HOCKEY: With several of their fellow World Cup finalists arriving in Australia only at the weekend, Ireland completed their 10th day of preparations at their Bunbury base with a 3-0 win over a touring Canada side on Saturuday, with Jenny Burke bringing her tally to 10 goals in her last eight games.
Australia's 9-0 win over the Canadians yesterday, however, put Ireland's success into perspective and underlined just why coach Riet Kuper expressed some frustration after Saturday's game that the margin of victory hadn't been greater.
Laura Lee opened the scoring after six minutes, firing home Rachael Kohler's pass from the top of the circle, but Ireland had to wait another 45 minutes before finally capitalising on their domination and stretching the lead, and by then Tara Browne had been called upon to make a smart stick save low to her right from a Canadian short corner.
It was Burke who made it 2-0, following the breakdown of a corner, and the Hermes forward completed the scoring five minutes from time, neatly deflecting Kohler's through-ball past the Canadian goalkeeper.
Kohler and Jill Orbinson are suffering from trapped nerves in their left shoulder, but Germany's request to postpone yesterday's planned friendly until tomorrow, because they arrived in Australia only on Saturday, will at least give the midfielders an extra 48 hours to recover.
At home, NUIG flew the flag for Connacht in the first round of the Sharwood's Irish Senior Cup, beating Railway Union 1-0 with a short corner strike from Pamela Ryan. A Laura McCoy penalty stroke in extra time gave Trinity a 2-1 win over Glenanne, who had taken the lead 10 minutes from time through Mary Waldron, before McCoy's late equaliser forced extra time.
Munster's Bandon, Belvedere and Church of Ireland all went through to the second round, beating Ballyclare, Galway and Greenfields respectively, while Belfast Harlequins won the day's only all-Ulster tie, beating Coleraine 4-2. A Kathy Johnson hat-trick helped Corinthian to an emphatic 9-0 win over Parkview at Jordanstown.
Clontarf are top of the Leinster second division after drawing with Hermes II on Saturday and beating Three Rock, their first defeat of the season, 4-2 yesterday, with Linda Waters scoring a hat-trick.
Two goals from Karen O'Brien gave Harlequins a 2-0 win over UCC in Munster, while Pegasus beat Ballymoney in the Ulster Shield with a Joanne Campbell double. The season, meanwhile, goes from bad to worse for UUJ: they lost 16-0 to Randalstown in the league.
