After last weekend’s break for Irish Senior Cup duty, the EY Hockey League resumes on Saturday with Catholic Institute looking to maintain their four point lead at the top of the table.
Since losing their opening game at home to UCD, the Limerick side have been on a roll, picking up five wins and a draw, an unbeaten run they’ll expect to extend with second-from-bottom Ards their visitors at Rosbrien.
Their closest challengers Loreto, Old Alexandra and UCD are all bunched on 12 points, although all three have a game in hand on Institute. Loreto’s meeting with UCD at Beaufort is the pick of the Saturday’s games.
Alexandra are away to Railway, who are six points adrift of the top four, while Pegasus and champions Pembroke Wanderers, both knocked out of the cup last weekend, could do with wins over Belfast Harlequins and Monkstown, respectively, to kickstart their campaigns after inconsistent starts.
Ireland v England: TV details, kick-off time and team news for Six Nations opener
Gerry Thornley: Odds are against Ireland completing Six Nations three-peat, this is my forecast
Maurice Deegan: An encouraging start for the football rules but a long road ahead
New football rules arrive ‘about as well as anyone could have hoped’
Hockey League - Division One - Saturday: Catholic Institute v Ards, Rosbrien, 1.0; Loreto v UCD, Loreto Beaufort, 1.15; Railway Union v Old Alexandra, Park Avenue, 1.30; Belfast Harlequins v Pegasus, Deramore Park, 2.30; Pembroke Wanderers v Monkstown, Serpentine Avenue, 4.0.
