Hermes retain winning momentum

Women's Division One:
Hermes 5 (Anna O'Flanagan 3, Gillian Pinder, Deirdre Duke) UCD 0
Anna O'Flanagan's first half hat-trick under-pinned Hermes' impressive 5-0 win over UCD as they comfortably kept top spot in Leinster. The diminutive play-maker set the ball rolling in the sixth minute from a corner and added two more from play for a 3-0 interval lead and were rarely threatened by the students who did not win a single corner in the game. Schoolgirls Gillian Pinder and Deirdre Duke completed the rout in the second half of a dominant day at St Andrew's. Hermes were again without Niamh Atcheler who was with the Irish women's squad in a three-day training camp.

Bray 0 Old Alex 2 (Laura McCoy, Danielle Costigan)
With results elsewhere going their way, Alex's second half double moved them into fourth place and strengthened their claim for a second run in the IHL in 2010/11. They took their time to break down a Bray side for whom Mary Goode impressed in the first half with a dominant goalkeeping performance to keep the score-sheet blank at the break. Laura McCoy broke the deadlock in the 50th minute when she snapped up a corner-rebound from Nicola Gray's strike. Bray fought back strongly, earning three corners and piling on the pressure but Alex held out and settled the matter in the last minute. Danielle Costigan finished off beautifully on her reverse from Gray's hard pass, controlling, beating the keeper and flipping the ball high into the net.

Glenanne 0 Railway Union 2 (Jean McDonnell, Kate McKenna)
A goal in each half at St Mark's kept Railway in the title hunt, a point off the pace with a game in hand, as they got the better of Glenanne, 2-0. Kate Dillon had shaved the crossbar while a couple of chances rebounded off the post before Jean McDonnell broke the deadlock inside the last minute of the half from a corner. Kate McKenna finished off a goalmouth scramble in the second half to confirm all three points. The Glens remain in eighth place.

Trinity 0 Loreto 1 (Nikki Keegan ps)

Understrength Loreto left it late but eventually got their winner in the 63rd minute via Nikki Keegan's (pictured) penalty stroke as four of their international contingent were unavailable for the trip to Santry. Goalkeeper Louisa Healy was released to play but was scarcely employed as Loreto held the balance of play but Trinity defended well and made it tough to create clear chances. However, a foot on the line led to Keegan's stroke to claim all three points.

Pembroke 1 (Noelle Farrell) Corinthian 1 (Lynsey Watson)
Pembroke and Corinthian played out a score draw that moves them a point closer to safety but was not a huge help in their pursuit of an IHL place, leaving them five and eight points, respectively, off fifth place. The reds had to deal with the absence of Sarah Walker and the late withdrawal of Carol Magowan, injuring her back in the warm-up, but took the lead in bizarre fashion when Lynsey Watson got a stick to a Pembroke pass around the back to loop the ball into the net. Noelle Healy responded from a corner to level the tie but neither side could garner the winner.

Women's Irish Junior Cup, quarter-finals:
Railway Union and Old Alex made it through to the last four of the Irish Junior Cup with 2-0 wins over Galway and Greenisland, respectively. For Railway, it was two Galway natives who did the damage as Sarah McDonald's first ever goal for the Park Avenue outfit from a corner was augmented by Gillian Heavey's reverse-stick goal. Alex won 4-0 at Carrickfergus but Loreto bowed out to a strong Randalstown team on penalty strokes. Laura Pomphrett scored the goal to tie the game at 1-1 but the Ulster side prevailed 2-1 on strokes.

Results: Railway Union II 2 (Sarah McDonald, Gillian Heavey) Galway II 0; Loreto 1 (Laura Pomphrett) Randalstown 1, Randalstown won 2-1 on strokes; Greenisland II 0 Old Alex II 4 (Nicky Keogh 2, Fiona Murray 2); Lurgan II 2 (V Donaldson, K McGowan) UCC II 1 (K O'Sullivan)

ESB Irish Hockey Challenge, second round:
YMCA 4 (Sarah Bradshaw 2, Tara Powderly, Sian Powderly) Mallow 1; Limerick 0 Raphoe 2 (Sabrina Barnett, Rachel Patterson); Tipperary 1 (A Ryan) Fermoy 3 (Sexton, Fitzpatrick, Sweetnam)
Semi-final draw (March 6): Clonmel/Monkstown vs YMCA; Raphoe vs Fermoy