Ulster dominate despite slow start

IT proved to be one of the most closely contested Under 21 interprovincial series, but a victory over South East in the final match of the tournament in Kilkenny yesterday meant that Ulster retained their title and so maintained their decade long domination of under 21 hockey.

In the course of their two scoreless draws on Saturday, against Munster and Leinster, Ulster produced little to suggest they would keep possession of the Vera McWeeney Cup. But none of their challengers was able to take advantage of the holders' slow start, and by yesterday evening wins against Connacht and South East proved enough for the Northerners.

Two goals from captain Kim Mills helped Ulster break their scoring duck against Connacht yesterday morning, while a 1-1 draw between Munster and South East made the task of defending their title somewhat easier by the time they took to the field against South East. Two first half goals from Linda McCaughran all but guaranteed Ulster two points when all they required was one.

South East were perhaps the tournament's unluckiest team after suffering the frustration of conceding late equalisers to Leinster on Saturday and Munster yesterday. They topped the table going into yesterday's matches and looked well on their way to bettering their best finish of third in the Under 21 series. But just one point from their final two matches relegated them to fourth place in the table.

Still, South East coach Catherine Bird was well pleased with her team's performances and believes they were part of a consistent improvement in the standard of hockey in the "fifth province over recent years.

"I think in the last 10 years South East have been improving. Prior to that we would have been regarded as the also rans but more recently I don't think there's any team that can come out to clay us and regard us as a walkover.

"All the other provinces have great respect for us now, and in the last couple of years teams like Ulster and Leinster have had to work very hard in order to get by us," said Bird.

Despite the progress South East are making in underage hockey, Bird still believes they are not yet ready to enter the senior interprovincials.

"If we looked at all the senior players that we have, we could field a team, but I wouldn't envisage that happening in the next year or two. I think we have to build a little more at the lower level to get a larger infrastructure going, and then maybe in the future we might have, our own senior team. But I don't think we should do it just for the sake of doing it, we must be sure we can be competitive."

It proved a bitterly disappointing tournament for Connacht who had travelled to Kilkenny with high hopes. But, like their seniors three weeks ago, they must turn an increasingly impressive team sheet of names into a line up that believes it can take on and beat the traditionally stronger provinces. The sad statistics for Connacht at the end of the weekend read played four, lost four, scored none and conceded eight.

Despite finishing second just two points behind Ulster, Leinster too will be disappointed with their weekend's work, which consisted of three draws and just one win.