WOMEN'S HOCKEY / All-Ireland Club Championships: When Pegasus conceded a goal to Hermes' Jenny Burke in the deciding game of last year's club championships it put paid to the Belfast side's quest for their sixth successive club title and ended a 16-match unbeaten run in the tournament dating back to 1998.
Hermes, then, go into this weekend's tournament as defending champions, having finished as runners-up to Pegasus in their four previous appearances, with Pegasus intent on regaining their crown to complete their first Irish cup and club double since 1998.
The Ulster champions, of course, enjoyed a measure of revenge in the Irish Cup final earlier this month, when they beat Hermes 2-1, but judging by their quarter-final displays against Cork Harlequins (they won 3-0 home and away) the form of the Leinster side, with internationals Linda Caulfield, Jenny Burke and Fiona Connery fully reintegrated again, has improved noticeably since then.
It is unlikely, though, that this weekend will be a repeat of the 2001 finals, when Old Alexandra and Loreto, who also made the line-up that year, failed to mount a serious challenge to the big two's domination of the tournament - although Loreto did manage to hold Pegasus to a scoreless draw in the opening game.
Loreto shouldn't be short on confidence going into the weekend. They have played 27 league and cup matches against Irish opposition this season and only lost the once, to Pegasus in the cup quarter-finals.
They're unbeaten in five games against Alexandra and Hermes, winning two and drawing three, so should be capable of challenging this time around. They open the tournament against Hermes tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Alexandra finished without a point in 2001 but their campaign in last May's finals was infinitely more impressive, beating Cork Harlequins and drawing with Pegasus and Hermes to finish runners-up. Indeed, they were 15 minutes away from taking the title when Burke's goal against Pegasus clinched it for Hermes.
"Our aim this year is to win the tournament, without having to rely on other results," said Alexandra coach Orla Bell. "We've had a good steady league campaign, with results against the top opposition in the latter half of the season better overall than the first. We've been boosted by the return of Nikki King (the Irish goalkeeper), although Shauna Frey did fantastically well in her absence. With the likes of Leanne Ryan and Sarah Gleeson in the squad, the future looks good."
Alexandra start their campaign against Pegasus tomorrow (4.0).
The Ulster side is the only team so far guaranteed European hockey next season. If they regain their title on Monday they will play in the 2005 European Club Championships, with Hermes taking their place in the Cup Winners' Cup.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
CLUB FINALS (at Belfield) - Tomorrow: Hermes v Loreto, 10.0; Old Alexandra v Pegasus, 4.0. Sunday: Hermes v Pegasus, 12.0; Loreto v Old Alexandra, 2.0. Monday: Hermes v Old Alexandra, 9.30; Loreto v Pegasus, 1.30.
HERMES: T Browne, C Quinlan, L Jacob, C Carey, J Hodgins, J Osborne (capt), D Kelly, C Devine, F Connery, J Burke, A Keane, L Caulfield, A Mitchell, M Logue, D McDermott, A Connery, A McCarthy, S Hilliard. Coach: Aidan Kidney
LORETO: L Healy, T O'Keeffe, J Lynch, C Grealy, W Byrne, N Symmons, N Keegan, C McKean, S Cooney, S O'Meara, N Lyons (capt), O Ryan, C O'Kelly, C Sharkey, A M Cullen, A O'Connell, J O'Neill, L O'Neill. Coach: Siobhan Keogh.
OLD ALEXANDRA: N King, C Griffin, T Conway, O Bell, U Budd, L Ryan, Z Dahl, K Hiles, G O'Shea, A Bowers (capt), S Gleeson, J Perrin, S O'Connor, E O'Reilly, L Smith, H Agar, S Frey. Coach: Orla Bell.
PEGASUS: S Moffett, S Richardson, K McCollum, N Graham, S Wilkinson, F Ferguson, C Redpath, P Magill, K Maybin, S Martin, C McMahon, K Simpson, C Rabbit, A Boyles (capt), K Humphreys, J Campbell. Coach: Erika Henry.
