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Ireland U-19 boys and girls shine in England in Four Nations Series

Both the Irish boys and girls Under-19 teams made it with three wins from four in their respective Four Nations series competitions over the weekend with impressive performances against England in Lilleshall.

For the boys, their Saturday 5-1 success against the English was one of the biggest scorelines for Ireland at any grade as Simon Lowry’s outfit produced an outstanding display.

In a fast-pressing performance from the outset, they raced into a 1-0 lead via Waterford man Ian Balding’s powerful drag-flick. Ben Ryder swooped to chip the second into the roof of the goal when he nipped in behind the last defender.

Evan Jennings came to the fore in the second half, setting up Josh Filgas with a square pass following a powerful run. Jennings’ deft deflection extended the advantage to 4-0 and while England got one back in the final quarter, Jennings provided another first time finish for his double and 5-1.

The result follows two wins over Wales last week with their one setback a frustrating 3-2 defeat to England on Friday. After a cagey opening, the deadlock was finally broken by England midway through the second quarter.

It wasn’t long before Ireland got a deserved equaliser following some sustained possession high in the England half. Balding’s drag flick was saved but the rebound was batted into the net by James Maginnis.


Ireland continued to pressure England, but a quick counter-attack found them lacking cover at the back and the resulting penalty stroke, on the half time whistle, by Luis Cuttle left Ireland trailing 2-1 at half time.

After the break it was all Ireland, but the equaliser proved elusive, with a number of balls flashing past the back post and an England goalkeeper who was on fire against the Irish penalty corner attack.

Late in the third quarter a slick move down the left, left England with a back post tip-in to extend their lead further. Ireland reacted well by scoring immediately in Q4 with Rex Dunlop deflecting at the penalty sport from a well-polished short corner routine.

As such, after that disappointment, coach Lowry was delighted with how his side bounced back.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better reaction in game two this weekend,” said Lowry. “The guys acquitted themselves brilliantly and played with real desire and intensity and the way we moved the ball was top class.

“We were disappointed not to come out of game one with a result because we played well for much of the game and created a lot of chances, particularly in the second half.

“After Friday it was nice to see our attacking quality shine through. It was a real team effort from both players and staff to pick ourselves up and go again.”

The side has been working with a panel of 34 players for this development series and so it was a nice way for some to sign off this phase of their underage careers.

“For some of these guys it is their last involvement in the Under-19 program, and it is great to have been able to finish with a win like that, particularly after the 18 months that we’ve had. It’s all to play for now and we can’t wait to face Scotland in UUJ next weekend.”

That is a reference to a title showdown with Scotland with two games next weekend at Jordanstown.

On the girls side, Ireland back up their two big wins over Wales last week with four points out of six from their trip to England. Emma Paul’s first half goal gave the Little Green Army a 1-0 success on Friday with the strike coming following consistent pressure which led to a penalty corner that the captain slotted away.

And they carried that momentum into the second half to make it three wins from three in the competition with three clean sheets at that stage.

In so doing, it means Ireland’s senior, Under-23 and Under-19 female sides have all beaten either Great Britain or England in the past four months.

Saturday did see their perfect defensive record breached when Tamsin Cookman scored from a penalty corner in game two on Saturday morning for England.

And it remained that way until early in the final quarter before a flurry of penalty corners ended with Nicola Torrans – younger sister of Sarah who is currently in Tokyo with the Olympic squad – pouncing on a penalty corner chance at the back post.

It meant a 1-1 draw with a point each to their name but the English hosts went on to edge a shoot-out after the game which earned them an extra bonus point.

That leaves Ireland on 10 points from 12 available to date with England in second on eight points. It meansGavin Groves’ side are in pole position with two games against Scotland to come at Jordanstown.

