PegasusareontheMoneyafterCupwin
PEGASUS made light of the absence of maternity leave absentees Stephanie Thompson and Kate Miller as they secured a place in the Irish Senior Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Ballymoney at the Joey Dunlop Centre on Saturday.
Last season’s double all-Ireland champions now have a lasteight date with Munster side UCC to look forward to at the weekend which they should win, especially with home advantage.
This season, Pegasus will be giving youth its fling, having signed several talented teenagers to compensate for the loss of Thompson and Miller — both former internationals — and the retired Pamela Glass.
One of the young guns, Charlotte Beggs kept a cool head to score the opener from the penalty spot in the third quarter before Taite Doherty added a second a minute later.
Ballymoney player-coach Katie Mullan, meanwhile, was happy with her team’s display saying: “We can take a lot of positives from the performance against a side that was the best in Ireland last season.
“We competed well throughout but it was disappointing to concede a second goal so quickly after the first.”
Mullan was unable to play in the game as the Ireland internationals are taking a break as they continue their preparations for the Olympic qualifiers against Canada in Dublin at the end of the month.
Banbridge also progressed after Paula Haugh’s late winner gave them a fine 4-3 victory over Trinity which sets up a return trip to Dublin to face Corinthian on Saturday.
But there was disappointment for the two other local sides as Ulster Elks and Belfast Harlequins crashed out at the first hurdle. Elks succumbed to a last-gasp Aisling Naughton goal in a 2-1 defeat to IHL side Pembroke. Harlequins were left cursing their luck after throwing away a 2-0 lead against Loreto in Dublin after Jenna Watt had scored twice in the third quarter.
The Leinster side fought back to equalise with the last play of the game to force a shoot-out which they won 4-2.
Irish Senior Cup; second round: Ballymoney 0 Pegasus 2 (C Beggs, T Doherty); Cork C of I 1 UCC 3; Old Alex 1 Railway Union 2; Loreto 2 (S Clarke, M Jennings) Belfast Harlequins 2 (J Watt 2), Loreto win shoot-out 4-2; Monkstown 0 Corinthian 2; Muckross 1 UCD 3; Trinity 3 (S Campbell 2,ALong)Banbridge4(PHaugh2,S Mount, J Simmons); Ulster Elks 1 (E Quinn) Pembroke 2 (O Macken, A Naughton). Irish Hockey Trophy; first round: Ashton 3 Galway 3; Galway win shoot-out; North Kildare 2 Belvedere 0; Mossley 3 (K Lorimer, D Axon, J Nesbitt) Clontarf 1; Our Lady’s 0 Avoca 1; Greenfields 0 Lisnagarvey 4 (B Ravey 3, K McIlwaine); CI 1 Rathgar 5.
Ulster Premier League: Raphoe 1 (W Patterson) Queen’s 4 ( K Ferguson, E Kernohan, E Getty, E McStea); Rainey 1 (E Stewart) Ards 2 (A Carson 2).
Senior One: Club KV 0 Portadown 4 (H Reavy, A Black 3); Omagh 2 (E Hamilton, E Swann) Coleraine 2 (K Caithness 2); Priorians 1 (B O’Neill) Dromore 0.