Pembroke riding high

Women's Hockey: No complaints from the folk down Serpentine Avenue way. Five months into the season, Pembroke Wanderers are third in the league, just three points behind leaders Hermes, are into the quarter-finals of the Irish Senior Cup after last week's 3-0 win over Portadown, and have a Leinster Senior Cup semi-final against Corinthian to look forward to.

Coach Roy Horsfield predicts the club's season will rest on their results over the next three or four weeks - including tomorrow's league meeting with Hermes, Saturday-week's Irish Cup trip to Belfast Harlequins, with a league game against fourth-placed Old Alexandra squeezed in before that Leinster cup semi-final on March 2nd.

"If we play well against Hermes tomorrow anything can happen," said Horsfield. "We know, though, they can play badly and win - we can't, that's the difference. I think we'll see a different Hermes to the one that lost last week (4-1 to Belfast Harlequins in the Irish Cup)," said the coach who led Hermes to their first Irish Senior Cup success back in 1997.

"They'll want to prove that they're still one of the best teams in the country - which they are - and beating us will get them well on track to win the league again. If we can beat them then we're right back in the league."

Loreto (second) and Old Alexandra will expect to pick up maximum points at home to Trinity and Railway Union, while hoping for anything but a Hermes win at Serpentine to keep them in the title hunt.

With two games in two days (against Genesis tonight and Glenanne tomorrow), Fred McDarby's Corinthian have a chance to climb the table from seventh, while UCD, who knocked Corinthian out of the Irish Cup last week, will try to stay in contention for a top three finish (and a place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals), by beating Genesis at Rathdown.

Munster, meanwhile, will attempt to retain their under-16 interprovincial crown at St Andrew's (Dublin) this weekend, opening their defence against Ulster, the team who held the title until last year's tournament in Cork.

UNDER-16 INTERPROVINCIAL TOURNAMENT (at St Andrew's, Dublin); Today: Leinster v Ulster, 9.30; South East v Connacht, 11.0; Munster v Ulster, 12.30; South East v Leinster, 2.0; Munster v Connacht, 3.30. Tomorrow: Munster v South East, 9.0; Connacht v Ulster, 10.30; Leinster v Munster, 12.0; South East v Ulster, 1.30; Leinster v Connacht, 3.0.

LEINSTER LEAGUE DIVISION ONE: Tonight - Genesis v Corinthian, Terenure, 7.30. Tomorrow - Pembroke Wanderers v Hermes, Serpentine Avenue, 12.15; Corinthian v Glenanne, Whitechurch, 12.30; Old Alexandra v Railway Union, Milltown, 1.15; Loreto v Trinity, Beaufort, 2.0; Genesis v UCD, Rathdown, 3.30. Division Two: Genesis II v Aer Lingus, Rathdown, 12.0; Our Lady's v Three Rock, Terenure, 1.0; Old Alexandra II v Pembroke Wanderers II, Milltown, 2.30; Hermes II v Corinthian II, Belfield, 2.30.

ULSTER LEAGUE SECTION ONE: Knock v Belfast Harlequins, Queen's, 2.30; Ballymena v Pegasus, The Showgrounds, 2.30; Coleraine v Ballymoney, UUC, 2.30; UUJ v Portadown, UUJ, 2.30; Randalstown v Ards, Antrim Forum, 4.0.