Tuesday, July 15: After a disappointing result in their opening pool game against Italy, the IRL U18 Boys got their EuroHockey U18 Championship II campaign back on track with a comprehensive win over the hosts Türkiye in Alanya. Ulster duo John Cunningham and Adam McKee starred, with the former bagging five goals and the latter also on the scoresheet as Ireland managed a crucial 6-0 win.
Eager to right the wrongs of the previous game and show their quality, Ireland began the game with a high intensity, immediately imposing themselves on their opposition, and almost opened the scoring inside three minutes. John Cunningham broke the deadlock with two minutes remaining in the first quarter, finding the net from a penalty corner to give Ireland the lead.
A flurry of penalty corners early in the second quarter provided opportunities for Ireland to extend their lead, but the hosts defended them well. John Cunningham though, grabbed his second after 21 minutes, and then followed it up by completing his hattrick four minutes later, getting on the end of a piece of individual brilliance from Matthew McAreavey to give Ireland a 3-0 lead.
Adam McKee added a fourth from a penalty corner to silence a boisterous Turkish crowd going into the break.
Ireland’s dominance continued into the second half, but Türkiye continued to play doggedly, a rare penalty corner from the hosts forcing goalkeeper Thomas Costello into a smart save to maintain the clean sheet. As the second half went on and the desperation became more pronounced, the game got more physical with heavy challenges frustrating the Irish camp. A number of cards materialised for both sides early in the fourth quarter as frustrations boiled over on the pitch.
Ireland, however, managed to finish on a very positive note, with John Cunningham grabbing his fourth from open play and fifth from a penalty corner in the final minute, to give Ireland a 6-0 victory in their second match of the competition.
The win sees Ireland jump from bottom of Pool A to second place with one game remaining. They will face Wales in their final Pool stage match on Wednesday, July 16 at 14:45 Irish Time, with a draw likely to be enough to see them secure a place in Saturday’s Semi-Final.
The Ireland U18 Girls will also be in action tomorrow, July 16 in the EuroHockey U18 Championship II in Glasgow, Scotland. They face Türkiye in their final pool match at 11:15 Irish Time, with a draw enough to see them top their pool and progress to the Semi-Finals.