Key game for Randalstown

Seven days ahead of their Irish Senior Cup semi-final at Upper Malone, Pegasus and Randals town meet at the same venue tomorrow in a fixture that should go some way towards determining which of the Belfast teams goes on to win this season's league title.

The current table makes peculiar reading, with Randalstown, the defending champions, and Pegasus back in fourth and fifth places respectively, behind leaders Ards, Collegians and Portadown. However, extended runs in both the Irish Senior Cup and the Ulster Shield means both teams have games in hand which, once converted in to points, should see them in more familiar territory at the top of the classification.

Title favourites Pegasus are four points behind Ards but have four games in hand, leaving them with the prospect of a fixture pile-up that could see them playing 10 league matches in five weeks, if they progress to the finals of both cup competitions.

Randalstown trail Ards by three points but have just two games in hand and desperately need to reverse their 2-0 defeat at the hands of Pegasus in October if they are to keep their hopes of retaining the league title alive.

Meanwhile in Leinster, the 2-2 draw between Muckross and Old Alexandra on Wednesday night further strengthened Hermes's hopes of winning the championship - they now have a six-point lead over second placed Muckross and are seven points ahead of Loreto, who have a game in hand. Loreto must avoid a repeat of their Irish Senior Cup defeat by Old Alexandra when the teams meet at Beaufort tomorrow if they are to keep the pressure on Hermes, while Muckross will have to rediscover their winning ways against Pembroke Wanderers at Rathdown, after drawing their last two league matches. Hermes play Glenanne, who have taken points off Alex and Muckross in the past fortnight, at Belfield tomorrow.

In a repeat of last year's final, Kilkenny and Pegasus II meet in tomorrow's quarter-finals of the Irish Junior Cup at Scanlon Park in Kilkenny, with the home team anxious for revenge for their defeat by the Belfast club at Belfield last March.