MEN'S HOCKEY: Pembroke face Glenanne this weekend, a good time to get the Serpentine Avenue side after their 4-0 mauling by Annadale last week in the Irish Senior Cup fourth round.
Pembroke, who made a few mistakes at crucial times in the second half while they were trying to fight back from a goal down, then tumbled further, Justin Sherriff not quite 100 per cent on the day with a slight hand injury.
But the Leinster league leaders remain a quality side even if they are not in top gear, and Glenanne, who advanced last week at the expense of Raphoe, know believing premature Pembroke obituaries could land them in hot water.
There is only one way now for Pembroke to qualify for European competition next year and that is by capturing the Leinster league title and simultaneously finding some serious form by the time the play-offs arrive at the end of the season.
Elsewhere, UCD face a tough prospect at Grange Road, where they meet Three Rock Rovers, another Leinster success last weekend. The students badly need to find results and even then they will have to hope Railway Union or a couple of the other sides at the bottom of the table engage in a sustained run of bad results.
At underage level the traditional link between hockey and the Shaw family continues this weekend with Gary and Richard playing for Leinster under-18s and under-16s, respectively.
Eight years ago the Shaw cousins Graham and David also took part in the competitions.
Gary and Richard go to St Brendan's College, Bray, which does not have strong hockey links, so Glenanne can take some credit for keeping the lineage unbroken.
Both players began playing at an early age, with Gary now on the senior team at the club and Richard on the second XI.
At under-18 level Ulster will defend their title, with Munster hoping to hold on to their trophy at under-16 level.
Avoca will again travel as Irish champions to the 15th European Indoor Club Championships, this year to Loughborough on February 20th-22nd. The Blackrock team have been drawn in Pool B with the English hosts, Welsh champions Swansea Bay and SK Senkvice from Slovakia.
FIXTURES
Today - Underage Interprovincial series (Grange Road) Under-18: Ulster v Leinster 1.30; Munster v Leinster 5.45; Under-16: Ulster v Leinster 12.00; Munster v Leinster 4.15.
Saturday - Leinster Senior League Division One - Corinthian v Railway Union 2.45, St Andrews; Dublin University v Aer Lingus 2.45, Santry; Monkstown v YMCA TBC; Pembroke Wanderers v Glenanne 3.0, Serpentine Ave; UCD v TRR 2.0, Grange Rd; Division Two - Skerries v Avoca 12.0, Sportslink; St Brendan's v Weston 2.0, DCU; Naas v Clontarf 2.0, Kilkenny College; Bray v Portrane 2.30, Bray; Suttonians v St James's Gate 12.0, Sutton; Underage Interprovincial series (Grange Road) Under-18: Munster v Ulster 12.0; Leinster v Ulster 4.0; Under-16: Munster v Ulster 10.0; Leinster v Ulster 2.0;
Sunday - Neville Davin Cup - Clontarf v Bray 12.0, DCU; Naas v Weston 2.0, Naas; Skerries v Kilkenny 2.0, Skerries; Suttonians v Avoca 2.0, Sutton. Underage Interprovincial series (Grange Road) Under-18: Ulster v Munster 11.15; Leinster v Munster 3.15; Under-16: Ulster v Munster 9.30; Leinster v Munster 1.30.
