Ireland aim to bridge 19-year gap

The time for talking is over. After a hectic summer of action, the Irish men face their biggest challenge of 2009 as they endeavour to reach their first major tournament since the 1990 World Cup in Lahore.

They go into this week’s World Cup Qualifiers in Argentina with less than ideal preparation with David Hobbs a major name to miss out with 143 caps worth of experience unavailable as he lost his race against time to be fit for the tournament.

Joe Brennan, too, is another big absentee having become a stalwart of the Paul Revington regime and a near certain starter in the centre-backs had he not picked up a broken thumb in the Barcelona in EHL Round One.

From the Europeans' squad, Mikey Watt (below, left, in action against Chile) does return to action while Paul Gleghorne and David Ames (right) get first ranking tournament call-ups with Alan Giles the third change to the panel.

The withdrawal of Argentina from a test series also hampered the build-up, causing the management to scramble but two high quality friendlies against the European champions has helped alleviate any sense of ring-rust.

More so, two finals in consecutive tournaments has given rise to optimism in the panel with many of the squad used to winning more often than not in an Irish jersey.

Such positivity may be tempered, though, by the trickiest group of the three Qualifiers. Ireland must outdo two of the world’s top ten – Argentina and Belgium – if they are to progress from their six-team group and take the last ticket to the World Cup in New Delhi.

The first target is to break into the top two of that group to qualify for the final on November 22. The group is split into two very distinct halves with three opponents – USA, Chile and Czech Republic – Ireland has never lost to, making the battle on paper a shoot-out with the Quilmes hosts and the Belgians.

Paul Revington’s side open up today against a USA side who feature Nate Coolidge who spent the early part of the 2008/09 season at Corinthian. As recent form goes, Ireland have won all six of their encounters with the Americans, the last of which came in the Olympic qualifier. The unavailable Mark Gleghorne netted four that day in an 8-0 rout but, as Revington stated in an interview with RTE last week, USA are very much an emerging force, as evidenced by their 3-2 win over Canada a fortnight ago.

Chile, on Sunday, are well known to the Irish with the Champions Challenge providing plenty of video analysis opportunities. A comfortable win in a training match this week, too, should add to a confident mood for that tie ahead of Tuesday’s crunch game.

Ireland will need to reverse a poor run of form which has seen six losses on the spin, most recently in July in Waterloo, to the Belgians. Since then, they have blown hot and cold with two thumpings of Japan interspersing losses to the Netherlands and England.

Match four sees Ireland face the Czech Republic, another side Ireland have a 100pc record against in four meetings. The drag-flicking of Tomasz Prochazka will be a threat, though, as will the lively Jakub Kyndl.

According to their team listing, however, it appears Dutchman Gino Schilders has parted company with the panel since their European campaign in August in Wrexham to be replaced by Michal Toms while there is still no place for Glenanne’s Filip Jaros whose injury problems persist.

The final group opponent could prove the toughest, though, if things pan out, Ireland could possibly end up facing the Argentinian hosts twice in a weekend.

Recent test matches have shown the Irish can compete well with the South Americans, many of whom are European-based, as well as the notable in the 1-0 win in the last competitive fixture between the sides in the Olympic qualifier. The bad blood from that day may well have subsided but the group fixture is always likely to be vital.

Match schedule:
Saturday, November 14 (4.05pm Irish time) Ireland vs USA
Sunday, November 15 (2.05pm Irish time) Ireland vs Chile
Tuesday, November 17 (7.45pm Irish time) Ireland vs Belgium
Thursday, November 19 (7.45pm Irish time) Ireland vs Czech Republic
Saturday, November 21 (6.05pm Irish time) Ireland vs Argentina
Sunday, November 22 – Classification matches

Ireland squad (club, caps/goals)
David Harte (Pembroke Wanderers, 47/0); Iain Walker (YMCA, 20/0); Stephen Butler (Glenanne, 157/77); Graham Shaw (Glenanne, 145/6); John Jermyn (Cork C of I, 105/52); Eugene Magee (Banbridge, 97/21); Ronan Gormley (Pembroke Wanderers, 91/4); Timothy Cockram (Lisnagarvey, 89/19); Michael Watt (Dragons, 58/14); Tim Lewis (Pembroke Wanderers, 57/3); Geoff McCabe (Dragons, 56/0); John Jackson (Loughborough Uni, 36/0); Mitch Darling (KHC Leuven, 35/13); Conor Harte (Pembroke Wanderers, 36/0); Alan Sothern (Pembroke Wanderers, 31/10); Peter Caruth (Annadale, 15/5); David Ames (Cookstown, 7/1); Paul Gleghorne (Loughborough, 5/1)

The opposition at a glance:
Argentina: Played 11, 2 wins 2 draws 7 losses Goals for-against 15-33
Last meeting: 30 Oct 2008: 2-2 draw (Sothern, Jermyn) Venue: Dublin (test match)

