WOMEN'S HOCKEY: The country's club players will ease themselves back into action this weekend, with Pembroke Wanderers' seconds and Trinity hoping that Loreto and Hermes will be sufficiently rusty after the festive season to assist their "giant-killing" efforts in the quarter-finals of the Leinster Senior Cup. Mary Hannigan reports.
Leinster's top two, at the half-way stage of the league season, should, though, progress to the last four. Pembroke II have had mixed fortunes so far in division two, where they are sixth, 10 points behind leaders Clontarf, while Trinity have struggled in the first division, currently lying second from bottom.
Tomorrow's cup tie against Corinthian offers Clontarf another opportunity to claim a first division scalp, following their victory over Genesis in the last round. After a demoralising season in the top flight in 1998-99, which ended in relegation, Clontarf have recovered superbly and, after finishing fourth in the second division last year, are now on course to win promotion back to division one. Second-placed Three Rock, though, will hope to deny them.
UCD play Pembroke's firsts on Monday night but are likely to be without internationals Ciara O'Brien, Catherine Murray and Linda O'Neill, all of whom, like the rest of the Irish squad, have been advised to take a month off after their World Cup exertions.
It is, however, up to the individual players to decide when they return to club duties - Pamela Magill, for example, will be back in action for Pegasus this weekend, in their league game against Coleraine, but Arlene Boyles and Claire McMahon aren't expected to play again until March.
The University of Limerick, who play Church of Ireland II in the second round of the Munster Cup this weekend, hope to have Eimear Cregan, outstanding at the World Cup, back by the middle of the month. Will she make Limerick's starting line-up? "She has a chance," said coach Catherine Bird.
LEINSTER CUP - Quarter-finals - Saturday: Corinthian v Clontarf, Whitechurch, 12.45; Hermes v Trinity, Belfield, 2.30; Pembroke Wanderers II v Loreto, Ballsbridge, 3.0. Monday - Pembroke Wanderers v UCD, Ballsbridge, 8.15.
ULSTER SENIOR LEAGUE - Section One: Belfast Harlequins v Ards, Deramore, 2.30; Ballymena v Ards, Ballymena, 2.30; Ballymoney v Portadown, Joey Dunlop Centre, 2.30; Coleraine v Pegasus, UUC, 1.0.
