A point from their league match against Old Alexandra at Belfield tomorrow and a victory over Loreto at Grange Road on Sunday would make it a weekend never to be forgotten for Hermes Hockey Club. That point would clinch them the Leinster Senior A title, and a win the following day, at Grange Road, would give them a place in the final of the Leinster Senior Cup.
Having postponed their league fixture against Trinity, so that they have a free day before their cup semi-final against Hermes II, defending champions Muckross can only sit back and hope that Alex show some of the form that won them a place in the Irish Senior Cup final. Muckross, six points behind the leaders in second place, need Alex to reverse their defeat by Hermes earlier this season, when Zanya Dahl scored the only goal of the game, if the race for the title is to extend beyond this weekend. To allow them extra practice on the pitch where they will play Pegasus in the Irish Cup final later this month, Alex have ceded home advantage to Hermes, whose record at Belfield this season is formidable: they have won seven and drawn one of their eight league games.
Hermes' second team could give the club further cause for celebration on Sunday if they upset Leinster Senior Cup holders Muckross in the first of the day's semi-finals. In the second, Loreto will hope to make up for their disappointing recent run in the league by beating Hermes. Meanwhile, it is expected that a new Irish coach and assistant coach will be named in the next fortnight by the Irish Ladies Hockey Union, five months after the resignation of Terry Gregg and his assistant, Peter McCabe. The new team will have a Four Nations Tournament at Belfield in May (where France, Wales and Italy will be the opposition) to help their preparations for July's European championship qualifying tournament in Helsinki.
One of the applicants for the Irish job, Trinity coach Harold de Jong, has confirmed that he will take temporary charge of Muck ross for their European Club Championship campaign in May.
