UCD and Railway set to stay at the top

WOMEN'S HOCKEY: After last weekend’s rather breathless events at Belfield, when Railway Union fought back for a draw after trailing…

WOMEN'S HOCKEY:After last weekend's rather breathless events at Belfield, when Railway Union fought back for a draw after trailing UCD 4-0, it should, if the league table doesn't lie, be "as you were" after tomorrow's Leinster Division One games, the top five all playing teams from the lower half.

And of that five only Hermes are away, to second-from-bottom North Kildare, so, barring any upsets, UCD and Railway should still be level on points at the top of the table after the fixtures, with Loreto, Hermes and Alexandra three, four and six points behind, respectively.

Glenanne, Corinthian, Pembroke Wanderers, North Kildare and Trinity will, though, hope to ruffle a top five feather or two.

Hermes and Railway will be in action again on Sunday when they square up in Booterstown in the semi-finals of the Jacqui Potter Cup, while earlier in the day at Beaufort the home crowd will, to say the least, endure divided loyalties when Loreto’s firsts play Loreto’s seconds.

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Ashton are Munster’s sole representatives in the quarter-finals of the Irish Junior Cup, the Cork club hosting Railway’s seconds tomorrow. There are two Ulster v Leinster ties, Lurgan v Pembroke and Lisnagarvey v UCD, while Hermes and Alexandra meet in the only all-Leinster affair.

WEEKEND FIXTURES

Tomorrow – Leinster League, Division One: North Kildare v Hermes, Kilcock, 11.30; Old Alexandra v Pembroke Wanderers, Milltown, 12.15; Railway Union v Trinity, Park Avenue, 12.30; UCD v Glenanne, Belfield, 1pm; Loreto v Corinthian, Beaufort, 4pm. Irish Junior Cup, quarter-finals: Hermes v Old Alexandra, St Andrews, 3pm; Lurgan v Pembroke Wanderers, Lurgan JHS, 2.30; Ashton v Railway Union, Ashton, 1pm; Lisnagarvey v UCD, Comber Road, 1pm.

Sunday – Leinster Jacqui Potter Cup, semi-finals: Loreto v Loreto II, Beaufort, 1.15; Hermes v Railway Union, St Andrews, 3.30.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times