Karen Bateman the Cork Harlequins heroine

Karen Bateman’s brace ended Catholic Institute’s hopes of another Munster Senior Cup final upset as she guided Cork Harlequins to a 2-1 success at Garryduff yesterday.

Quins, missing Ireland internationals Cliodhna Sargent and Yvonne O’Byrne, were given a stern examination by a youthful and game Institute outfit, who had stunned them on penalty strokes in last year’s decider.

But a sharp reverse finish and a penalty stroke from Bateman had them two up at half-time, before Niamh O’Keeffe finished a tidy move to bring Institute back into it after the break. They were left to rue a series of missed short corners as Quins held on.