Men's Hockey All-Ireland Championship: After the elation and deflation experienced by Lisnagarvey and Cork Harlequins respectively in last weekend's Irish Senior Cup final, it will be absorbing to observe how the two sides respond to the demands of their first-leg ties in the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland Championship tomorrow.
Lisnagarvey face a punishing game in Tallaght against Glenanne, whose only hope of capturing a trophy this year rests on this competition. The Dubliners are more seasoned than Harlequins were and they will be alert to the dangers posed by Ulster's top scorer, Philip Stirling, whose hat-trick last Saturday was decisive.
Glenanne, though, will require at least a couple of snicks by, say, John Goulding to hold a decent goal difference for the return match at Blaris after Easter.
Harlequins, the title holders who would relish a fully fledged national league, will no doubt have regrouped with fresh spirit for the visit of the flourishing Ulster champions, Annadale, who they edged out of the cup on strokes after they were level at 3-3 in an exhilarating fourth-round tie.
Jonathan Quigley, who was outstanding in defeat for Annadale on that occasion at Lough Moss, misses the Cork game because of illness. Harlequins wish him well, yet they will be determined to gain a reasonable lead, perhaps through Philip McLaughlin who gets a place in the starting line-up.
Cork C of I, who retained the Munster honours due largely to Mark Ruddle's defiance of the Harlequins marksmen in the provincial play-off, find themselves paired again with Leinster's third-placed side, Corinthians.
It was Corinthians who advanced to the final stages in lively fashion last season and if Colin Stewart is free of hamstring trouble, they may well repeat their home win over the Cork team tomorrow. It is doubtful, however, if the margin will be substantial, for David Hobbs and John Jermyn are capable of keeping the outcome very much alive.
Three Rock Rovers, the new Leinster champions, will be undaunted, even as debutants at all-Ireland level, by their excursion to Banbridge to face Instonians.
Like Glenanne, Instonians have waned a trifle after some highly successful years. Mark Irwin and Chris Barnes remain menacing but they may be surprised by a Three Rock team in which Alan Bothwell, Peter McConnell and Garry Ringwood make up a vigorous core.
TOMORROW: All-Ireland Championship - Quarter-finals (first leg): Corinthians v Cork C of I, Whitechurch Park, 1.30 (T Goode, R O'Connor); Instonians v Three Rock Rovers, Havelock Park, Banbridge, 3.0 (G Burns, C Porter); Glenanne v Lisnagarvey, St Mark's, 2.0 ((W McCully, D Stewart); Cork Harlequins v Annadale, Farmers Cross, 2.0 (C Hutchinson, C McConkey).
SUNDAY: Leinster finals (Serpentine Avenue) - Neville Davin Cup: Weston v Naas, 12:0; Railway Cup: Three Rock Rovers II v Kilkenny, 2.0; Junior Cup: St. Brendan's-Phoenix Park II v UCD III, 4.0.
