C of I and Pembroke set for battle royale

OLD FRIENDS will meet up on and off the pitch at Garryduff this weekend as the heavyweights of Cork Church of Ireland and Pembroke Wanderers fight to stay in the men’s Irish Senior Cup.

For C of I’s John Jermyn, it is a chance to put one over a club he spent a season at while studying in Dublin.

Standing in his way will be good friend and international team-mate Ronan Gormley, who was born in Cork while his father and current Pembroke president Frank held the same role at Cork Harlequins.

A hand injury may yet curtail Gormley junior’s participation, but there will still be many intriguing sub-plots in what will practically be a mini Irish trial, given the plethora of internationals on display.

Neither side has hit top gear yet this term, but Pembroke’s free-scoring forward Alan Sothern is worth the admission price alone, while C of I have gone goal crazy in recent weeks, hitting 23 goals in their past three games.

Annadale will look to keep their hopes of marking their 40th anniversary season with a trophy alive by defeating the competition’s most successful team, Lisnagarvey. ‘Garvey have had a poor season by their standards. They were whipped 5-2 in the Irish Hockey League by Three Rock Rovers last weekend, and currently lie third bottom in Ulster’s top tier. But they usually reserve their best performances for this competition.

With the exception of Fingal’s joust with Cookstown and a derby day between Leinster strugglers Corinthian and Railway Union, the rest of the ties look set to be quite one-sided, though Three Rock will hardly be happy to be venturing out of Dublin for a fifth successive weekend, this time taking on Bangor.

Cork Harlequins will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of Banbridge’s visit to Raphoe, as they meet the winner in a delayed round two tie in a fortnight’s time.

The women’s ESB Irish Senior Cup sees Ballymoney welcome a Cork side to the Joey Dunlop Centre for the second time in a fortnight. Having seen Quins go down 6-3 in round one, it is Cork C of I’s turn to try to shackle Lynsey McVicker and co.

Decorated former international and MBE McVicker hit four in last weekend’s 5-0 rout of Armagh, and while C of I were impressive in defeat to Loreto last weekend, winning here may prove a step too far.

UCD will look to bounce back from last weekend’s IHL defeat at the hands of Quins when they play Loreto, but the pick of the remaining match-ups is set to be Old Alex’s visit to high-flying Railway Union.

While the cold weather may yet play havoc with this weekend’s outdoor fixtures, there should be no such problems as the final day of the Tony Byrne Indoor Cup gets underway at the National Basketball Arena on Sunday, with Monkstown and Three Rock out in front so far.

Meanwhile, Ulster U21 coach Stephen Watt has named Irish international Jason Lynch in his squad for next weekend’s interpros, confirming the Cork man’s intention — revealed in this newspaper last month — to represent the northern province instead of his native Munster this season.