Local All-Ireland quartet heading for the Kirk Cup semi-finals at the first attempt

ULSTER Hockey gave the goahead for its all-Ireland teams to rejoin the Kirk Cup competition after a lengthy absence... and it looks like all four are going to make the semi-finals at the first time of asking.

Banbridge and Cookstown guaranteed their places by topping their pools after the midweek programme, and Lisnagarvey and Annadale are well placed in their pools but won’t know for certain until their final games next Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

The semi-finals are pencilled in for a Super Sunday later this month with the draw and venues to be confirmed.

Lisnagarvey opened their Pool B account with a 10-0 thumping at Portadown, where Timmy Cockram (pictured) scored a hat-trick while Oliver Kidd and James Lorimer each chipped in with two.

Garvey face Newry on Saturday and then have what could be the decider against Instonians on Tuesday.

Bann made it three from three Pool A wins with a 4-1 success at South Antrim where David Rae struck twice, and Cookstown’s 8-1 win at Queen’s guaranteed them top place in Pool C with a game in hand.

Michael Kerr, Timmy Sloan and Greg Allen each scored twice for the Tyrone side.

Annadale’s 5-3 win at main rivals Mossley, where Callum Robson scored twice, means they should top the pool if they avoid defeat in their final game against Belfast Harlequins.

Meanwhile, Ireland keeper David Harte is a doubt for the World Cup finals which start in India in three weeks — he’s waiting for scan results to confirm whether he broke his fibula during the warm-up against Netherlands in Valencia last week.

David Fitzgerald wore the pads for the last two games, while either Jamie Carr or Mark Ingram could get a call-up if Harte is forced out.

Kirk Cup: Kilkeel 4 (D Finlay 2, A Johnston, A Graham) Civil Service 2; South Antrim 1 (J Brown) Banbridge 4 (D Rae 2, R Beattie, Z McClelland); Instonians 5 (S Kelso 2, M Watt 2, M Keane) Newry 3 (N McKnight, K McWilliams, K Fletcher); Portadown 0 Lisnagarvey 10 (T Cockram 3, O Kidd 2, J Lorimer 2, T Chambers, D Nelson, A Williamson); Bangor 2 (H Dow, C Barnes) North Down 2 (M Orr, G McKeown); Queen’s 1 (J Hermon) Cookstown 8 (M Kerr 2, T Sloan 2, G Allen 2, S Smyth, S McCabe); Mossley 3 (N Glassey, J Robinson, R Lyle) Annadale 5 (C Robson 2, R Burgess, P Rose)