IT WAS not the underdogs' day. Both the remaining second-division teams, UCD and Railway Union II, were beaten in the quarter-finals of the Leinster Senior Cup on Saturday.

UCD have only lost two league matches this season, yet the form which has them placed near the top of the second division deserted them in their match against Clontarf, who won by a second-half goal.

Grainne O'Brien made a good run down the left wing and skilfully dribbled well into the circle before laying off the ball to Sandra Reilly, who slotted it into what was essentially an empty goal. Clontarf have yet to win a league match this season, so their progress to the semifinals of the cup is surprising.

Railway's second XI, in contrast to UCD, put up a strong fight - Loreto could manage to score only once and that goal was an excellent piece of hockey. Aoife Pomeroy made a break from the halfway line to the top of the circle where she released a pass to Mary Barnwell with perfect timing. Barnwell obligingly smashed it home.

To their credit, Railway never gave up. Their persistence earned them a short corner 10 minutes before the end. Loreto was overly keen to defend it and broke the line on three successive occasions, earning the entire defence a green card. Nevertheless Loreto prevailed.

Railway's first team were also in Cup action but they had no good news either for the Sandymount faithful. Muckross dispatched them by 2-1. Teresa Hurley gave Muckross the lead by reacting quickly to the rebound of her original shot but the match was unexpectedly brought back to level pegging by 17-year-old Cathy McKean - only the second goal Muckross have conceded this season.

Mary Logue, irrepressible and inspirational as ever, secured the Muckross victory with a great individual goal. Coach Ian Steepe, though, wants more from his team. "We have a problem converting our chances into goals. It is something we will have to work on before we meet North Down in the semi-finals of the Irish Senior Cup in February," he said.

Indeed he is right. Muckross reign supreme mainly because of solid ball control and accurate passing. But time and time again they came away from an attack with nothing.

Old Alexandra and Hermes played a 1-1 draw in the fourth quarter-final. It is a repeat of their meeting in last year's competition. The goals came in the first half, three minutes apart. Daphne Sixsmith scored from a penalty stroke for Alexandra while Deirdre Deasy equalised. The replay will probably be on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile in Cork, the appalling weather conditions forced the abandonment of the final two matches in the under-16 interprovincial championship. The last two pairings, Ulster v Leinster and Munster v South East, are due to be rescheduled to conclude the championship in the near future.