Railway face daunting trip north for cup semi-final

AFTER A Christmas break extended by the wintry conditions, the hockey season finally resumes.

The pick of the fixtures this weekend are the Irish Senior Cup semi-finals between holders UCD and Loreto at Belfield and Pegasus and Railway Union at Queen’s University.

Railway picked up from where they left off before the break when they beat UCD 3-0 in Wednesday’s Jacqui Potter Cup second-round tie. Jean McDonnell, Nikki Evans and Kate Dillon got their goals.

So they should travel to Belfast in good spirits for what will be their fourth away tie in a row in this season’s competition, and their third against Ulster opposition – they beat Ards and Victorians in earlier rounds.

Pegasus on home turf, though, is usually as tough as it gets, and the Ulster champions are intent on regaining the trophy they lost to UCD in last April’s final.

En route to that final the students beat tomorrow’s opponents, Loreto, on penalty strokes, after a 1-1 draw, in the second round of the competition.

But they lost their most recent meeting, when Loreto came back to win November’s league game 2-1.

With Railway and Loreto, the top two in the Leinster League, on cup duty, Hermes can go above Loreto and narrow Railway’s lead to two points if they beat Pembroke Wanderers at Serpentine Avenue tomorrow, one of four first division games scheduled for the weekend.

In Munster, UCC are homeless for now after their Mardyke pitch was destroyed in November’s floods: the sight of dead fish floating on the pitch, after the river Lee burst its banks, greeted the college authorities when they arrived to survey the damage.

The college have announced the pitch will be replaced with a sand-based surface, but it could be three months before the work is complete. The students will play tomorrow’s league game against Catholic Institute at Mount Mercy’s ground.

WEEKEND FIXTURES

Saturday

Irish Senior Cup – Semi-finals – UCD v Loreto, Belfield, 2.45; Pegasus v Railway Union, Queen’s, 2.30. Irish Hockey Trophy – Third round: Omagh v Greenfields, Omagh, 2.30; Queen’s v Knock, Queens, 12.30; Three Rock v Dromore, Grange Road, 12.30. Leinster League – Division One: Pembroke Wanderers v Hermes, Serpentine Avenue, 1.0; Old Alexandra v Glenanne, Milltown, 3.15; Trinity v Bray, Santry, 3.30.

Munster League – Division One: Church of Ireland v Bandon, Garryduff, 12.0; Waterford v Ashton, Waterford, 12.30; UCC v Catholic Institute, Mount Mercy, 1.0; Univ of Limerick v Cork Harlequins, UL, 1.30.

Sunday

Leinster Senior Cup – Second round: Corinthian v Pembroke Wanderers II, Whitechurch, 12.30; Glenanne v Bray, Tallaght, 3.0.

Leinster League – Division One: Old Alexandra v Pembroke Wanderers, Milltown, 3.30.