Belgium: Played 43, 14 wins 8 draws 21 losses GF-A 95-78
Last meeting: 19 Jul 2009: 3-5 loss (Magee, Darling, Hobbs) Venue: Waterloo (Bel) (test match)

Chile Played 3, 2 wins1 draw GF-A 11-2
Last meeting: 6 Jul 2009 3-0 win (Jermyn 3) Venue: UCD (Champions Challenge II)

Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia Played 4, 4 wins GF-A 17-2
Last meeting: 26 Aug 07 10-0 (Jermyn 3, Gleghorne 2, Barbour 2, Magee, Maguire, Shaw) Venue: Manchester (European Nations Cup)

USA Played 6, 6 wins GF-A 29-4
Last meeting: 6 Feb 2008 8-0 win (Gleghorne 5, Magee, Barbour, Gormley) Venue: Auckland (Olympic Qualifier)

* To keep up to date with the tournament, follow the FIH's dedicated website here. ESPN Argentina will be televising the tournament though I have yet to find out if it will be available online. If anyone finds out more in the meantime, please let me know.

Reds and Rovers vye for top spot

With Ireland's men beginning their World Cup Qualifiers on Saturday, Leinster division one will have a shortened programme for the next two series of matches as Glenanne and Pembroke enjoy a mid-season month off.

It means the hughlight on Saturday is likely to be at Grange Road where Three Rock will face a Corinthian-side featuring the return of Lucas Piccioli. Charlie Henderson, though, is a player not likely to face his old club as he has taken semi-retirement with Stephen West stepping into the number one jersey for Three Rock.

Rovers will be hoping for Peter Blakeney to return after a rare leg injury kept him out of the trip to YMCA while Kyle Good - who underwent a scan on his back earlier in the week - and Ali Haughton are doubts.

In the corresponding fixture last time out, Rovers crept come amid a deluge which almost threatened an abandonment but, provided such an eventuality is avoided on Saturday, whoever wins will go top. Traditionally cagey affairs, expect a tight battle as Rovers' grind comes up against the flash and dash of the reds forward line.

The other pair of division one fixtures concern sides in the bottom half with UCD desperate for points at Park Avenue. Their tie with Railway Union already represents the midway point in their season with just one point accrued to date. As such, the late concession against Clontarf ups the ante and they will hope to find a route past former goalkeeper Stephen O'Keefe - a recent Intervarsity guest - to escape the bottom rung of the standings. Gavin O'Halloran is their biggest injury concern.

Clontarf, meanwhile, are in a similar predicament and will need to up their game to right a 5-0 defeat at the hands of YMCA in the Neville Cup in September. The Y are at full strength bar Todd Gill and could re-connect with the top five with three points.

Division Two returns after a three-week lay-off with top two Avoca and Suttonians meeting at Newpark. The latter will be bouyed by their midweek 5-3 friendly win over northside neighbours Clontarf with Richie Wormold in fine form while Simon Walsh fired a double. The winnner is guaranteed top spot.

Third and fourth clash in the form of Weston and Trinity in a repeat of the last series of fixtures when Alan Browne's side nicked the points and their IHT win in Armagh will have a galvanising effect.

Bray and the Navan Badgers, fifth and sixth in the division, face off in the garden county looking to escape the bottom rung of the ladder.

Division 1
Railway Union vs UCD, 3pm, Park Avenue; Clontarf vs YMCA, 2pm, Mount Temple; TRR vs
Corinthian, 3pm, Grange Road

Division 2
Weston v Trinity, 2pm, Griffeen Valley; Bray v Navan, 1pm, Loreto Bray; Avoca v Suttonians, 1.45pm, Newpark

UCD sharpness earns Pembroke win

Leinster Women's Division One: 
UCD 3 (Rachel Burke 2, Kerry McComish) Pembroke 0

UCD cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Pembroke as their greater sharpness in either 25 proved the difference at Belfield tonight. Rachel Burke gave College an early lead with a superb solo effort, breaking down the right-hand baseline, beating a trio of tacklers before pulling the ball on to her reverse and scoring with a reverse at full stretch.

Thereafter, UCD pinned Pembroke back and got their second just a minute before the break when Kerry McComish swept in a penalty corner - won by Fiona Braddish's intercept inside the 25 - to make it 2-0 against her former club.

Lisa Jacob slipped two chances by the post to extend the margin - the latter well deflected wide by Lisa O'Rourke - while Pembroke struggled to test Grace O'Flanagan with six penalty corners.

They did, though, enjoy a better second period with Karen Hales a driving presence throughout but Burke flicked home her second near the end, after Bradish and Jacob had created the chance, to add some gloss to the scoreline.

Kilkenny, Sutton and Temple set to challenge school's hierarchy

Tightly contested early stages of the Leinster schoolboy’s senior league suggest that while St Andrew’s and Wesley are still the teams to beat, they will be pushed all the way by the chasing trio of Kilkenny, Sutton Park and Mount Temple.

