No change at the top

It's "as you were" at the top of the Computershare Leinster League division one table after the top three, Hermes, Pembroke Wanderers and Loreto, won their final games of the year at the weekend. Hermes' 5-2 win over UCD at Belfield made it eight wins out of eight for the title holders, who have a two-point lead and a game in hand over Pembroke.

A Cathy McKean goal midway through the second half proved enough for Loreto to take the points from Old Alexandra at Milltown and with two games still to come against Hermes in the new year Loreto's title ambitions are still very much in their own hands.

Meanwhile, over at Serpentine Avenue, a late goal from Katherine Henderson against Corinthian gave Pembroke their seventh win out of nine matches to keep them in the title hunt.

Before Saturday Hermes had only conceded one goal in seven matches but UCD, through Rachel Keegan and Linda O'Neill, breached their defences twice in the second half after trailing by a single goal, a Jenny Burke penalty stroke, at half-time. Hermes, though, secured the points with a second Burke goal, two from Rachel Petrie and one from EJ Walsh.

On the international front, a few eyebrows were raised when it was announced that the length of the 2002 World Cup finals had been extended from 13 to 15 days. The news appeared to add fuel to the fire of the rumour that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) intended making the finals an 18-nation affair, rather than 16, to allow Ireland, Lithuania, India and the United States entry to the competition in an effort to call a halt to the qualification dispute that is now bound for the Court of Arbitration of Sport.