HOCKEY: Ballyclare and Parkview teams sidelined

Ballyclare’s Friday evening’s Senior League Section 1 clash with Ballymena was postponed because of rain and gales at The Showgrounds, while Parkview received a walkover into the quarter-final of the Intermediate Cup when their opponents, Dromore III, withdrew.

“Conditions were horrendous on Friday evening and we were not surprised when the phone call came in from Ballymena officials to inform us that the match was off,” said Ballyclare’s Sara Coulter.

“We had been looking forward to the local derby, but we have another one coming up this weekend when we take on Larne at George Avenue.”

Caroline Darragh’s girls will start favourites in this one, with Larne struggling to get away from the bottom of the table, but the form book counts for nothing when local pride is at stake, so a goal either way could decide this one.

Meanwhile, Parkview are in a healthy position in Section 4, where they trail leaders, Instonians, by three points but with a game in hand.

“After the disappointment of having no cup game we are looking forward to resuming our league programme next Saturday when we travel to South Antrim,” said Clare McClean.

“We are undefeated to date, and we are aiming to bounce straight back up to Section 3, so hopefully we will be at full strength for the trip to Lisburn, where another three points will be the target.”