Sutton have already nicked a draw from Andrew’s and held All-Ireland champions Wesley – who swept all before them in Belfast recently – to 3-0 in the opening half of the campaign. Kilkenny’s 7-0 win, though, over Mount Temple means they could be the team to watch when it comes to the newly inaugurated Development Cup in January.

At Junior level, results have been similarly tight with Wesley needing two late Andrew Malcolm goals against Mount Temple to convert a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win in one of the games of the season to date.

Former Ireland U-16 captain Mark Ryan was central to the Temple assault. Wesley held much of the possession, creating numerous chances but found Senan O’Mahony in inspired form between the posts.

Their high-pressing game, though, left wide open spaces at the back and Ryan’s ability to deliver 60-metre overheads found Nathan Northcutt in space to open the deadlock midway through the first half. And Matthew Owen doubled that lead from a penalty corner rebound early in the second half to raise hopes of an incredible upset.

But Wesley continued to plug away and got in with a shout when Ian Stewart – one of a number of players moving straight up from last year’s U-14 team – showed his predatory instincts to net. And the side kept coming forward and broke the Clontarf school’s resolve in the 64th minute when Malcolm popped up to equalise before the same player snatched the winner with the last touch of the game.

Elsewhere, the Cats nabbed a 3-3 draw against St Andrew’s while St Columba’s won a thriller against Temple with the odd goal in nine.

Senior A: Wesley 3 Sutton Park 0; Sutton Park 3 Mount Temple 2; St Andrew 2 Sutton Park 2; St Andrews 3 Sutton Park 1; St Andrews 4 Kilkenny College 0; Kilkenny College 7 Mount Temple 0
Senior B: Wesley B 6 St Andrew’s B 1
Junior A: St Andrews 3 Kilkenny 3; St Andrews 3 St Columbas 2; Mount Temple 4 St Columbas 5; Wesley 10 St Columbas 1; Wesley 3 Mount Temple 2
Junior B: St Killians 5 Mount Temple 0
Junior C: Wesley C 0 High School 6
Minor A: St Andrews 6 St Columbas 0; Wesley 3 Sutton Park 1; Sutton Park 5 St Columbas 2; Newpark 2 St Columbas 1; St Andrews 7 St Columbas 0; Wesley 2 St Columbas 0; Mt Temple 3 Newpark 1
Minor B: Kilkenny 1 Drogheda 1; Kilkenny 1 St Andrew’s 1
Under 13 A: St Andrews 5 Sutton Park 0; St Andrews 4 Sutton Park 0; St Andrews 1 Wesley 0; Wesley 1 King’s Hospital 0
U-13 B League: Mount Temple 5 Newpark 0; Mount Temple 0 St Killians 0; Wesley B 0 King’s Hospital 0
U-13 C League: Wesley C 1 King’s Hospital B 1

* If you have any information, updates or stories from any of the schoolboy leagues, please let me know by emailing stevie_findlats@yahoo.com

Pembroke Rotterdam-bound: News in brief

* Pembroke will play their EuroHockey League KO16 match in Rotterdam on either Friday, April 2 or Saturday, April 3, 2010 following an announcement from the EHL this morning. The fixtures draw will be made next Thursday morning and winners from these fixtures will play in KO8 matches on either April 4 or 5.

It will be the third time that the club has hosted an EHL event, with the Finals weekend in both 2008 and 2009 taking place at the world class venue.

Elsewhere, Phelie Maguire has been speaking to the EHL about his time with KHC Leuven. To read the full interview click here.

* Cookstown will play their first match on their new water-based pitch at Coolnafranky this Saturday against old rivals Banbridge.

The pitch is complemented by a banked spectator area, floodlighting and a video system that can be linked to the changing rooms for video analysis.

Project Manager Stephen Cuddy said of the pitch opening: "It’s great that the new facility will have such a prestigious match on its first weekend. Ourselves and Banbridge probably have the largest support in Ulster so I am hoping for a good crowd at Coolnfranky.”

* Pembroke Wanderers are holding a black tie ball in the D4 Ballsbridge Inn (formerly Jury’s Ballsbridge) on Saturday, November 14.

The Ireland v France soccer World Cup play-off match will be shown on the big-screen during the 4 course dinner; ‘Jungle Boogie’ (the chosen band for the Irish Rugby team Grand Slam home-coming celebrations) will provide live post-dinner entertainment before a DJ takes the event through to the end of the evening

In excess of 125 tickets have been sold so far but if some other clubs would like to take a table or just get a few people together to come along, the club would be delighted to have you. If you would like to buy tickets, please phone the club office on 6685217. Tickets are €75 (Visa / Laser etc accepted over the phone).

Revington dealt double injury blow

Paul Revington was dealt a huge blow on the eve of Ireland’s World Cup Qualifying campaign as both Joe Brennan (below, right) and David Hobbs (left) were ruled out of the trip to Argentina.

The Irish team flew out to South America this morning without the duo as they both lost their race against time to be fit for the competition and have been replaced by David Ames and Peter Caruth.

