Hermes just edge decider

Women's Hockey:The usual suspects had the upper hand in their respective provincial cup finals on Saturday. Cork Harlequins won the Munster Senior Cup for a 12th successive year by beating Church of Ireland 5-1, while a Jenny Burke hat-trick clinched the Leinster Jacqui Potter Cup for Hermes at Grange Road, where they beat Loreto 3-2.

While Church of Ireland gave Harlequins as challenging a test in the league this season as they have experienced in recent years, they were no match for the Munster champions at Farmers Cross on Saturday.

Julia O'Halloran (two), Eimear Cregan, Rachel O'Byrne and Karen Bateman got the goals.

It was a much tighter affair at Grange Road, a single goal, as in the 2002 and 2005 finals, separating Hermes and Loreto.

Hermes' margin of victory would have been much greater but for a sparkling goalkeeping display by Louisa Healy. But Healy could do little to prevent them taking a 2-0 lead into the break when Burke converted two of their seven short corners.

Hermes, then, appeared to be cruising, but Sarah Scott revived Loreto's hopes when she capitalised on hesitant defending to pull a goal back with 15 minutes to go, and, with just five minutes left, Jessica Lynch levelled the game - turning home Orla Ryan's deflected short corner strike.

Burke, though, completed her hat-trick in dramatic style, tucking away another short corner right at the death to give her club their third Leinster Jacqui Potter Cup in six years, all three of those triumphs coming at the expense of Loreto.