Vikings Ladies take on Penrith in Vase second round

Vikings won their third consecutive Isle of Man title in 2009

Vikings Ladies travel to Cumbria on Saturday to play Penrith Ladies in the second round of the England Hockey Women's Vase Competition.

The Manx side thrashed Ambleside 7-0 last year to move on to the next round.

They go into the tie as favourites after conceding only five goals in the last 12 games and remain unbeaten in the Premier Division this season.

Whereas Penrith have only had one clean sheet this season and lie mid-table in Cumbria Women's Division One.

The Manx team will be missing defenders Suzanne Slater and Eilis Kerford for the tie but see Kirsty Bowley, Beckie O'Brien, Danielle Coombes and Karen Faragher all available to strengthen their power going forward.

The club qualified for the competition after winning the Isle of Man's Women's Premier League and will be looking to improve on last year's campaign when they reached the semi-finals.

The Women's Vase, which is a straight knock-out competition, has been running since the 2000/01 season.

Meanwhile, in men's hockey, after a long gap in fixtures due to bad weather, Bacchas A will look to maintain their unbeaten record and place at the top of the Men's Premier Division when they play Vikings B this weekend.

At the other end of the table, second bottom Harlequins take on already relegated Saracens hoping to close the gap on Castletown.

In the Women's Premier Division, Valkyrs A will be hoping to keep their title hopes alive and close the gap on league leaders Vikings as they take on Castletown A.

Elsewhere, Ramsey take on Bacchas B in a middle of a table clash and bottom of the league Castletown B meet Valkyrs B.