Speaking about the late changes, Revington said: “The team will miss David's power in midfield and the experience he brings to the Team, and will also miss the presence and quality that Joe Brennan has added to our Team throughout 2009.

“The squad has, however, developed a good degree of depth in strength over the past few months and weare very fortunate to announce David Ames as the replacement for David Hobbs and Peter Caruth as the replacement for Joe Brennan.

“David Ames returned to the squad over the Summer (Celtic Cup) after a tough start to 2009 filled with injury and he has progressively built up the form that makes him such an exciting prospect for Irish Hockey.

"Ames brings a terrific skill set, a strong physical engine, a penalty corner injection and a youthful energy that will benefit the Ireland Team immensely in Argentina. Peter Caruth has improved consistently throughout 2009 and will be a player going to Argentina with form and confidence on his side."

The squad finished their build-up last week with two fixtures against England, something which Revington believes was of huge benefit, especially in light of cancellations earlier in the warm-up schedule.

"The games against England mid week were of great benefit to the players attending as well as for our efforts to improve the depth of the Irish Squad in general.

“England offered an extremely high tempo opportunity to all players and this will have massive benefit for our Team traveling to Argentina. It was also great to have the full team together in Banbridge on Saturday evening and I know the guys are all excited to be together again and continue the friendship and locker room spirit that has been the foundation for their performances in 2009."

Ireland tip off their campaign against the world number 19's when they play USA on day Saturday.

UCD and Loreto to enjoy home comforts

Reigning ISC champs UCD and IHL winners Loreto both picked up home ties in the quarter-final draw of the ESB Irish Senior Cup. The students face Cork Harlequins at Belfield while Loreto host the only all-Dublin tie against Pembroke.

Railway Union will hope to repeat their recent 4-1 win over Ards in the last eight, though the trip north could become a factor as the Ulster side used such an advantage well to oust UCC. Pegasus play an all-Ulster derby for the second successive round, this time going to the Joey Dunlop centre to face Ballymoney.

On the men's side, just two Leinster side's were gifted byes with Fingal and Glenanne going straight into the second round hat. Railway Union will hope to remaster their recent 3-3 performance against Corinthian and serve up a club classic in one of two Dublin derbies - the other being UCD and Monkstown.

YM and Three Rock both welcome southern visitors though the task for the Sandymount club looks much steeper, hosting Cork Harlequins. Rovers will need to be wary of Bandon's threat, especially in light of their performance against Cork C of I last Friday night where they led for the majority of the tie. Clontarf travel the opposite direction with a daunting trip to Garryduff in prospect.

Pembroke's retention hopes begin with a home fixture against Ulster strugglers Bangor while the only tie not contested by a Leinster team is Banbridge's tie with North Down.

ESB Irish Senior Cup
Saturday, November 28 - quarter-finals
Loreto vs Pembroke Wanderers; UCD vs Cork Harlequins; Ballymoney vs Pegasus; Ards vs Railway Union

Men's Irish Senior Cup - Round One (January 16, 2010)
YMCA vs Cork Harlequins; TRR vs Bandon; Pembroke vs Bangor; UCD vs Monkstown; Railway Union vs Corinthian; Cork C of I vs Clontarf; Banbridge vs North Down
Byes to Round Two: Glenanne, Fingal, Annadale, Instonians, Lisnagarvey, Kilkeel, Mossley, Cookstown, Raphoe

Smyth stormer sinks Hermes

That six of the eight ties ended in 2-1 results tells the tale of an incredibly tight day of ESB Senior Cup action as Railway battled back from a goal down to beat Hermes and Loreto and UCD needed golden goals to seal places in the quarter-finals.

At St Andrew's, Hermes showed many fine qualities, exemplified by Fiona Connery, but were cracked by a tenacious Railway side who soaked up sustained first half pressure and struck with a superb second-half goal from Emma Smyth to advance.

Jenny Burke gave the Booterstown club the lead when he exploded into the circle from the right wing and, under pressure, picked off a brilliant shot to beat Helen Stevenson. It was the only time the 'keeper would be beaten as the Ireland A player kept the navy hordes at bay with a string of quality interventions.

Cecelia Joyce subsequently tied the game up before the break with a hotly-contested effort. Nikki Evans' - who made a 20-minute cameo - shot ballooned up only for Joyce to, with Emma Gray in very close proximity, tap in at close to shoulder-height.

And, in spite of second half pressure, Railway took the glory with a superb strike. Kate Dillon's overhead was taken in by Kate McKenna to feed Smyth in the circle. Dragging the ball to the vacant space wide on the right of the circle, Smyth unleashed a spectacular, chipped effort over Gray.

At Beaufort, Loreto also went through by the odd goal in three by virtue of a fine team goal. Niamh Small was on target for the second time in a week, shooting home following a pitch-length move instigated by Nikki Symmons and included contributions from Nicci Daly, Aisling Campion and Nikki Keegan.

