FROST and snow allowed six of the Leinster Senior Cup contenders to put their feet up on Saturday afternoon but the players of Railway Union and Pembroke Wanderers were forced to brave the cold after Park Avenue escaped the worst of the winter freeze.
Railway Union will not have been warmed by a desperately disappointing 3-1 defeat which ends their interest in cup hockey for the season, having already lost to Pegasus in the Irish Senior Cup - this means it's the dreaded "concentrate on the league" time.
It has also been a frustrating season for Pembroke, mid table in the league and well off the pace, but their cup form has been encouraging and they will go into next weekend's Irish Senior Cup quarter final against Muckross in good spirits after Saturday's victory.
It took both teams a while to get going at Park Avenue and it wasn't until Kathryn Governey put Pembroke ahead, just before half time, that the match came to life.
Irish international Carol Devine levelled for the home team five minutes into the second half - a superb lob from a penalty corner cover the head of goalkeeper Helen O'Beirne - but Railway, without the services of Ciara O'Brien who is in Spain with the Irish under 18 team, were unable to build on her inspiration.
Pembroke stepped up the pressure and goals from Emma Glanville and Aisling Donnelly secured a comfortable passage into the semi final of the competition.
The Irish and Leinster Ladies Hockey Unions are now left with a fixture backlog which, in a season when all competitions must be completed by March, may prove difficult to clear.
The three postponed Leinster Cup quarter finals must be played within 12 days but four of the teams involved Hermes, Loreto, Old Alexandra and Muckross - are also involved in the last eight of the Irish Senior Cup which is scheduled for next weekend.
Weather permitting, Hermes hope to play their match against Trinity at Belfield tomorrow night (8 p.m.) but if that proves impossible, they are faced with the prospect of playing their Irish Senior Cup quarter final next Saturday, followed by Trinity the next day.
