Big guns turn on power for easy wins

MISMATCHES were the order of the opening day of the hockey season in Munster, with the province’s heavy hitters all recording big wins on Saturday.

Cork Harlequins’ men ran out comfortable 5-0 winners over Bandon without ever getting out of third gear, leaving the west Cork side with much to ponder, notably how often they gave away possession cheaply in the middle third.

A Brian Hayes Curtin rebound and Paul Lombard’s penalty stroke had them two up inside 20 minutes, and despite the efforts of Graham Kingston, Ali Smith and Paul O’Leary, Bandon couldn’t engineer a response on the scoreboard.