WOMEN'S HOCKEY: On the face of it home advantage should make Loreto and Pembroke Wanderers the favourites to win through to next month's Sharwood's Irish Senior Cup final, but home advantage didn't count for much the last time the teams met tomorrow's semi-final opponents, Old Alexandra and Cork Harlequins, at Beaufort and Serpentine Avenue.
A week ago Alexandra put a dent in Loreto's title-winning hopes by beating them 2-1 at Milltown, the same scoreline by which they won October's league fixture in Beaufort. Harlequins held Pembroke to a scoreless draw at Serpentine in the first leg of last season's club championship quarter-finals, before trouncing them 5-0 at Farmers' Cross.
Tomorrow's away teams, then, have much cause for optimism, not least Harlequins who beat Pembroke in Dublin in the quarter-finals en route to winning the cup three years ago. Karen Bateman (nee O'Brien) insists those successes count for nothing.
"Pembroke are a different team now, with new coaches too, so those games are history. Of course we take confidence from those results and they help us believe we can go to Serpentine and win, but we have every respect for Pembroke because they've been doing so well in Leinster this season. It's a terrible thing to say, I know, but we drop our pace when we play in Munster, that's just the way it is, the standard is not the same."
Loreto coach Tom O'Donoghue is hoping his side's recent results against their Leinster rivals can be consigned to history tomorrow when the holders take on an Alexandra side that produced the result of the competition so far, beating Pegasus 3-0 in the quarter-finals.
"We certainly won't be taking Alex for granted because they've beaten us twice this season," he said. "In both games we felt we created more chances but Nikki King (Alexandra goalkeeper) has been on top of her game and has dealt well with anything we have thrown at her. We were disappointed with our performance last week so I would like to think the girls will be sufficiently motivated to turn in a much improved performance."
Loreto will be without their captain Nikki Lyons, who damaged ankle ligaments against Alexandra last week, but the rest of the squad is fit, including top-scorer Nikki Symmons. Symmons caught the eye of Ireland coach Riet Kuper against UCD in the quarter-finals, boosting her hopes of a recall to the Ireland squad for September's European Nations' Cup finals.
Like Loreto, recent memories of winning the cup will prove sufficient motivation for Harlequins tomorrow when they take on Pembroke, who last won the cup in 1975. "Winning it was, without a doubt, the highlight of my career and I'd give anything to re-create that feeling," said Bateman.
IRISH SENIOR CUP - Semi-finals: Loreto v Old Alexandra, Beaufort, 2.0; Pembroke Wanderers v Cork Harlequins, Serpentine Avenue, 2.0.
LEINSTER LEAGUE - Division One: Trinity v Genesis, Santry, 11.0; Railway Union v Glenanne, Sandymount, 12.45; Hermes v UCD, Belfield, 12.45. Division Two: Aer Lingus v Our Lady's, ALSAA, 11.30; Three Rock v Clontarf, Grange Road, 3.0; Corinthian v Old Alexandra II, Whitechurch, 4.30; Genesis II v Loreto II, Terenure, 5.0.
ULSTER SENIOR LEAGUE - Section One: Ards v Ballymoney, Ards, 2.30; Ballymena v UUJ, Ballymena, 2.30; Belfast Harlequins v Pegasus, Deramore, 1.0; Randalstown v Coleraine, Antrim Forum, 2.30; Knock v Portadown, Queens, 2 .30.