Boys Under-19 Four Nations
Friday: England 3 (T Graves, L Cuttle, R Wilson) Ireland 2 (J Maginnis, R Dunlop)
Saturday: England 1 (W Petter) Ireland 5 (E Jennings 2, I Balding, B Ryder, J Filgas)

Girls Under-19 Four Nations
Friday: England 0 Ireland 1 (E Paul)
Saturday: England 1 (T Cookman) Ireland 1 (N Torrans), England win bonus point shoot-out 3-2

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Right place, right time, McAuley embracing the journey

When Sarah McAuley boarded the plane to Japan on Friday, it was the start of her longest journey both geographically and metaphorically.

Prior to departure, Spain is the furthest she has been before while her rise to the Irish women’s Olympic squad is similarly far-flung as she admits herself.

“I definitely didn’t expect it to come so soon,” the 19-year-old McAuley said. “At the start of last year, I was just training in the club. When I checked the list last week, I thought maybe I will go as a travelling reserve, you never know.

“I checked those straight away and then looked up a little bit and was like ‘oh my God, there’s my name!’ I couldn’t believe it. Right person, right place, right time – I just keep saying that to myself.”

It is a journey that started at Avoca’s Under-8s section where her mother organised the fixtures. Multi-talented, it was among a spate of sports on her agenda; she played tennis at Monkstown LTC with soon-to-be fellow Olympian Sarah Healy, named in Team Ireland’s athletics line-up, won a Dublin ladies football Division One Feile title with Kilmacud Crokes and also represented the county at the All-Ireland Feile skills competition.

Hockey, though, shone through from second year onwards at Muckross Park where she went on to play in the senior team for four successive seasons.

It has perhaps helped her get used to being “the young one”. In third year at Muckross, she won the Leinster Schoolgirls Senior Cup and took bronze at the All-Irelands under coach Una McCarthy.

McCarthy is the mother of Irish team mate Michelle Carey and McAuley hails her as a key influence and one who will be sorely missed at Muckross Park following her retirement this year.

Two Senior Premier League titles followed but another league success proved elusive with the 2020 cup final – scheduled to be against a Hannah Matthews’ coached Loreto Beaufort – cancelled due to Covid.

All along, Muckross alumni Anna O’Flanagan would flit in and out as a guest coach around her stint in the Netherlands, showing off her medal at the Marlborough Road school a number of years ago.

McAuley got a snap of it, one that she could compare to them lining out side by side at the Euros after her first – and only – formal cap.

“They say you should never meet your heroes but I totally disagree,” went the caption and McAuley says it did not take time to assimilate.

“In sixth year, I started to play with her in the club and she took a few sessions at school.

“Definitely, I looked up to these girls and now to be playing with them every day is a dream come true. They are not just team mates, now. They are friends – we hang out all the time and they are so lovely. It is cool!”

Despite the ease of the transition, she does admit is has taken her by surprise as the unfortunate knee injuries to Beth Barr and Zoe Wilson opened up an opportunity for a defensive reshuffle just a couple of months after she started training with the side.

“I came in with seven or eight younger girls around mid-November, coming up to Christmas. I thought I was just there to fill numbers.

“In January, I was part of the development squad and the core of the Under-23s but in February, I got to be part of those uncapped games against GB in Belfast.

“It was more delight to be able to have that opportunity to play them. Considering it was so close to Tokyo and the Europeans, I really didn’t think I would have the chance this summer. With the way things went with Covid and with the squad, I guess I was the right person, right place, right time.”

And take her chance she did. One of her first interventions off the bench was to flat-bat a tackle to nick the ball of Lily Owsley.

“I didn’t realise it! Once I get stuck into a game, I don’t really mind who I am playing against. It is just 11 versus 11, each with two hands, two feet, one stick.

“After it, I did think ‘wow, I was playing all those Olympians’. I was definitely a bit star-struck afterwards. Mabe I was a bit naïve and didn’t know what I was up against but more just enjoyed the experience.”

And that was how she was viewing the European Championships initially. Covid allowed for two extra reserves to travel to the event, a nice bonus to get the lie of the land before a couple of niggles in the central 18 gave her a chance to play in game five against Italy.

