Pembroke moved inside touching distance of the ladies’s EY Hockey League title as they bided their time earlier than beating Belfast Harlequins on Saturday to maneuver 5 factors clear on the prime.
That 3-0 success mixed with Catholic Institute’s 4-2 defeat to Loreto places them in prime place with two rounds of fixtures to go to win the title for the primary time.
The primary half was scoreless with each side having corners blocked whereas Pembroke had the sting when it comes to common play however couldn’t break by means of.
They did get on the board in Q3 when Ellen Curran turned over possession to earn a nook which was scored by Amy-Kate Trevor, her shot ballooning in through a deflection.
It was not a cushty lead, although, as Quins – powered by an superior efficiency from Jane Kilpatrick – made various sturdy probabilities on the counter and had a few corners.
However the recreation was made secure within the closing 5 minutes when Rachel O’Brien bought to the left baseline and laid the ball on a plate for Sinead Loughran to faucet in on the again submit.
And Orla Macken completed off the victory with a flourish, capturing in a backhand shot from a ultimate second nook for 3-0.
After three attracts of their earlier 4 outings, the victory put paid to ideas of a wobble they usually can win the title subsequent Saturday with a draw or higher in Limerick in opposition to Insta.
For Institute, they have been undone by a cracking efficiency from Loreto whose frontline of Aoife Taaffe, Siofra O’Brien and Yasmin Pratt have been an actual handful.
Aisling Murray and Taaffe had the Beaufort aspect 2-1 up at half-time and Taaffe then put distance between the groups with a purpose of the season contender with a rocket backhand shot.
Hannah Matthews’ deflected nook prolonged the benefit, rendering Naomi Carroll’s camogie-style end a comfort. The Limerick aspect did bounce again on Sunday to succeed in the Irish Senior Cup semi-finals for the primary time after they beat Banbridge 5-0.
On the backside of the EYHL, Cork Harlequins have been formally relegated as they misplaced 4-1 at residence to Previous Alex.
However the different spot stays very a lot a stay concern following Muckross’s 3-1 Sunday win over Belfast Harlequins with Sarah Quill, Sophie Barnwell and Emma Mathews making the distinction.
Each side had misplaced on Saturday with Muckross falling 3-0 to Pegasus however they bounced again to maneuver as much as seven factors and inside two of Belfast Quins.
The Ulster aspect have been shy on personnel for this key tie with Jane Kilpatrick away on Irish responsibility and various different gamers unavailable on account of Covid.
UCD, in the meantime, edged out Railway Union 1-0 as the competition for the playoff locations continues to twist and switch. By the top of the weekend, Railway – regardless of final week’s heroics – are on the surface in seventh place, a degree behind UCD and three again from Loreto.
In EYHL2, Monkstown confirmed their place within the promotion playoff semi-finals with a 4-1 away win over Queen’s in Pool 2 whereas Lurgan jumped into third place with a 3-1 success over NUIG.
In Pool 1, Ards took a giant step towards topping the group with a 5-0 away win over Trinity with Zara Malseed getting a hat trick. UCC strengthened their maintain a playoff place with a 7-2 success over under-strength Galway.
EYHL Division 1
Saturday: Cork Harlequins 1 (L O’Shea) Previous Alex 4 (J McGirr 2, A Russell, M O’Donnell); Loreto 4 (A Taaffe 2, A Murray, H Matthews) Catholic Institute 2 (L Clery, N Carroll); Muckross 0 Pegasus 3 (A Speers 2, N McIvor); Pembroke 3 (A-Okay Trevor, S Loughran, O Macken) Belfast Harlequins 0; Railway Union 0 UCD 1 (A Naughton)
Sunday: Muckross 3 (S Quill, S Barnwell, E Mathews) Belfast Harlequins 1 (J Watt)
Irish Senior Cup, quarter-final: Banbridge 0 Catholic Institute 5 (N Carroll, L Clery, H Kelly, J Clein, C O’Shea)
EYHL Division 2
Pool 1: Trinity 0 Ards 5 (Z Malseed 3, E Robinson, C Adams); UCC 7 (C Dring 2, L Ryan 2, A O’Mahony, E O’Sullivan, N Barry) Galway 2 (A Manley, A McDonnell)
Pool 2: NUIG 1 (F Timmins) Lurgan 3 (J-A Reid, C McBride, L Thompson); Queens College 1 (S McDowell) Monkstown 4 (E Kealy 2, R Carthy, C Watkins)
Irish Junior Cup – Semi-Finals: Corinthian II 4 Railway Union II 2; Pembroke II 3 Queens College II 0
