Hot ties aplenty in first set of play-offs

Men's Hockey: We've finally reached the business end of the league championship with four matches scheduled for the first tranche of the All-Ireland League play-offs. Grange Road, Havelock Park, Queen's and Garryduff are the venues this weekend for a number of attractive matches.

Cork Harlequins, the defeated Irish Senior Cup finalists, travel to Dublin to face Three Rock Rovers in a game they will be expected to win. Rovers slipped into the top three of the Leinster Senior League ahead of Aer Lingus on goal difference. Their task this weekend will be made tougher by the fact that Harlequins also see this as their only route to Europe next season.

Quins have have quality throughout their team, from Wesley Bateman in goal right up. But they should expect to be frustrated by Rovers.

Lisnagarvey entertain Pembroke in Banbridge in a meeting that should favour the Ulster side. Pembroke have been relatively dormant in a competitive sense while 'Garvey have just returned from the European Club Championships, where they just failed to secure promotion to the A Division.

With a week to recover, they will be sharper than ever and anything Pembroke can take from this meeting will be a bonus.

Instonians, the Irish Senior Cup winners, will also enter their game against Corinthians with significant self-belief. Having secured their place in next year's European Cup Winners' Cup, they're looking for the double, a target clearly not beyond them.

One of their stumbling blocks could be Annadale, who face Cork C of I in the final pairing. Annadale have dominated the Ulster league this season and surprised a few when they fell away in the cup. But C of I have home advantage and, like Harlequins, are a well-balanced side with quality players.

At the lower end of the Leinster League a dogfight takes place on Sunday between Division two hopefuls Avoca and Division one's Trinity in the relegation/promotion play-off.

Trinity, having played all season at the higher level, should be favourites but occasional erratic performances will give Avoca some hope.

The Blackrock side have also been steadily improving throughout the season and have shown they can score goals.

For both clubs the result is crucial, Avoca hoping to rebound immediately into senior hockey after relegation last season and Trinity, as usual, rarely struggling to field talented players but unable to hold the same side together for more than a year or two.

It might be an attractive match, too, both teams tending to aim to outscore their opponents rather than hold them back. Most importantly, it's win or bust for both.

WEEKEND FIXTURES

Saturday: Club Championship play-offs: Three Rock Rovers v Cork Harlequins, Grange Road 2.00; Lisnagarvey v Pembroke, Havelock Square 2.30; Instonians v Corinthians, Queen's University 4.00; Cork C of I v Annadale, Garryduff 1.00. Sunday: Promotion/Relegation play-off: Avoca v Trinity, Serpentine Avenue, noon.