“Oh completely. I couldn’t wait to see even what happens in and around the tournament. I’d never been to Europeans underage so I didn’t know what to expect. When you are watching for that long on the sidelines, you are hoping for maybe a chance to play and lucky enough I got the last game.

Sarah McAuley carries team-mate Anna O’Flanagan during a Tokyo 2020 Team Ireland Announcement. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

“I was absolutely raring to go at that stage! When it was me and Zara [Malseed, the other reserve], it was grand. We also had Gareth [Grundie] to take individual sessions on the side pitch with us but when Zara got her call, I had to do the session by myself; it was pretty rough when you see the other 19 players heading out. That was tough but it paid off.”

Again, she was assured and smart in the 3-0 win over the Italians, defensively astute while an audacious backhand pass from halfway into the D to pick out Deirdre Duke showed plenty of verve.

“The girls just said enjoy the day, enjoy that first cap. I was definitely soaking up the atmosphere. Once the game starts, you just try your best. Sean always tells me to ‘make a decision’ and I quite like my reverse – maybe I am more comfortable on that side! – so it came naturally.”

It inspired confidence and nudged her up above the line from reserves to the main Olympic squad. Right person, right place, right time!

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Strong start for Irish Under-19s in Four Nations series

Ireland’s young guns completed a clean sweep from their opening Under-19 Four Nations Development Series, winning four from four games against Wales at Jordanstown.

The girls ran up a 6-0 success on Saturday, backed up by a 5-0 victory on Sunday with two comprehensive displays.

In both ties, they got off to strong starts and never looked back with Eva Lavelle and Sophie Dix setting the tone in the first quarter of the opener. Ella Brown extended the lead to three before Emma Paul, Ali Griffin and Aisling Murray chipped in.

On Sunday, it was 2-0 by half-time with Cork’s Leah O’Shea setting the ball rolling with a rocket of a backhand shot before Murray nabbed her second of the weekend.

Corner goals from O’Shea and Milly Lynch stretched the lead further before Martha McCready rounded off the weekend in style.

Picture: Billy Pollock

On the boys side, it was a much tighter double-header with game one decided by just a single goal – scored in the ninth minute by … – decided the contest.

Game two was far more open. James Maginnis and Max Anderson fired Ireland into a 2-0 lead but Wales were back on terms early in the final quarter to leave it anyone’s game.

But a brilliant Louis Rowe deflection put Ireland back in front and the game was safe when Evan Jennings and Sam Walker slipped home a couple of close-range goals. Wales did get a third back from a penalty corner but Ireland held on for a 5-3 success.

Next on the agenda for Ireland’s Under-19 teams is a trip to Lilleshall to face England with games next Friday and Saturday.

Under-19 Four Nations Development Series
Girls
Saturday: Ireland 6 (E Lavelle, S Dix, E Brown, E Paul, A Griffin, A Murray) Wales 0
Sunday: Ireland 5 (L O’Shea 2, A Murray, M Lynch, M McCready) Wales 0

Boys
Saturday: Ireland 1 (M Anderson) Wales 0
Sunday: Ireland 5 (J Maginnis, M Anderson, L Rowe, E Jennings, S Walker) Wales 3

Next week’s fixtures

Friday, July 15: Ireland U-19 girls v England, 2.30pm; Ireland U-19 boys v England, 4.45pm (both at Lilleshall)
Saturday, July 16: Ireland U-19 girls v England, 9.30am; Ireland U-19 boys v England, 11.30am (both at Lilleshall)

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Junior Green Army win GB Series ahead of Five Nations in Spain

Sophia Cole’s late equaliser saw Ireland’s development squad land an impressive series win over their Great Britain counterparts at Jordanstown, ending the four-game run with two wins, a draw and one loss on the ledger.

The UCD midfielder struck with two minutes left on the clock with a peach of a backhand shot from a penalty corner to earn a 2-2 draw in the last game of the series.

Earlier in the tie, Limerick native Laura Foley cracked home to make it 1-1 from another set play before GB edged back in front in the third quarter.

