Railway Union began their quest for a third Irish Hockey League title in a row in style on Saturday, beating Lurgan 7-0 at Park Avenue in their opening pool A fixture. Sinead Dooley and Alex Speers each scored two, the margin of victory putting the champions top of the table.

UCD and Catholic Institute also picked up four points each from their pool A ties. Gillian Pinder got the only goal of the game for the students against Hermes yesterday. Greenfields had the perfect start to their IHL debut when they scored in the opening minute against Institute, but the Limerick side rallied at Dangan, international Naomi Carroll scoring twice in their 3-1 victory.

In pool B, Pegasus, Ards and Loreto all opened with wins, leaving Old Alexandra, Ballymoney and Cork Harlequins playing catch-up, none of them earning a bonus point. A Chloe Brown hat-trick helped Ards to a 4-0 defeat of Ulster rivals Ballymoney, while Pegasus eased to a 5-2 win over Alexandra, having led 5-0.