Ladies IHL: Round One

Pool A
Loreto 5 (Zara Delaney 3, Cathy McKean 2) Belfast Harlequins 2 (Kelli Thornton, Sarah Wilkinson)
A dream start for Loreto. They had to wait just 35 seconds before Zara Delaney broke the deadlock. By eight minutes, she has completed her hat-trick and the game effectively over.

Her combination work with Nikki Keegan unlocked the door in the first minute. Keegan - in a stunning personal display - was again the provider pulling the ball back from the left touch-line to leave Delaney to slam in a second before the youngster netted a third time from a short corner rebound.

Cathy McKean made it 4-0 driving home Keegan's square-pass, this time from the right flank before the first quarter was out. Harlequins rallied, Kelli Thornton finished off a one-on-one to pull one back while her clever runs to the baseline caused a few problems.

The wily nous of Clodagh Grealy and good keeping from Louisa Healy meant the Belfast side had little chance of getting back into the game and McKean made it 5-1 with a reverse to end the half with a comfortable margin.

Harlequins probably shaded the second half, Jenny McDonagh to the fore, winning six penalty corners and getting a goal through Sarah Wilkinson.

Pegasus 2 (Suzanne Beaney, Kristy McCollum) Railway Union 1 (Kate McKenna)
Pegasus broke Railway's hearts with the last strike of the match, taking the three points in this highly anticipated clash. Kate McKenna gave the Sandymount-side the lead after just two minutes, pouncing on some weak Pegasus defending and hammering the ball into the goal.

Pegasus could have been on terms in the first half but Claire McMahon's penalty stroke effort was brilliantly saved by Helen Stevenson. It meant Pegs' had to wait until the second half, before Suzanne Beaney turned quickly on the ball and roofed it.

Both keepers were called into action to make good saves before McCollum's final breathtaking finish. Railway take a point from the encounter.

Cork C of I 1 (Melanie Ryan) Randalstown 0
Cork C of I spurned a number of chances but the one that Mel Ryan netted in the 51st minute was the only one they needed to score to claim victory in their opening IHL match.

Earlier, Cork's Julie O'Sullivan should have put the hosts ahead when she dragged the ball wide from point-blank range on 27 minutes.

But it was Randalstown who had the best chance of the first half when Vanessa Surgeoner sent Rebecca Winnington one-on-one with Zoe Cremin, but the C of I keeper forced her wide, and Eimear Connery was able to clear her shot off the line to keep both scoreless at half time.

C of I had spurned a number of chances before Ryan finally broke the deadlock from a short corner strike, finding the bottom left corner after the ball was switched left.

Randalstown, for whom Ireland A international Rebecca Dallas was particularly impressive, forced a couple of late short corners but couldn't find an equaliser for her side. Zoe Cremin put in a superb performance in the Cork C of I goal in plac eof regular keeper Orla McCarthy who was unavailable.

Pool B
Ballymoney 1 (Bridget McKeever) Cork Harlequins 1 (Cliodhna Sargent)
A goal apiece from internationals Bridget McKeever and Cliodhna Sargent meant the honours were shared as Harlequins made the longest journey of the day.

McKeever fired in a great reverse as Ballymoney dominated the first half but could not find a way passed keeper Amy O'Neill again.

Harlequins stepped up their game in the third quarter and were rewarded with Sargent's short corner goal. Again, Ballymoney had the majority of chances, including seven penalty corners and had to be content with splitting the points.

UCD 2 (Lisa Jacob, Fiona Braddish) Hermes 3 (Linda Caulfield 2, Christine Quinlan)
Linda Caulfield's brace set Hermes up for comfortable 3-2 win over UCD, though the students did nick a late bonus point when Fiona Braddish netted in the closing seconds.

Caulfield opened the deadlock in the 24th minute with the simplest of goals from Aoife Harte's pass and doubled the advantage in the third quarter with an impressive reverse. UCD got back into the game when Lisa Jacob added a delighful touch to a right-wing cross but the challenge was snuffed out when Christine Quinlan drilled in a corner against her old club to seal the deal.

Pembroke 2 (Karen Hales, Louisa Moore) Armagh 1 (Emma Stewart)
A quiet opening half was countered by a thrilling second as Pembroke continue their impressive start to the season, overcoming a youthful Armagh side.

The visitors - shorn of international duo Steph Quinn and Amy Stewart - started the first half well, Emma Stewart using the 'self-pass' rule to great effect, leading to Armagh’s first shot at goal, forcing an impressive save from Jane Coyne.

Pembroke, though, took the initiative in the second half with Louise Moore and Karen Hales to the fore. The latter scored from a deflected short corner to make it 1-0 before Stewart hit the top corner in the 63rd minute with a great effort.

But level terms lasted but one minute as Katherine Duff's one-two with Moore gave the latter the impetous to net the winner with just six minutes left. Pembroke had a third ruled out as the smell from the barbeque got stronger but were more than happy to take the three points on offer.