The draw backed up a pair of 1-0 wins for Ireland, the first coming last Tuesday with Niamh Carey stealing in at the back post for the only goal and then, a day later, captain Foley scoring again following a brilliant counter-attack move instigated by Jessica McMaster.

Game three belonged to the visitors with Britain running up a 3-0 win but game four was much more even and the Junior Green Army got a deserved draw to shade the series.

Overall, coach Dave Passmore was able to deploy 27 players over the course of the week for the squad which plays a key role in developing players for the senior setup.

Ireland celebrate Sophia Cole’s late equaliser. Picture: Keith Wilson (https://www.keithwilsonphotography.com/hockeyireland)

Indeed, it has been a fertile production line of late with Olympic call-ups Sarah McAuley, Sarah Hawkshaw, Sarah Torrans, Lizzie Murphy and Michelle Carey all featuring in recent times.

From this, he has since named a reduced panel of 20 to travel to Club Egara in Spain for a Five Nations between equivalent teams from the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany. The tournament rules stipulate teams can field up to eight sides from an Under-23 category with the remainder having to be Under-21.

“There is a nice mix of experienced players with senior caps and younger players such as Charlotte Beggs who impressed in our recent trip to Spain,” Passmore said of this latest selection.

“There are no easy games in this tournament and we obviously have a hard start with the first match against The Netherlands but the GB series has demonstrated that we can compete and this should be a great leaning experience to see exactly where we are at.”

The series also saw the return of senior cap Erin Getty to the line-up after a break from the program and she slotted back in to great effect.

“I am delighted the Erin Getty has rejoined the squad after a concerted effort on improving her fitness and she was a stand-out player in the series against GB. She combines excellent technique with a really mature reading of the game and so fitted straight back in and the girls are delighted she is back playing.

“We are very thankful to Spanish Hockey for hosting this tournament alongside a boys event given the tournament we had planned in Dublin could not go ahead due to Covid Protocols.”

The following week, the panel will see a number of changes for a three-game series against the Wales senior team with games at Jordanstown on Friday, July 16, Saturday, July 17 and Sunday, July 18. Their summer series will conclude three more games against a Wales Under-23 side from July 21 to 23.

Under-21 5 Nations, Club Egara (Saturday, July 3 to Saturday, July 10, 2021): Charlotte Beggs (Pegasus/Ulster), Niamh Carey (UCD/Leinster), Ellen Curran (UCD/Leinster), Sophia Cole (UCD/Leinster), Amy Elliott (UCD/Leinster), Katie Fearon (Railway Union/Leinster), Laura Foley (Catholic Institute/Munster), Gemma Ferguson (GK, Ulster Elks/Ulster), Erin Getty (Queens/Ulster), Christina Hamill (Loreto/Leinster), Jane Kilpatrick (Loughborough Students/Ulster), Ellie McLoughlin (GK, Muckross/Leinster), Jess McMaster (Queens/Ulster), Lisa Mulcahy (Loreto/Leinster), Siofra Murdoch (Monkstown/Leinster), Siofra O’Brien (Loreto/Leinster), Caoimhe Perdue (UCC/Munster), Ellen Reid (Banbridge/Ulster), Yasmin Pratt (Loreto/Leinster), Abbie Russell (Old Alex/Leinster)

Non-Travelling Reserves: KJ Marshall (UCD/Leinster), Roisin Begley (Catholic Institute/Munster)

Management:
Head coach: David Passmore
Manager: Lorraine McGowan
Coach: Steven Arbuthnot
Coach: Una McCarthy
Physio: Amy Phelan
Physiology support: Lauren Daey
Analyst: Aaron Passmore

Fixture schedule (all at Club Egara, Spain; times local)
Monday, July 5: Ireland v Netherlands, 8pm
Tuesday, July 6: Ireland v Spain, 8pm
Thursday, July 8: Ireland v Germany, 6pm
Friday, July 9: Ireland v Belgium, 6pm

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O’Flanagan double sees Ireland finish Euros on a high

Women’s EuroHockey Championships, Pool C
Ireland 3 (A O’Flanagan 2, Z Malseed) Italy 0
Anna O’Flanagan’s double earned Ireland a Ireland a closing win to secure sixth place at the women’s EuroHockey Championships in Amsterdam, ending a rollercoaster week on a high.

