Women's EY Hockey League: Pembroke continue strong form

Pembroke maintained their five-point lead in the women's EY Hockey League after a 2-1 win at Loreto.

It was their seventh successive victory in the competition as they fought back from a goal down, scored by Siofra O’Brien, through efforts from Aisling Naughton and Leah McGuire.

Chasers Catholic Institute remain second in the standings with another significant win in their pursuit of an EY Champions Trophy place as they saw off Old Alex who started the day in third.

Olympians Roisin Upton and Deirdre Duke exchanged goals before Hannah Kelly put the Limerick side 2-1 up and Eimear Ryan put them out of sight as they continue their excellent season.

Pegasus also remain in the hunt following a strong win; they got the better of Ulster rivals Belfast Harlequins 3-0 as their attacking efficiency made the difference.

Shirley McCay and Alex Speers - both of whom have captained Ireland in their illustrious careers - put them two to the good in the first half before Taite Doherty got the third. Quins looked dangerous but could not find the crucial touches.

Railway Union jumped to fourth in the table with a 3-0 success against Cork Harlequins with Sarah Rooney scoring on her first team debut, preceding goals from Sarah Hawkshaw and Zara Delany.

UCD, meanwhile, were too strong for Muckross. They came back from a goal down to win 3-1 with Katherine Egan celebrating her first international call-up this week with a pair of goals.