Table toppers set to face off

WOMEN'S HOCKEY:RAILWAY UNION'S unbeaten record in the Leinster First Division will be put to the test at Park Avenue tomorrow when they take on Loreto, their closest challengers in the title race. Just one point separates them at the top of the table, with UCD five behind Railway, but with a game in hand.

Tomorrow’s match, the last head-to-head meeting this season between teams from the top three, is a critical one. UCD, who have suffered successive defeats to Railway and Loreto in the last fortnight and need to get their challenge back on track, probably wouldn’t say no to a draw at Park Avenue.

Loreto’s 5-0 win over Corinthian on Tuesday night puts them in good shape for the game, but Railway’s form, as their league position suggests, is no less impressive – since drawing their opening two games they have only failed to win one of their last 10 matches.

UCD, who play Old Alexandra on Monday, can’t afford a slip-up away to bottom-of-the-table Three Rock tomorrow, while fourth meets fifth in the clash of Hermes and Alexandra at Milltown.

Chris Tyrrell and Keith Crawford, meanwhile, have been appointed coaches of the Leinster women’s under-21 squad which will compete in the interprovincial tournament in Cork over the Easter weekend. Clubs are invited to nominate players for the squad, to leinsterhockey@gmail.com.

Leinster League: Division One: Tomorrow – Glenanne v Pembroke Wanderers, St Mark’s, noon; Corinthian v Trinity, Whitechurch, 1pm; Three Rock v UCD, Grange Road, 2.15; Railway Union v Loreto, Park Avenue, 2.30; Old Alexandra v Hermes, Milltown, 3pm.