HOCKEY:There are a couple of teams who won't thank the hand that drew them out of the hat for the fourth round of the Irish Senior Cup. Both Cork sides, Harlequins and C of I as well as Three Rock Rovers and Pembroke may be thinking they could have done without this familiarity so soon.
C of I, the current holders, meet neighbours Harlequins in the next round, while Pembroke, who defeated Instonians 2-1 away over the weekend, meet Dublin rivals Three Rock Rovers in two local derbies on January 27th.
All four teams would have aspirations to go far in this competition, but now both C of I and Rovers may struggle to make it through to the next round. It's more the pity for the Cork sides as they play each other twice in the league every season in a match that usually decides the Munster title race.
Recently it has been Harlequins who have had the upper hand for league honours and their 2-1 win over Monkstown should give them confidence for the next round while C of I's 9-1 defeat of North Down will have done likewise, Ireland's John Jermyn grabbing five goals there.
Pembroke, however, probably had the more encouraging win of the weekend. Away goals from Justin Sherriff and Craig Foulton were just enough to take the Instonians' scalp. Chris Barne's strike was all the Belfast side could muster against a team who have serious designs on winning the competition outright. Pembroke's ability has been the range of players who regularly pop up to score goals. Last week it was Gordon Elliott and Alan Sothern, this week the two internationals.
But Rovers too are entitled to believe in themselves after knocking in eight goals against UCC in something of a mismatch. Peter Blakeney's four goals there keeps him high in the Rovers' scoring ladder after he knocked in two last week.
Glenanne defeated Skerries 8-1 and that rewards them with an away game against Belfast Harlequins in Deramore. Glenanne may look at the Belfast club's 2-0 win over Belvedere and think they have a reasonable chance of making the next round.
Both Bray and UCD are celebrating decent cup runs but early next year they face big tasks when they travel to Cookstown and Banbridge respectively.
