Giants refuse to be knocked out

Women's Hockey: It's an indication of how few upsets there have been in this season's ESB Irish Senior Cup that the line-up …

Women's Hockey: It's an indication of how few upsets there have been in this season's ESB Irish Senior Cup that the line-up for the quarter-finals bears a striking similarity to the same stage of last season's club championships. Giant-killing, then, was in short supply in Saturday's third round ties, with all the fancied teams going through.

Only two of the top eight clubs from last season, Randalstown and Cork Harlequins, were knocked out, but they might have feared such a fate when they were drawn away to Pegasus and Pembroke Wanderers. Harlequins, though, were left to rue a marvellous goalkeeping display by Emer Ryan, the successor in the Pembroke goal to Harlequins' Mary Goode.

Twice Ryan denied Karen Bateman from short corners, and saved from Norma Brady and Jan Dillon, as the Munster side tried to convert their early superiority into goals. But Ryan helped see to it that the breakthrough never came for the visitors, and the game instead was decided by a beautifully-taken Wendy Hobson goal seven minutes before the break.

Pembroke, then, go through to the last eight where they have been drawn at home to Old Alexandra, 3-1 winners away to Omagh on Saturday.

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The other all-Leinster quarter-final tie is a repeat of the 2002 final, Loreto v Hermes. Both had comfortable victories, Loreto beating Lisnagarvey 5-1 and Hermes 3-0 winners over the University of Limerick.

Munster will, though, have a representative in the quarter-finals after Church of Ireland's fine 3-2 win away to Ards. But while they'll be relieved to be at home, they could have done without being drawn against Pegasus, who beat them 5-0 in Garryduff in the Club Championships last season.

Alex Speers celebrated her call-up to the Irish squad with a goal for Pegasus against Randalstown, with Sarah Wilkinson completing the scoring, while Ballymoney won the second of the round's all-Ulster ties, beating Belfast Harlequins 6-2, with Diane McNeill and Áine Kearney scoring two apiece. Ballymoney will play the winners of the tie between Railway Union and Armagh who meet next Saturday.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times