That golden strike broke the hearts of the Ulster side who made this a high-quality tussle, typified by Symmons' battle with Emma Stewart in midfield. Ali Meeke had given Loreto the lead with an excellent, knee-high touch to round out Nicci Daly's incredible left-wing run and reverse-stick cross but Armagh were level inside two minutes courtesy of Jackie Orr.

UCD were another side who needed extra-time to progress but Kerry McComish was on hand to score her first goal in College colours to nick the win in Bray. Pembroke were the other Leinster side to advance as goals from Shona Doyle and Hilda Maguire saw the purples sneak home ahead of Glenanne.

Old Alex, however, were ambushed by Cork Harlequins at Farmer's Cross despite holding a tenth minute lead when Lucy Cotter applied an immaculate deflection to Roisin Flinn's cross. Flinn was a danger throughout but Quins always held the balance of power and were back on terms when Cliodhna Sargent smashed in a straight hit from a corner.

And Karen Bateman won the tie in the second half with a brilliantly executed first time shot to a bouncing ball, served up by Sinead McCarthy.

Munster's contingent in the competition, though, was cut in half as UCC failed to recover a 2-0 deficit at Ards while Pegasus were the only side in the competition to enjoy a modicum of comfort when they beat Randalstown 4-2.

In the Trophy, Clontarf and North Kildare were the only Leinster sides to advance. They beat NUIG and   Kilkeel respectively on 3-1 scorelines.

Avoca, Botanic, Kilkenny, Newbridge and Genesis were all bested - the latter by a very impressive Queens' side. In the late game, Weston were denied a second round date with Carrickfergus by Banbridge on golden goal.

ESB Irish Senior Cup Round 1
Hermes 1 (Jenny Burke) Railway Union 2 (Cecelia Joyce, Emma Smyth); Pembroke Wanderers 2 (Shona Doyle, Hilda Maguire) Glenanne 1 (Audrey McCormack); Loreto 2 (Ali Meeke, Niamh Small) Armagh 1 (Jackie Orr) after golden goal extra-time; Ards 2 (Katie Fraser 2) UCC 1 (Julia O’Halloran); Cork Harelquins 2 (Cliodhna Sargent, Karen Bateman) Old Alex 1 (Danielle Costigan); Pegasus 4 (Michelle Harvey, Shelley Sloan, Suzanne Beaney, Clare McMahon) Randalstown 2 (Vanessa Surgeoner, Jane McGrillen); Bray 0 UCD 1 (Kerry McComish) after golden goal extra-time; Lisnagarvey 1 (Jane Clarke) Ballymoney 2 (Lynsey McVicker, Rachel Lightbody)

ESB Irish Junior Cup
Pegasus II 1 (Hannah Clarke) Randalstown II 3 (Emma Clarke, Pamela Muir, Holly Steele)

ESB Irish Hockey Trophy:
Queens 2 Genesis 1; NUIG 1 Clontarf 3; Avoca 0 Ashton 4; Kilkenny 1 Galway 5; North Kildare 3 Kilkeel 1; Newbridge 2 Carrickfergus 3; Knock 2 Botanic 1; Banbridge 2 Weston 1 after golden goal extra-time; Parkview-Coleraine

* For Deryck Vincent's photos from the Hermes vs Railway Union game, click here

Stalemate keeps UCD and Tarf tied bottom

Leinster Division One
UCD 3 (John McInroy, Ronan Flannery, Ben Grogan) Clontarf 3 (Tom Noonan, Luke Hayden, Richie Forrest)
Richie Forrest's (pictured, right) first goal of the season stole a point for Clontarf at the death but, in truth, a draw does little for either side's aspirations of escaping the bottom tier of division one. UCD were left to rue a glut of missed chances in the second half as they dominated for long periods but the Bull's goal led a charmed life.

Early on, the students took the lead via John McInroy's deflection at corner time but strikes from Tom Noonan and Luke Hayden swapped the lead. The former Skerries man latched on to Forrest's superb 40-metre pass from right-back for the leveller before Hayden scrambled in from a tight angle for a 2-1 half-time lead. Ronan Flannery's slapped corner made it 2-2, after Rob Abbott was yellow-carded for breaking the line, and Ben Grogan's drag returned the lead to the Belfielders. But they failed to extend the advantage in spite of numerous opportunities and Forrest snuck in to score from a fluffed short corner.

* A post-match incident could be subject to an appeal/inquiry and so, in order to not jeopardise any potential case, no comments will be entertained on this matter.

Monkstown 1 (Andy Ewington) Fingal 0
Andy Ewington's corner goal was the high point of a surprisingly flat game at Rathdown as Monkstown got their defence in order to record a first clean-sheet of the league season. It came midway through the second half during the Town's best spell. Ewington worked a superb switch right and back into the centre for a close-range drag-flick. It made up for Gareth Watkins' stroke after Lloyd Pearson was struck on the body on the goal-line. But the star striker was unable to beat Nigel Grothier to leave it 0-0 at half-time. Dave Fitzgerald was belatedly brought into the action by David Bane on two occasions but, otherwise, was not overly employed.