Ultimately, the main targets of World Cup qualification and a first European semi-final proved out of reach with “goals scored” denying both those outcomes in the group stages.

In that context, O’Flanagan – Ireland’s record goalscorer with 83 to her name now – reflected on a mixed bag of two wins, a draw and two losses.

“This European competition, the margins are so small,” she said after the win over Italy. “You are one goal away from a semi-final and then you are playing the Olympic champions for fifth; it’s crazy.

“It’s an amazing tournament to play in but also an extremely difficult one, the most difficult you will play in. We did some good things, some not so good so it is a big learning curve.

“A few things didn’t go our way for sure. Tournament hockey is a rollercoaster and we certainly had more downs than ups.

“We need to look at the fine details, improve on some small things and if we do that we can do some damage.”

O’Flanagan struck in the second and third quarters to set up the win before Ards woman Zara Malseed netted her first international goal in just her second full cap, giving an upbeat finish to a bruising tournament.

Megan Frazer and Naomi Carroll were both rested for this one, joining Chloe Watkins in the stands with Muckross’s Sarah McAuley coming into the side for her first formal cap.

And Róisín Upton departed in the third quarter with a head injury to leave Ireland working off a shortened rotation.

With Italy adopting a catenaccio system, the first quarter was a maze of patience as the Green Army attempted to unlock a packed defence. Other than O’Flanagan’s pot-shot, it passed by relatively serenely but the tempo ratcheted up a notch in the second quarter.

Ireland ran up a quartet of penalty corners while Malseed showed her key strengths, shooting on sight early from half-chances to test Sofia Monserrat’s padding.

And the goal arrived in the 27th minute when Upton drove forward from the back. Her cross popped up dangerously off a defensive stick but O’Flanagan did not stick around to wait for a whistle, clubbing the ball baseball style into the goal.

It enticed Italy out of their shell to some extent in the third quarter, winning their first penalty corner but Ayeisha McFerran was up to the task, knocking away her Kampong club mate Chiara Tiddi’s attempted drag-flick.

The extra breathing room came in the 42nd minute when Sarah Hawkshaw used her pace to out-strip her marker on the right baseline and she laid on the perfect pass for O’Flanagan to sweep in her second of the day.

Malseed extended the lead with an expert tip-in, guiding in her first international goal from Katie Mullan’s intercept and cross. They duly closed out the tie comfortably with McFerran never looking unduly troubled.

“We’ve been disappointed so far so it was really important for us as a team to play well but also to win and score some nice goals,” O’Flanagan concluded. “So nice to finish on a high; it’s always been a big summer for us and it nice to get a bit of confidence going forward.”

Ireland: A McFerran, Z Malseed, R Upton, N Evans, K Mullan, S McCay, L Tice, H McLoughlin, L Holden, S Hawkshaw, A O’Flanagan
Subs: M Carey, N Daly, H Matthews, D Duke, S McAuley, L Murphy

Italy: S Montserrat, T Dalla Vittoria, I Sarnari, A Oviedo, A Moroni, S Maldonado, P De Biase, C Tiddi, S Puglisi, S Laurito, L Oviedo
Subs: E Munitis, A Ayala, F Carta, E di Mauro, C Aguirre, L Fernandez, L Caruso

Umpires: I Makar (CRO), A Bogolyubova (RUS)

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Ireland’s World Cup hopes on hold after 5-1 loss to England

Women’s EuroHockey Championships
Pool C: Ireland 1 (D Duke) England 5 (S Evans 2, A Toman, L Owsley, J Hunter)
Ireland’s World Cup qualification bid looks set to come down to October’s final qualifier after they could not build on a strong start against England in the EuroHockey Championships’ Pool C.

