 0 Genesis 1 (Laura Barrie); Pembroke 3 (Rachel McGrath 2, Anna O’Grady) Old Alex 1 (Hannah McDermott)

Jacqui Potter Cup, second round:

Helen Roche proved the unlikely heroine for Railway Union II as the club’s regular fourth team goalkeeper stepped in to save three penalty strokes against Trinity and earn a place in the Jacqui Potter Cup quarter-finals. Railway had led from a 40^th minute corner which Mary O’Dwyer deflected in. Eanna Horan levelled five minutes later from another corner and Rachel Scott thought she had put the students in front when she hit home a corner but it was disallowed as Maebh Horan had encroached into the circle before the push out to see a retake given. It led to extra-time and subsequently strokes with Roche saving three times to make it 2-2 after regulation strokes before Railway won it in the first round of sudden death.

Elsewhere, UCD were the big winners as former Alex students Nicola Gray and Deirdre Duke netted in a 2-1 victory over Loreto. Corinthian beat Glenanne 2-0 with both Jenny Heggie and Helene Peters getting their first goals of the season. Railway’s firsts  were comfortable victors over North Kildare with Orla Fox getting her first ever goal for the first team. It was a similar story for Hayley Sarratt as she netted in a 7-1 win over Loreto II while Pembroke had too much in the tank for Corinthian II, Joanna McDonald firing a double.

Results: Railway Union II 1 (Mary O’Dwyer) Trinity 1 (Eanna Horan), Railway won 3-2 on strokes; North Kildare 0 Railway Union 7 (Jean McDonnell 2, Orla Fox, Sinead Walsh, Julia O’Halloran, Emma Smyth, Zara Delany); UCD 2 (Nicola Gray, Deirdre Duke) Loreto 1 (Cathy McKean); Corinthian 2 (Jenny Heggie, Helene Peters) Glenanne 0; Hermes 7 (Lisa Jacob 2, Hayley Sarratt, Sadhbh Hoban Logan, Eimear Horan, Gillian Pinder, Jenny Burke) Loreto II 1 (Sarah Scott); Corinthian II 0 Pembroke 4 (Joanna McDonald 2, Claire Picard, Ciara Howard)

With both sides down their international contingents, though, it makes for a tricky one to predict though Hermes coped the better of the two last week in beating Trinity.

Alex’s frustrating 1-1 draw with Corinthian was the first major setback of an impressive campaign to date with Sarah Canning adding goals to her repertoire and leadership from the back.

Their youth is countered by the Booterstown hosts’ experience with Jenny Burke, Jenny Kinch and Mary Goode with a world of experience while there is still plenty of senior interpro talent in the likes of Sinead Connery and Christine Quinlan. Coping with a teenage strike-force in the middle of exam period is their major concern.

Second placed Railway can reduce the gap to two points when they go across the dart tracks to Pembroke and they do so with a number of players coming back. Kate Dillon scored last Sunday in the Jacqui Potter Cup on her return from a holiday in New York while Holly Jenkinson was also back after a hairline fracture in her hand. Emer Lucey, though, is a slight doubt while they also have international players away.

Loreto are in a similar boat as they are on the early shift in Santry, tipping off at 10.30am against Trinity, without Nicci Daly, Lizzie Colvin and Niamh Small.

Genesis’ young charges, meanwhile, were the first side to make it into the quarter-finals of the Jacqui Potter Cup as they picked off a surprise win over Pembroke II.

Chloe Hamill netted a deft first half deflection from Clare Walsh’s crash ball while Catriona Lavelle got a reverse-stick touch to another powerful ball into the circle, this time from Laura Barrie’s ball.

A couple more ties in this competition will be played on Sunday with Loreto playing UCD in the tie of the ground at Beaufort while there is a double-header at Whitechurch Park on Sunday with Corinthian playing Glenanne before their seconds meet Pembroke.

Women’s Division One (Saturday): Trinity v Loreto, 10.30am, Santry; Hermes v Old Alexandra, 1.30pm, Booterstown; Pembroke v Railway Union, 3.30pm, Serpentine Ave

Division Two: North Kildare v Hermes, 11.30am, Kilcock; Railway Union v Newbridge, 12pm, Park Ave; Corinthian v Genesis, 2.45pm, Whitechurch Park; Pembroke v Old Alexandra, 5pm, Serpentine Ave

Jacqui Potter Cup, round two: Corinthian II v Pembroke, 3.30pm, Whitechurch Park; Loreto v UCD, 3pm, Beaufort; Corinthian v Glenanne, 1.30pm, Whitechurch Park

Round Two result (Wednesday): Genesis 2 (Chloe Hammill, Catriona Lavelle) Pembroke II 0