Women's Hockey Leinster Senior Cup final: Loreto - 3 Pembroke - 1 Loreto put an end to a two-year losing run in Leinster Senior Cup finals at Grange Road yesterday when they beat Pembroke Wanderers 3-1, avenging last year's defeat on strokes by the same team. The final never quite matched the drama of that encounter but was lit up by an exquisite Wendy Byrne goal in the first half.
Before that opening score, in the 21st minute, there hadn't been much to choose between the teams, with Louise O'Hagan and Lorna Hill enjoying plenty of possession down Pembroke's right, but only Mary Goode was tested when, in the opening minute, she made a smart save from Cathy McKean's effort from an Orla Ryan cross.
Byrne, though, broke the deadlock with a quite wonderful goal, sweeping home, first time, a free-hit by McKean on the right, the ball rocketing in to the top left corner of Goode's goal.
But Pembroke, who had already lost twice to Loreto in the league this season, fought back, Siobhan Kane levelling from their first short corner of the game, six minutes before the break, when she drilled the ball in to the bottom left corner. And Kane might have given Pembroke the lead in the 40th minute but for an alert Louisa Healy who saved the forward's snapshot from the right.
Ten minutes later, however, Loreto were back in front after McKean was stick tackled in the circle, Sarah O'Meara converting the resulting stroke. McKean sealed the win in the 59th minute, when Caitriona O'Kelly, influential as ever in midfield, picked her out on the right post from Loreto's fifth and final corner of the game. It was McKean's 32nd goal of the season, in just 22 games - only Pegasus and Hermes (twice) have kept her scoreless all season.
It is now 13 months since Loreto lost a game, excluding that strokes' defeat by Pembroke, to Leinster opponents (Old Alexandra beat them in the league in February of last year) and if they overcome Genesis at Belfield on Saturday they will complete the Leinster League and Cup double.
LORETO: L Healy, T O'Keeffe, S O'Meara, A M Cullen, O Ryan, J O'Neill, C O'Kelly, W Byrne, N Lyons (capt), C McKean, N Keegan. Subs: J Lynch, C Grealy, S Cooney, S Walsh.
PEMBROKE: M Goode, A O'Gorman, S Clarke, J Morris, O Canavan, L O'Hagan, W Moffett, E MacNicholas, L Hill, K Little, S Kane. Subs: C Hayes (capt), V Doran, R Brophy, K Henderson.
Umpires: J Beamish and C Kelly.
Cork Harlequins won their eighth successive Munster Senior Cup at Farmer's Cross yesterday, beating Bandon 5-1 in the final. Karen Barry gave Bandon a surprise early lead but the Munster champions were level by half-time. Emer Dillon scored a hat-trick with Jane Chapple and Karen Bateman completing the scoring.