YMCA 1 (Cliff Bailey) TRR 1 (Patrick Shanahan)
YM and Three Rock shared the points at Alexandra College this afternoon as Cliff Bailey's crisp strike made it three league draws in a row between these sides. Rovers enjoyed the best of the first half but saw stand-in goalkeeper Graeme Woods producing a string of top saves in a rare call-up to division one action in light of Iain Walker's international commitments. The one that got away fell to the impressive Patrick Shanahan who rebounded Sven Galjaardt's drag-flick. But YM started the second half in rude health and got the equaliser from a good right-wing move, finding Bailey on the circle's edge to find the bottom left of Stephen West's goal.

Men's Irish Hockey Trophy
Weston survived a whole host of sin-binnings and a red card to eventually beat Armagh 4-2 in the one Irish Hockey Trophy tie involving a Leinster side. Former Glenanne-man Enda Tucker scored twice while Phil Barron and Shane O'Hare were also on target in the win and they will now face Galway at home on November 21 in the last 16.

Railway and Hermes set for stellar showdown

No doubt where the tastiest of the ESB Senior Cup second round ties as St Andrew's hosts Hermes and Railway Union as two of the competition's big guns face off. Mick McKinnon's side have been flying thus far and showed the depth of their squad in last week's win over Glenanne as a number of players struggled with flu.

He will be hoping Helen Stevenson, Emer Lucey and Tricia O'Dwyer will show no further ill-effects and that Nikki Evans - on her first match-up against her old club - can manage more than the 20 minutes she produced last week.

Evans appears to have settled in quickly but Jean McDonnell remains the main scoring threat with two hat-tricks already to her name this year. And her combination work with Emma Smyth and Cecelia Joyce could be the unlocking of this tie.

Hermes, for their part, have had a stop-start beginning to the season but the introduction of Aine Connery and the red-hot form of Anna O'Flanagan means they have a chance. Jill Hodgins will be unavailable for first team action for the next couple of weeks as she recovers from her marathon exertions though did hint that athletics could be her new calling in an Irish Times' interview.

Old Alex face IHL opposition in Cork, travelling to Harlequin Park to face the reigning Munster champions. It will be another tough, learning curve for Ivan Ovington and Miles Warren's evolving side who have shown their capacity to battle.

A scarcity of goals to date means that fighting spirit has been the modus operandi as a series of retirements has hurried the introduction of a number of teenagers. A first win last Sunday was timely and they can treat their trip to the base Karen Bateman et al as a shot-to-nothing.

At Beaufort, Loreto's Lizzie Colvin faces her schoolgirl club, Armagh, for the first time since moving to Dublin to study at the start of 2008/09. She was the seventh of Mick McKinnon's charges to earn an international cap whilst at the club in a four year period before she moved to Loreto.

The northern visitors currently top the Ulster women's Premier League with impressive wins over the Ulster Elks and Ards though a 5-1 loss to Ballymoney last time out means their actual level remains to be determined.

Pembroke will hope to reflect more of Sunday's draw with Hermes than last Saturday's loss to Corinthian when they host Glenanne while UCD will be looking to erase memories of their controversial loss to Hermes in the league when they travel to Bray. Key to that battle is dealing with former members Linda O'Neill and Catherine Murray.

Beyond the Leinster sides, IHL newcomers Ards and UCC provide an intriguing battle. Pegasus and Randalstown is the big game involving two Ulster sides and serves as a double-header with the club's respective second teams facing off in the refixed junior cup tie.

Elsewhere, the Irish Hockey Trophy tips off with 18 of the 42 entrants into the fray. Winners Ulster Elks' elevated status means they are eligible to retain their title but finalists Catholic Institute compete once more.

Genesis are the highest-ranked Leinster-side involved this weekend and, with a solid young side, aided by the quality of Laura Barry, may fancy repeating last year's semi-final run. But they face a hazardous trip to Queen's who showed enough in the Varsities to be a force to reckon with and are currently unbeaten in Ulster's second tier.

Weston travel to Banbridge; Clontarf are off to Galway to face NUIG while Botanic are Belfast-bound to play Knock. meanwhile, there are home draws for Avoca, Newbridge, Kilkenny and North Kildare.

* The draw for the ESB Irish Senior Cup third round will be made on Sunday at 12pm in Pembroke in conjunction with the IHA's EGM. There will also be a Governance Review Presentation at this meeting. To find out more, go to www.hockey.ie.

