Catholic Institute and Railway Union produced a couple of sensational performances to defeat sides who were in the top four of the women’s EY Hockey League before it succumbed to lockdown last term.
For Catholic Institute, their 2-0 success at Rosbrien was a first against UCD in a very long time as they scored two well-worked goals in the last 12 minutes.
Aoife Hickey got the first following Ciara Moloney’s excellent break from left back opened the door for a nice spin and shot; Laura Foley then closed out the win after a smart give-and-go move down the right channel.
Railway Union were in the relegation play-off place before last season was halted with Loreto top of the table but that counted for little when the Sandymount side won 2-1 at Beaufort, with Kate Lloyd getting both her side’s goals.
Sarah Hawkshaw was the creator both times, the first from a driving run through the middle, teeing up Lloyd to take it on her preferred backhand side. The other was a great pick-up on the baseline, giving Lloyd the chance to slap in first time. Hannah Matthews got a late one back from a penalty corner.
Old Alexandra got an almighty scare at Belfast Harlequins but ultimately held on for a 3-2 win at Deramore Park. Aine Connery and Sarah Robinson made it 2-0 at half-time before Nikki Evans stretched the lead to three. Natalie Barr and Julie Allison, however, set nerves jangling with a couple of goals to cut the gap significantly.
Pegasus bounced back from their Irish Senior Cup final loss last weekend with a stylish 2-0 win over Pembroke. Youngsters Niamh McIvor and Olivia Berry put them two to the good by half-time and that is how it stayed.
Cork Harlequins's trip to Muckross was called off.
Women’s EYHL Division 1 – day one results: Belfast Harlequins 2 (N Barr, J Allison) Old Alexandra 3 (A Connery, S Robinson, N Evans); Catholic Institute 2 (A Hickey, L Foley) UCD 0; Loreto 1 (H Matthews) Railway Union 2 (K Lloyd 2); Pegasus 2 (N McIvor, O Berry) Pembroke 0; Muckross v Cork Harlequins - off
