Harlequins trio earn plaudits

As weekends go they don't get much better than the one just gone for Harlequins' Rachel Kohler, Sharon Hutchinson and Karen O'Brien. On Saturday they helped their club to a superb 3-2 win over Pembroke Wanderers in the replay of their Sharwoods Irish Senior Cup quarter-final and, yesterday, the trio were named in Riet Kuper's Irish squad for next month's trip to San Diego.

Two first-half goals from O'Brien sent the Cork club on their way to a place in the semifinals of the competition.

Later in the afternoon, down the road at Beaufort, Loreto blew the Leinster Senior A title race wide open with a 2-1 win over Hermes, the defending champions's first league defeat since December 1998. Loreto's title hopes received a further boost with the news that Cathy McKean has been omitted from the Irish panel preparing for March's Olympic Qualifier in Milton Keynes. McKean is, undoubtedly, a senior international player of the future, but, for now, the Irish coach is sticking with her tried and tested forwards, Claire McMahon, Jenny Burke, Kim Mills, Lynsey McVicker and Karen O'Brien.

All five were named in yesterday 19-player panel for next month's training camp in San Diego, which didn't include Pamela Magill (Pegasus) and Jenny Osborne (UCD) who will, however, remain on the panel but will be available for club hockey while the squad is away.

Two of last season's under-21 internationals, Angela Platt (Ballymoney) and Shauna Parkhill (Grange Edinburgh Ladies), have been included in the squad.