Johnny Watterson
Round one of the Munster Senior League challenge went to Cork Harlequins on Saturday when they travelled to Garyduff and came away with the points after a late short corner goal by David Eakins.
The 2-1 result puts Harlequins firmly in the driving seat and barring any slips between now and their next meeting, with C of I, they must fancy themselves to carry off the title.
When it looked as though the teams might finish level after Ali Dunne of C of I and David Egner exchanged first-half goals, Eakins popped up with the corner to settle the match.
In Leinster, a couple of unusual results gave hope to one or two sides and grave disappointment to others. Three Rock Rovers surprisingly went down 2-1 to Railway Union, giving the Park Avenue side a much-needed lift but one that does not take them off the bottom of the table, while Monkstown conceded seven goals to Corinthians.
Having faced up to the considerable threat of Pembroke last week in St Andrew's, Monkstown looked in good shape to also stand up to Corinthians. If anything it shows what a good attacking side Corinthians are, the score putting them just a point behind Pembroke at the top of the table. Robbie Byrnes added four goals to his growing tally.
Pembroke went a step further than Corinthians and knocked in nine goals against hapless UCD, who hit two in reply. No real surprise here except perhaps that Justin Sherriff claimed no more than one goal, Simon Kershaw taking the lion's share with four.
Elsewhere, the other university side in division one fared much better. The Mauritius Cup winners, Trinity, surprisingly outscored Glenanne 2-1, enough to put them higher than Railway, UCD and YMCA on the table. A penalty stroke from Ian Hosford in the second half settled the issue.
The Irish Senior Cup first round was also completed, North Down, Mossley, Raphoe and Suttonians all coming through. Raphoe must now travel to Dublin to meet Avoca in the second round, while Suttonians go to Antrim.
Clontarf, one of the leading Leinster teams in division two, have drawn a trip to the PSNI in Belfast.
l Details in SPORTS ROUND-UP
