MEN'S HOCKEY:/Irish Senior Cup: There seems to be little dispute now about where the strength is in Irish hockey - and it is not in Leinster.
With two teams coming through the fourth round impressively, eyes have turned to Annadale and Cork Harlequins as the two most likely candidates to go the whole way this year.
Of the two clubs, Annadale's 4-0 win over Pembroke will have generated the most cause for concern in other teams. Pembroke travelled to Lough Moss with realistic ambitions of earning a place in the quarter-finals and returned with little other than self-doubts. Four goals against and nothing in reply is safely the biggest beating Dublin's top side have taken for some time.
Annadale won the match in an eight-minute burst early in the second period, when they hit three goals to add to a 1-0 half-time lead. Ian Hamilton, their specialist short-corner taker, added two more goals to his growing tally, now at 36 for the season, with Paul Jackson and his international brother Chris netting one each.
Annadale now go on to meet Lisnagarvey in another coming together of two big clubs, while Cork Harlequins, who beat Trinity 6-1, will again have to come to Dublin, where they meet Glenanne in the quarter-finals.
Harlequins will be pleased enough about missing Lisnagarvey, Annadale and Instonians at this stage but Glenanne will represent a more dangerous threat to them than the students did.
Soundly beating Raphoe 3-1 should help Glenanne confidence, something they will need in substantial amounts when the Cork team arrive. David Eakins will take particular marshalling in St Mark's having scored four of Harlequins' six strikes.
Three Rock Rovers also face a serious threat next round in Belfast against Instonians. Rovers comfortably came through against Kilkeel 1-4 with Christian Judd hitting two goals to add to one each from Michael Yates and Peter McConnell. Rovers, however, will have noted that Instonians struggled to beat Railway Union and did so by just one goal, a penalty from Chris Barnes.
In the fourth quarter-final pairing, Cookstown, who beat the struggling UCD students 5-2 in Belfield, play at home against NICS.
IRISH SENIOR CUP: Quarter-final draw: Annadale v Lisnagarvey; Cookstown v NICS; Instonians v Three Rock Rovers; Glenanne v Cork Harlequins.
