Loreto stick to their task

Women's Hockey: There were no major upsets in the second round of the Leinster Jacqui Potter Cup on Saturday, with holders Loreto…

Women's Hockey: There were no major upsets in the second round of the Leinster Jacqui Potter Cup on Saturday, with holders Loreto coming from a goal down to beat Pembroke Wanderers.

Hermes, Old Alexandra, Railway Union, Corinthian and Clontarf, along with two second division teams, Loreto II and Hermes II, also made it into the draw for the quarter-finals which will be played next month.

Three Rock thought they had kept their interest in the competition alive with a last-minute equaliser against Corinthian, but, with a mere six seconds left on the clock, Suzanne Murphy snatched the winner for the home team (3-2). Their reward is a home tie in the last eight against Hermes, who beat Old Alexandra II 4-0.

Railway Union's 5-1 win over Genesis earns them a home game against Hermes II, who beat Loreto III 2-0, while Loreto's seconds, 6-1 winners over Diocesan, will play Clontarf, who beat Muckross 2-1.

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The tie of the next round, though, is the pairing of Old Alexandra and Loreto at Milltown. Goals from Anya Bowers, Trish Conway, Zanya Dahl and Aisling Flinn gave Alexandra a comfortable 4-0 win over Glenanne, but Loreto fell behind to a Lorna Hill goal and needed a Nikki Keegan equaliser and an Orla Ryan winner 10 minutes from time to see off Pembroke's challenge.

In Ulster, a late winner against Randalstown from Bridget McKeever moved Ballymoney to within a point of Pegasus at the top of the table.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times