Deirdre Duke’s outstanding early goal had them dreaming of a first win over England since 1987 – and a first in several Euro meetings – but three second quarter goals put paid to those hopes.

As such, barring an unlikely turnaround in fortunes – requiring a heavy England loss to Scotland and a big Irish win over Italy – Ireland will now contest an eight-team qualifier in October for a ticket to next summer’s World Cup.

“We started really well, building really good possession and going for it,” was the assessment of Lizzie Holden, playing in her 200th cap.

“The wheels came off in the second quarter and they gathered momentum. That was the difference and there are just such fine margins in these Europeans. It spiralled out of control but we still put in a really good shift and am proud of the girls’ work-rate.”

Coach Sean Dancer concurred, adding: “Really disappointing; there was a lot on the line today and that obviously adds a lot of pain to the whole thing.

“We started the game well first quarter and I was really happy with how the game was going. We just couldn’t keep it going.

“The key thing about that first quarter is we backed ourselves. We just didn’t do that second quarter, missed a couple of opportunities from our attacking penalty corners and let a few in.”

Underdogs going into the tie, the task was made trickier when midfielder Chloe Watkins was ruled out due to a quad injury. It meant a debut for Ards’ striker Zara Malseed but meant a rejig in formation for Dancer’s side.

The Irish survived a tricky opening with super first-up defence to limit any damage and soon, they started to make inroads at the far end.

The approach was more direct with Naomi Carroll and Katie Mullan finding space to drive on and the opening goal came in the 13th minute. It was a glorious piece of work, created 70 metres out from goal as Anna O’Flanagan chipped a Carroll pass beyond her marker to unlock space.

A quick interchange with Nicci Daly was followed by O’Flanagan’s perfect cross that Deirdre Duke dove onto.

But the game turned England’s way with three goals in a nine minute spell in the second quarter. Anna Toman picked a brilliant line to clatter the backboard from England’s second penalty corner.

Danger-woman Lily Owsley’s baseline run finished with an inviting pass to the back post that Sarah Evans gobbled up to swap the lead. And Evans was on hand to volley in the third just before half-time from Ellie Rayer’s pass, leaving Ireland with a mountain to climb.

And that became steeper in the 42nd minute when Giselle Ansley’s corner shot took a heavy defensive touch to lift out of reach of Ayeisha McFerran and into the goal with Owsley credited as getting the final touch.

Jo Hunter then completed the result with 70 seconds remaining, tipping over the line after another strong corner sweep shot from Toman.

Ireland will conclude this campaign on Saturday at 3.30pm (Irish time, RTE Player and BT Sport) against Italy, a last competitive game for the side before Olympic selection.

“The reality is it is still a must win game and we have to approach it that way,” Dancer added.

Ireland: A McFerran, R Upton, N Evans, K Mullan, S McCay, L Tice, N Carroll, H McLoughlin, L Holden, S Hawkshaw, A O’Flanagan
Subs: Z Malseed, M Carey, M Frazer, N Daly, H Matthews, D Duke, L Murphy

England: M Hinch, L Unsworth, S Evans, A Toman, S Townsend, E Rayer, G Ansley, L Owsley, G Balsdon, I Petter
Subs: E Burge, E Sanders, L Neal, J Hunter, C de Ledesma, F Crackles, S Heesh

Umpires: I Amorosini (ITA), S Wilson (SCO)

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Irish young guns win 3-0 on opening night

Men’s international test match

Ireland 3 (I Stewart, C Empey, P McKibbin) Scotland 0

Ireland’s young guns produced a composed performance in their first senior international outing since 2019 to beat Scotland in the first of three uncapped fixtures.

Coach Mark Tumilty has named 14 new players in his panel for this series at Jordanstown with games to follow on Saturday and Sunday.

And two of those were on the mark. After a scoreless first half, Corinthian’s Ian Stewart broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half with a quick counter goal.

