action in the Ladies Hockey League after their clash on Sunday at Nationals ended 1-1.

Canaries were forced to play a defensive game in the first half as Orioles dominated proceedings. Claudette Sherwood put Orioles ahead after a pass from Zina Jones.

Canaries applied more pressure in the second half and their perseverance was rewarded when they won a penalty flick which captain Rhonda Rawlins converted.

Orioles were denied victory in the final seconds of the game when on a breakaway Sherwood went past the Canaries goalkeeper but saw goal-bound shot cleared by Sandra McDougall.

Bluebirds beat Swallows 2-0 with a goal in each half. In muddy conditions, Bluebirds took the lead when Candy Foggo fed the ball to Collette Doughty who slammed it into the left-hand corner.

Play in the second half was made more difficult by the weather. But Bluebirds pressed on and after a muddy skirmish in the `D' between Doughty, Sarah Maltby and Swallows goalie Amy Dawson, Maltby flicked the ball into the back of the net.

Cardinals beat Swifts 1-0 in the other A League match with the only goal coming in the fifth minute from a penalty corner. Jenny Kelly was able to get the ball past the Swifts goalkeeper after a final pass from Maria Pitchery.

Sharmini Thamotheram played a key role in the Swifts defence in keeping the Reds down to only one goal after dominating the first half.

The biggest win of the weekend came in the B League where Canaries hammered Orioles 5-1.

Orioles, still trying to work out the kinks in a new defence, crashed to a well-oiled Canaries side after Kerry Quigley opened the scoring for the Yellows in the first half.

Canaries showed no mercy after the break, netting four more -- two from Ally Cameron and one by Michelle Jones. A penalty flick was then awarded to Canaries which Val Young converted to complete the rout.

Cardinals edged by Swifts 1-0 with the lone goal coming from a short corner early in the second half. The performance, however, was Swifts' best of the season as their young team played well together.

The remaining match saw Swallows and Bluebirds play to a scoreless draw as Swallows were unable to convert a number of penalty corners into goals.

Newcomers Lisa Cullen and Carmel Owens enjoyed good performances while Sarah Cook, who had been sidelined for the first three games of the season, had a solid game in defence, preventing Sarah Maltby from scoring.