HOCKEY: After another fruitful weekend for the club Loreto still have four trophies in their sights, with a European Cup Winners' Cup campaign also to come
On Saturday a 10-0 win over Glenanne in the league moved them to within three points of leaders Hermes, who they then beat 4-1 in the semi-finals of the Leinster Senior Cup at Grange Road yesterday. Pembroke Wanderers beat Corinthian 5-1 in the second semi-final and will meet Loreto in the St Patrick's Day final.
Cathy McKean opened the scoring after just five minutes for Loreto, turning home a centre from the left, but Hermes levelled through Dawn Kelly in the 17th minute when she pounced on a weak clearance from a corner.
Loreto went on to avenge last year's final defeat in style, scoring three more goals in the second half. A thunderous Nikki Symmons shot from the right beat Tara Browne in the Hermes goal four minutes after the break, after she had saved the forward's first effort, and Sarah Scott converted a Sarah O'Meara cross to make it 3-1. Hermes fought back but Louisa Healy denied Mary Logue and Kelly saw an effort go just wide. McKean sealed the win in the final minute, finishing off a superb Loreto counter-attack.
Any hopes Corinthian had of upsetting Pembroke ended in a 13-minute first-half spell when they conceded four goals, two each to Sarah Clarke and Viv Doran. Clarke completed her hat-trick in the second half before Kathy Johnston scored a late consolation for Corinthian.
Glenanne's defeat by Loreto on Saturday ensures they will finish bottom of Senior A and are likely to be relegated, with Three Rock and Clontarf currently filling the top two spots in Senior B. UCD moved up to third in Senior A with a 4-1 win over Trinity while Old Alexandra, who have a game in hand on the top three, rose to fourth after beating Genesis 5-0.
Ulster retained the Junior Interprovincial title at Deramore yesterday by beating Leinster 1-0, with a first-half goal from Joanne Campbell, in the decisive game. Before then Ulster and Leinster had won all their games, with Munster finishing third ahead of South-East.
Pegasus, with Arlene Boyles and Claire McMahon back in action, put a halt to their recent losing run by beating Knock 2-0 on Saturday but Ards remain top of the table after their 2-1 win over Ballymena. Two goals from Karen Bateman helped Cork Harlequins to a 4-1 win over the University of Limerick in the semi-final of the Munster Cup - the holders will meet Catholic Institute, 2-1 winners over Bandon, in the final.