Conor Empey then converted a stroke soon after and Peter McKibbin – a relative veteran with one cap – finished off a corner slip move to make it 3-0.

Scotland came on strong in the closing quarter with Fergus Gibson doing well to repel a Scottish strike on goal before Sam Hyland’s corner running charged down a series of penalty corners to maintain the clean sheet.

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Hawkshaw eyes new target as England tie nears

Women’s EuroHockey Championship, Pool C
Friday: Ireland v England, 10.30am (Irish time, RTE Player)
Ireland’s women need to bounce back quickly from Wednesday’s draw with Spain as they go in search of the last remaining World Cup ticket on offer from this week’s EuroHockey Championship in Amsterdam.

Ireland missed out on a semi-final berth on Wednesday on “goals scored”, having tied with Spain on both points and goal difference, meaning their sights are now realigned than the maiden semi-final they had hoped for.

The Green Army will meet England on Friday morning (10.30am Irish time, live on RTE Player) before taking on Italy on Saturday (3.30pm, Irish time).

Ireland carry their 1-0 win from the initial group stages against Scotland into this four-team pool from which the round-robin winner will be assured of a place next summer’s World Cup.

England also carry through three points courtesy of a 4-0 win over the Italians but find themselves in unfamiliar territory; this is the first time in 15 European Championships they will finish outside the top four. As such, it makes for a big psychological – as well as tactical and physical – battle on Friday.

Hannah Matthews said the players have to do their best to be “like a goldfish” and put things behind them quickly and refocus on a new target.

Flying midfielder Sarah Hawkshaw agrees but adds “it would be naïve to say it is easy to do. It was a huge opportunity and the closest we have been.

Picture: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics

“At the time, it was very hard. But we have been in this Pool C before. We have come together, talked about it, had honest conversations about how we felt so we can move on from it.

“We are now really excited to push forward and play England. We have had a good few battles in the past few months against GB and most of the girls from that squad would be in the England squad and we have played some good hockey. And of course, the motivation is there to take them on.

“We do need to look at ourselves and our performance from that Spanish game. We need to to move the ball better. England are a good team, have a good defensive structure and work really hard. We have to move them and that comes from us, showing for the ball, giving good options, getting the ball to our high strikers.”

Aside from the immediate importance of the tie, there would also be historical significance in victory. Ireland have yet to do so in a world ranking event and each of Ireland’s seven previous meetings with England have seen the latter prevail.

But Hawkshaw says the side will take a lot of impetus from their 2019 campaign when they came similarly close to reaching the semi-finals but bounced back to beat Belgium and Russia in Pool C.

“We can take a lot of confidence from that. I only saw the video a couple of days ago of the last couple of seconds of the Belgian game counting down, Shirley [McCay] crossing the ball for Anna [O’Flanagan].

“It also shows how quickly the game can change. We need to get the ball into those areas which will be really important against England and something we haven’t got enough of. We have to get the ball into those areas because anything can happen.

“Huge confidence from that experience, we know what the stakes are. No room for error and we have to produce results. It is a situation England haven’t been in so we take that as a positive.”

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Ireland denied Euro semi spot and World Cup ticket on goals scored after Spain draw

Women’s EuroHockey Championships
Pool A
Ireland 1 (R Upton) Spain 1 (B Garcia)
In the end, Spain’s late goal in a 7-1 loss against the Netherlands proved pivotal as Ireland missed out on a maiden European Championship semi-final on goals scored following their 1-1 draw in Amstelveen.

Róisín Upton’s early goal had the Green Army in the frame for the win they needed but a Begoña Garcia equaliser in the 12th minute meant Spain got what they required, leaving Sean Dancer’s side to contest Pool C.

It also denied Ireland’s first chance at World Cup qualification but they remain live in the tournament with fifth place overall still up for grabs which would earn their passage to the 2022 competition.

As such, Hannah Matthews says the side must deal with the “devastation” quickly ahead of crucial games on Friday and Saturday.

