Avoca, considered "The Underdogs" of the tournament due to being the lowest ranked side in the league made quite an impact over the weekend.  Saturday's last game of the evening saw the ladies take on Division 1's Corinthians.  Avoca started strong and had won themselves a penalty corner within the first 3 minutes.  Captain Ruth McDonagh stepped up and finished well in order for the Division 4 side to take an early lead.  Avoca continued to improve showing composure and a strong understanding of the indoor game, leaving Corinthians unsettled and on the back foot at various stagaes of the game.  Ashling Deasy extended the lead to 2-0 minutes before half time with a spectacular finish from an incredibly awkward angle on the far right boards.  Corinthians stepped up somewhat in the second half closing down the lead to just 2-1.  A golden opportunity to level was given to Corinthians when they were awarded a penalty stroke, Avoca's 1st keeper and The Hook's "Player of the Year" last season, Danni Cummins saved the day with a specatcular save from her left top corner.  Avoca maintained their composure and control and ensured they closed the game off taking home a vital 3 points and leaving Corinthians shocked at what they were sure would be an easily won game.

On Sunday morning, Avoca met Hermes who are currently sitting in 3rd place in Division 1.  This game proved to be a thrilling outing for both sides.  Whilst Hermes took an early 2-0 lead, Avoca were not going to sit back. Though unfortunate not to finish on some considerably easy opportunities, Cara Kelehan's touch from the spot closed the lead down to just 1-2.  Hermes picked up again and extended their lead to 1-3.  Avoca's guest player from Bray HC, Katie Burgess, stepped into the frontline and with a super pass from Sarah McDonagh, an unintentional dummy from Aifric O'Malley, Burgess got the final touch past the keeper closing the gap again to 2-3.  Avoca were on a roll and a further goal was on the way.  Hermes were beginning to feel the strain and substituted their keeper off for ex Irish international Mary Goode to step into the nets.  Unfortunately, it was not Avoca's day and the final result ended 2-3 to Hermes.

Avoca's final game of the weekend was against another Division 1 side, Gleananne.  Glenanne had already a top scoring record in the indoor so far over the weekend so were always going to be a tough opposition.  In what proved to be an end to end game, Gleananne took the lead about 10 minutes into the first half.  With this lead they continued to fire the goals past the defence with 5 penalty corners scored with drag flicks and just one scored from open play.  Half time closed with the Glens 0-6 up.  Avoca's spirit was not to be questioned as the Ladies continued to fight though leaving many scoring opportunities on the wayside.  Final score ended 0-8 to the Glens, though most spectators would say that this result does not reflect how close a game it actually was.

Avoca will play Clontarf and Newbridge on January 7th in their final two meetings of the qualifiers.  Wins here are vital, though Avoca will be reliant on other results to see if they can qualify through for the Nationals this season.

The Ladies would like to thank Coach Will Powderly for all his work so far this season and also to Carl Breaden for stepping in as Coach on Sunday afternoon.