Hockey: Harlequins on another marathon mission

Last Saturday morning, Naomi Carroll left her home in Cratloe, Co. Clare and pointed the car in the direction of Cork, where her Harlequins team saw off Pembroke Wanderers 3-0 to keep their EY Hockey League title challenge alive.

After a quick shower and change, Carroll and her team-mates then headed for Belfast, where they overnighted before facing Pegasus in an Irish Senior Cup semi-final on Sunday. The northerners’ own game the day before had fallen victim to a frozen pitch, offering them the advantage of freshness in a tie that went the distance. But following a tense 1-1 draw, Carroll and Quins did the necessary in the penalty shootout to reach a first national cup final in 15 years.

Two draining games and around 900km of travel later, Carroll was back home in Clare late on Sunday night, the exhaustion at least offset by the satisfaction of success. But she and her team-mates will have to summon another massive effort this weekend as they head to Belfast again for two more big clashes, underlining the commitment required to compete at this level.