WOMENS HOCKEY: Five years after she left for UCD Irish international Ciara O'Brien marked her return to Railway Union with the winning goal for Una McCarthy's side against Three Rock at Grange Road on Saturday, while defending Leinster champions Loreto opened the defence of their title with an emphatic 6-0 defeat of newly-promoted Clontarf.
Railway had the better of Saturday's game but had to endure a second-half fright when Three Rock scored but had a goal disallowed. O'Brien, though, clinched the points in the final 10 minutes, her shot taking a deflection off a defender's stick to deceive goalkeeper Katie Cassidy.
Clontarf held their own against Loreto at Beaufort in the opening 20 minutes but once the home side found their range from penalty corners there was no stopping them.
Five of their six goals came from corners, Sarah O'Meara converting the sixth from a penalty stroke, with Caitriona O'Kelly and Orla Ryan scoring two apiece.
First division life should become easier for Clontarf, having got their away fixture against the champions out of the way, but, ominously enough for the Loreto's rivals, the champions were without six of their squad yesterday, including internationals Nikki Symmons and Linda O'Neill.
Like Clontarf, Genesis would not have expected to take much from their opening game but they restricted All-Ireland champions Hermes to a single goal in the first half at Belfield, before conceding three more after the break - Lisa Jacob, Linda Caulfield, Aisling Keane and Aoife Mitchell were Hermes' scorers.
USA international Molly Powers made her debut for Hermes but picked up an injury after just five minutes.
Only a point separated Pembroke Wanderers and Corinthian at the end of last year's campaign and only a single goal divided them in Saturday's game in Ballsbridge. Wendy Cullen (née Moffett) got the second-half score to give Pembroke coach Jonathan Harte a winning start.
Ulster champions Pegasus, who have been rejoined by Laura Lee this season, were two goals up, through Sarah Wilkinson and Kirsty McCollum, against Coleraine (third last season) after just nine minutes on Saturday but could only add two more scores, from Karen Humphreys and Claire McMahon, in the remainder of the game.