ESB Irish Senior Cup Round Two (Saturday)
Hermes v Railway Union, 3pm, St Andrews; Pembroke v Glenanne, 2.30pm, Serpentine Ave; Loreto v Armagh, 2pm, Beaufort; Ards v UCC, 2.45pm, Ards LC; Cork Harlequins v Old Alex, 1pm, Harlequin Park; Pegasus v Randalstown, 2.30pm, Queens; Bray v UCD, 1pm, Loreto Bray; Lisnagarvey v Ballymoney, 2.30pm, Hillsboro

ESB Irish Junior Cup (Saturday)
Pegasus II v Randalstown II, 1pm, UUJ

ESB Irish Hockey Trophy (Saturday)
Banbridge v Weston, 4pm, Havelock Park; Queens v Genesis, 1pm, Queens; NUIG v Clontarf, 2pm, Dangan; Avoca v Ashton, 1pm, Newpark; Kilkenny v Galway, 3pm, Kilkenny College; Parkview v Coleraine, 2.30pm, Ballyclare HS; North Kildare v Kilkeel, 3pm, Caragh Road; Newbridge v Carrickfergus, 1pm, St Mary's Naas; Knock v Botanic, 1pm, St Coleman's School

Students and Bulls' basement battle

The international commitments of Pembroke and Glenanne sees the club's non-Ireland players take a virtual winter-break as all their fixtures for the next three weeks are off.

A potentially tough run for the 'Broke against Corinthian, Monkstown and Three Rock is on hold as a result as national coach Paul Revington has been consistent in freeing players for their domestic league.

Such a policy has filtered down and meant the clubs, unlike the previous season, have full use of their players for the domestic league. The upshot is division one has a reduced look to it but, nonetheless, throws up three intriguingly well-matched pairings.

UCD and Clontarf's tie will be the most vital. Both sides have received a lot of platitudes for their play but no points and it is time for both to start reversing that trend if they are not to become further detatched at the bottom of the table.

Neither side has broken their duck so something has to give. It could prove quite a lively affair, too, as both sides have shown decent endeavour on the counter-attack with the Bulls having found the net eight times in four games.

But Stephen Cairns' superb form between the posts has kept a few scores down and they will need to shut down the threat of Robbie McFarlane and Tim Hill on the Belfielder's home turf.

Monkstown and Fingal always serve up plenty of action and the Rathdown club's form to date suggests there will be goals galore. The greens, though, have been a little gun-shy at corner time without Mick McGuinness though Chris Neville, Paddy Gahan and Adrian Sweeney have been chipping away.

And a win for the ALSAA-men will push them right back into contention for the IHL placings, a point off the Town with a game in hand. A loss and a chasm between the top and bottom half would begin to appear.

YM are the other side looking to close that gap as Three Rock return to the site of a 3-1 humbling in the Neville Cup. That loss suggested a long season ahead but, while it has not been especially fluid at times, Rovers have managed to steady the ship with five wins from six.

That day they had nine absentees and this time out they could have a similarly long injury list as Kyle Good, Peter Blakeney, Ali Haughton, David Storey and Gavin Bourke are doubts.

For YM, its another crucial fixture if they are to step up to be an IHL contender, especially in the wake of last week's limp loss to Corinthian. Should they repeat their autumnal dominance in this fixture then it could be game on again.

Elsewhere, Weston are the only Leinster side called into action in the Irish Hockey Trophy. Northern sides dominated the competition last time round and a trip to Armagh is a tough one with the likes Stewart Kirkland and Davy Warnock set to test Alan Browne's charges to the hilt.

Consistency has been a problem for the Lucanites but Brian Scully and Alan Browne have plenty of experience on the national stage and the battling qualities to push a side currently eighth in Ulster's Senior One league.

* The draw for the men's Irish Senior Cup will be made on Sunday at 12pm in Pembroke in conjunction with the IHA's EGM. There will also be a Governance Review Presentation at this meeting. To find out more, go to www.hockey.ie.

Leinster Men Division 1 (Saturday)
Monkstown v Fingal, 1.30pm, Rathdown; UCD v Clontarf, 1pm, Belfield; YMCA v TRR, 1.30pm, Alexandra College

Men's Irish Hockey Trophy (Saturday)
Armagh v Weston, 2.30pm, Armagh; Down v South Antrim, 4pm, Donard Park

Leinster well represented in national underage panels

The training panels for the remaining Irish underage squads have been announced as squads begin to be assembled ahead of European action at U-16 level in 2010 and an international fixture schedule for the U-18s next summer.

To get the the selection ball rolling at U-18 level, 11 Leinster players were invited to last week’s girl’s first training day while on the boy’s side, 14 Leinster players got the call for training days on November 22 and December 13.

Speaking about the panel, Andy Smyth outlined the reasoning behind his extensive selection: “I consulted with the interprovincial coaches and have brought all their recommendations. I feel that they are the people who know the players better at this stage.

"I had a good look at individuals during the interpro tournament and also at others during the Irish Schools tournament. I will now get a chance to look at these players over at least 2 hard days of technical, physical and match day assessments.

“At the end of this process we will have a large squad who will take part in some or possibly the entire U-18 programme this year. It is about finding the balance between developing those players who are in their final year at U-18 hockey and having an eye on the longer term prospects for the U-18 'A' division next year."

The squad includes seven of the Wesley side that claimed the recent All-Ireland school’s title. Mark Ryan, Fiachra Maher and Mark Ingram are three players included who will be available in two years time for the Europeans.

