It was thought when Cork C of I eliminated Avoca last year that Munster's premier side were well worthy of being among the favourites to carry off the Irish Senior Cup - especially as it was all of 30 years since the club had embarked on their triumphant three-in-a-row run. But then C of I lost sorely to Belvedere.

Now, having again ended Avoca's interest - 3-1 in Saturday's first-round replay at Garryduff - avidly-supported C of I once more must be highly rated, even if they are well aware of the challenge to be faced against local rivals Harlequins on January 10th.

Initially it seemed that Avoca's greater experience abroad was going to be be a significant factor. They forced five short corners to one in the first half but Mark O'Sullivan was not to be beaten in the Cork goal, nor, indeed, was Stephen Kinsella who saved spectacularly from Alastair Dunne.

Although Leslie Ruddock in the home defence and Trevor Dagg for Avoca also made leading contributions to the game remaining scoreless up the interval, there had been some strong running by C of I into impressively angled channels, charted no doubt by Denis Pritchard.

Still, it was startling for Avoca when the home side zipped into the lead only a minute into the second half as Nigel Buttimer bored through the cover for the industrious Neil Welch to deliver the finishing touch. The Dubliners found it hard to respond and were stunned by further goals in the 55th and 59th minutes.

Neville Foott engineered an opening for Dunne to tap in from close range and then a smartly switched corner saw Ger Burns put his name on the scoresheet. Earlier his young brother Karl, overlapping eagerly from the back, barely failed to connect with a through ball from skipper Derek Hales, who was later to strike a post.

All Avoca could offer in reply, with some earnest approach play by Graham Dowling, was a late set-piece goal by Scott which took a deflection en route to the net. There is still, perhaps, the Neville Cup to be won as a consolation on St Stephen's Day.

Meanwhile, Glenanne - with their high scoring rate - are leading the Leinster Senior League for the first time following their rousing 4-3 defeat of Three Rock Rovers at Grange Road on Saturday. A twist and turn by Graham Shaw yielded the winner in a final raid.