Their season began in defeat back in September, when they were beaten 2-0 by Loreto on the opening day of the Leinster League. Since then, however, Old Alexandra have been on a roll, collecting maximum points from six games. If they can inflict the first defeat of the season on Hermes this Sunday, the race for the Senior A title will be thrown wide open.
Wednesday night's 2-1 win over Trinity was the first time David Judge's team conceded a league goal since the Loreto defeat, and they have maintained that form in both cup competitions. They are through to the quarter-finals of the Leinster Senior Cup and second round of the Irish Cup, after beating Loreto 3-1 in the first round. The 0-0 draw between Hermes and Muckross a fortnight ago allowed Old Alexandra to close the gap on the top two, and they now trail Hermes by just four points with a game in hand. Fourthplaced Loreto also have an opportunity to revive their title hopes this weekend, after drawing three and losing one of their last six games, when they play Muckross at Rathdown tomorrow.
In Munster, Harlequins and Belvedere meet in a dress rehearsal for their Irish Senior Cup second round tie on Saturday week. But Bandon, who were due to play Pegasus in Belfast in the same round, have withdrawn from the competition because they do not have the players to fulfil the fixture. The club have lost five of their squad from last season and would have been without three of their Munster under-18 players for the trip to Belfast. Meanwhile, in Kilkenny, Leinster and Ulster defend their under-16 and under-18 titles, respectively, in the Interprovincial tournament. The under-16 event takes place at Scanlon Park, while Kilkenny College hosts the under-18 tournament.
In England, two of the players named in the Irish squad for January's training week in Spain, Sarah Kelleher and Maria Merrigan, will be in cup action this weekend: Kelleher's Slough take on Blackburn Northern and Merrigan's Loughborough travel to Luton. Merrigan, the former England under-21 defender, has Irish parents and hence qualifies to play for Ireland.