On the girl’s side, Deirdre Duke, Gillian Pinder and Chloe Watkins are all still eligible from last year’s panel while Emily Beatty, Juliette King-Hall, Lisa McCarthy - who made her first team debut at left-back for Railway last weekend - and Aisling Naughton move up from the Irish U-16s.

At U-16 girl's level, nine Leinster players get the call as part of 35 named panellists while the U-16 boys was released a couple of weeks ago.

Leinster selections for underage squads:

U-18 Boys: 
Andrew Shekleton (Dundalk/Fingal), David McCrea (Wesley/TRR), Luke Chadwick (Wesley/YMCA), Mark Ingram (Oatlands/Railway Union), Mark Ryan (Mount Temple/Fingal), Neal Megarity (Wesley/TRR), Richard Sykes (St Andrews/Monkstown), Robert Burke (Wesley/Corinthian), Robert Fitzgerald (Wesley/YMCA), Shane Madeley (Wesley/TRR), Shane O'Donoghue (High School/Glenanne), Stephen Nolan (St Andrews/Monkstown), Tom Samuel (Wesley/TRR), Fiachra Maher (St Andrews/Railway Union)

U-16 Girls:
Kate Lenehan (Alexandra College/Old Alex), Kate Lloyd (Loreto, Dalkey/Railway Union), Anna Mae Whelan (Wesley College/Old Alex), Laura Gray (St Andrews/Hermes), Orla Macken (Rathdown/Railway Union), Emma Russell (Holy Child, Killiney/Hermes), Rachael Owens (Loreto Beaufort/Loreto), Grainne Mulkerrin (Alexandra College), Nicola Walsh (Mount Anville, Railway Union)

U-18 Girls
Rachel Barnett (Holy Faith, Clontarf/Railway Union), Emily Beatty (Old Alex/Alexandra College), Juliette King-Hall (Hermes/Newpark), Lisa McCarthy (Railway Union/Mount Anville), Aisling Naughton (Corinthian/Mount Anville), Deirdre Duke (Hermes/Alexandra College), Gillian Pinder (Hermes/St Andrews), Chloe Watkins (Hermes/St Andrews), Nicola Gray (Old Alex/Alexandra College), Patricia O'Dwyer (Railway Union/Loreto, Beaufort), Ruth Murphy (Loreto/Loreto, Beaufort)

Ireland complete WCQ build-up on a high

England 4 Ireland 4 (Alan Sothern 2, Conor Harte, Peter Caruth)
Paul Revington’s charges concluded their build-up to the World Cup Qualifers with a morale-boosting draw against recently crowned European champions England, denied the win only by Richie Mantell’s late equaliser.

That drag-flick concluded an exceptionally lively second half after an end-to-end first period had finished scoreless.

England took the lead in the 40th minute with a deflection but Conor Harte’s penalty corner tied the game up two minutes later. The Lilleshall hosts rebounded a smart Iain Walker save to restore the lead but Alan Sothern struck in the 50th and 51st minutes to give Ireland the lead for the first time.

England made it even for the third time in the game from a corner but Caruth and Cargo combined to dispossess the English defence inside the 25 with the Annadale man on hand to tap home Ireland’s fourth.

Mantell, though, struck inside the last minute to end a lively affair. Ireland return home today before departing for the World Cup Qualifiers in Argentina on Monday.

Late double denies Ireland

Ireland 2 (Andy McConnell, Eugene Magee) England 4
Ireland’s men lost the first of their uncapped double-header against England this evening in Lilleshall in a high tempo warm-up game ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.

The European champions took the lead in the ninth minute but Andy McConnell’s (pictured) fine solo goal, breaking down the left wing before shooting a reverse-stick shot over the advancing goalkeeper, made it 1-1 on 15 minutes.

England retook the lead in the 31st minute, finding the endline with the ball for a second time to set up a simple tap-in for a 2-1 half-time advantage.

Eugene Magee levelled for a second time when he picked up fellow Dragon Geoff McCabe’s driven pass and promptly reversed home.

But two goals inside the last 13 minutes meant England took the bragging rights, the latter an Ashley Jackson thunderbolt. The sides face off again on Thursday at 1pm in what will be Paul Revington's last warm-up game before his side flies out to Argentina.

Hodgins impresses in New York: News in brief

* Hermes’ Jill Hodgins produced a stunning run last weekend as she slashed nearly 14 minutes off her personal best marathon time in New York.

She completed the world’s largest marathon in a time of 2:52.21; good enough to see her finish as 24th woman overall and sixth in her class.

It also catapulted her to ninth in the all-time Irish list in just her third encounter with the 26.2 mile distance, having previously completed the Toronto and Dublin equivalents.

* Ireland’s Over 40s finished a creditable fifth in their first shot at the International Masters Hockey Tournament in Hong Kong.

They picked up wins against the host nation (3-2) and Singapore (1-0) from their six matches in a high quality field which featured greats from Australia, New Zealand and England.