WOMEN'S HOCKEY/Round-Up: A record of four wins out of four, 12 goals scored and none conceded gave Leinster an emphatic success at the under-21 interprovincial tournament in Belfast over the weekend, where they won their first title at this level since 1985.
Ger Butler's team clinched the Vera McWeeney Cup with a 2-0 win over Ulster in the final game of the tournament, their goals, one in each half, coming from Pembroke Wanderers' Sarah Clarke and UCD's Barbara Fitzgerald - they could even afford to miss a penalty stroke.
On Saturday, Eimear Horan (UCD), Nikki Symmons (Loreto) and Sarah Walker (Corinthian) gave Leinster a comfortable 3-0 win over holders Munster, before beating South-East 5-0 with goals from Horan (two), Clarke and UCD pair Linda O'Neill and Jean McDonnell .
Their 2-0 victory over Connacht yesterday morning left Ulster, who had been held to a draw by Munster, needing to win the final game of the tournament to regain the title they had won for 14 years in a row until last year, but they were no match for an outstanding Leinster team.
"They played super hockey and were an absolute pleasure to work with," said Leinster assistant coach Sarah Hilliard of a young squad, 11 of whom will be eligible for the under-21s again next year.
"Every one of them was fantastic," said Butler, "but Catherine Murray, Linda O'Neill and Leanne Ryan were out of this world."
Ryan, the Old Alexandra forward who only turned 18 recently, was a revelation for Leinster over the weekend, while UCD's Murray and O'Neill, already Irish under-21 internationals, did their hopes of a senior call-up no harm at all.
The youngest player in the squad, Loreto Bray's Isobel Joyce, also earned Butler's praises - she was two when Leinster last tasted success in the under-21 interprovincials.
Ulster had to settle for second place in the tournament, pipping Munster on goal difference.
Connacht's 2-1 win over South-East on Saturday (they were denied a draw against Ulster by a last-minute penalty stroke save by Sharon Moffett) was enough to give them fourth place in the table.
