Gormley set for bittersweet return

IRISH captain Ronan Gormley will come face-to-face with his hometown club Pembroke Wanderers in the last 16 of the EuroHockey League, after his side, Club de Campo were drawn against the Dubliners yesterday.

Gormley is in his second spell with the Madrid-based outfit, but was captain of a Pembroke side that had unprecedented success in recent years.

They will be hoping to become the first Irish side to progress to the quarter-finals, as will Glenanne, who have also been handed a tough draw against Dutch giants HGC.

The ties — and subsequent quarter-finals — will take place at Bloemendaal HC, west of Amsterdam from April 22-25.

A number of other Irish exiles will also be in action; David Ames’ Beeston take on Dinamo Kazan, while Belgian outfit KHC Dragons — who have Stephen Butler and Eugene Magee on their books — have a tough encounter against Germany’s Rot-Weiss Koln.

For Bangor man Chris Cargo, Reading have an all-English dust-up with East Grinstead, against whom they recently were beaten 8-1 in the English Hockey League.

Meanwhile, the battle to clear hockey’s fixture backlog begins this weekend, with many players doubling up domestic league commitments with the welcome distraction of the Irish Junior Cup’s (IJC) opening round.

Having seen a full Irish Hockey League programme require rescheduling due to the big freeze, the Irish Hockey Association were hoping the predicted thaw prevents further fixture headaches.

However, they were yesterday forced to postpone all clashes due to take place in Ulster, and will make a decision today on games in Leinster and Ulster based on information from clubs on the playability of their grounds.

The Cork-based games look the likeliest to go ahead, with 2009 men’s champions Cork C of I hosting Three Rock Rovers.

Bandon’s men’s and women’s sides will hope the respective visits of Fingal and Loreto to west Cork will go ahead. There are also home ties for the women of UCC and Ashton, who take on Genesis and Galway respectively.

Many of the players involved in those clashes may also be called upon for first-team action on Sunday.

UCC’s men host Cork Harlequins in a Peard Cup semi-final, hoping to cause a shock that would see them make a rare appearance in the St Stephen’s Day decider.

But Quins passed the students off the park at the Mardyke in a 4-1 league win back in October, and will be hopeful of a repeat performance.

Catholic Institute can put further daylight between themselves and their challengers at the top of the women’s Division One if they see off Cork C of I on home turf.

Institute lead the way by five points from Quins — who are not in action — and UCC, who are not guaranteed of taking anything from their trip to Bandon, having drawn 1-1 in the reverse game earlier this term.

Belvedere host Ashton, a game Bryan O’Donovan’s troops will be targeting to pick up their first points of the season.