“For the next few hours, we will feel a bit miserable and sorry for ourselves,” the Loreto player said.

“But then we just have to pick a point tonight; put it behind us, be a goldfish, forget about it. There’s still a job to do; there’s still World Cup qualification on the line and there’s a lot of girls back home that we need to get qualification for next summer!”

It was an intense battle between two sides who have met so often on the big stages over the past five years, both rising almost simultaneously to seventh and eighth in the world, winning medals at the 2018 World Cup.

In the end, Spain – level with Ireland on points and goal difference but needing just a draw because of their superior goals scored earlier in the group – were savvy and smart to stymie Ireland a regular sight of goal despite a dream start.

Naomi Carroll tore down the right channel to draw a penalty corner in the second minute. Her Catholic Institute club mate Róisín Upton duly finished off the set piece, a bullet drag-flick into the bottom corner.

Spain, though, were back on terms in the 12th minute. It was a slick piece of work, a stepover gifting Maria Lopez time to pick out Begoña Garcia at the injector’s spot and she swept home from close range.

It became an absorbing contest after that with Spain enjoying the majority of the ball and looking to press on while Ireland went into a counter-attack mode.

It meant precious few chances between the second and third quarters with the greens not overly troubled during spells down to 10 players to a couple of green cards, likewise Spain when Lucia Jimenez went to the sin-bin.

Ayeisha McFerran got a strong stick to deny Lola Riera just before the end of the third quarter, keeping the tie very much up in the air for a high octane final 15 minutes.

Lopez’s heavily deflected shot clattered off the post and fell invitingly for Hawkshaw to start a brilliant counter which culminated in Anna O’Flanagan earning Ireland’s second corner. Shirley McCay’s shot, though, was well dealt with by the Spanish defence.

Upton produced some heroics to clean up a huge Spanish chance while McFerran swept up three more chances to keep hopes alive.

That golden opportunity never accrued for Ireland in a frustrating endgame. It means they will now contest Pool C where four teams will battle it out for the one remaining World Cup spot from this competition.

“Heartbroken for now,” Matthews added. “We know Spain so well and they know us. It was always going to be difficult to get the tactics right and exploit each other.

“We just didn’t create enough opportunities; it was partly our own doing, partly them closing down the centre. We needed to create a bit more around the outside; we only got two corners and didn’t create a whole lot of scoring opportunities.”

Matthews will now look to dig into her archive of experiences – this was her 150th cap – over the next few days before Friday’s next Pool C tie to try and bounce back.

“We’ve experienced every scenario that’s possible over the last eight years or so! We definitely draw on that; there’s lots of quality teams in the Europeans so it will be hard no matter what but we will draw on it.

“I kind of forgot about it [being my 150th]! Look, its more about the quality of the caps and today was a great match. I said it to Clo [Watkins], we are so lucky in the year that has gone past that we are playing in a high stakes match like this, butterflies, all that. Just so privileged to play on a stage like this.”

Ireland’s next tie will be on Friday morning at 10.30am (Irish time) against an opposition to be confirmed later today. The concluding game on Saturday is against Italy at 3.30pm.

Ireland: A McFerran, R Upton, N Evans, K Mullan, S McCay, L Tice, N Carroll, H McLoughlin, L Holden, S Hawkshaw, A O’Flanagan
Subs: M Carey, M Frazer, C Watkins, N Daly, H Matthews, D Duke, L Murphy

Spain: M Ruiz, C Petchame, M Lopez, B Iglesias, L Riera, J Pons, B Garcia, X Gine, B Perez, G Oliva, L Jimenez
Subs: L Barrios, B Bonastre, C Mejias, A Torres-Quevedo, A Magaz, P Alvarez, M Garcia

Umpires: L Delforge (BEL), I Amorosini (ITA)

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Green Army ready to take on “old enemy” with World Cup spot on line

Women’s EuroHockey Championship Pool A preview
Wednesday: Ireland v Spain, 11.30am (Irish time, Live on RTE 2)
Chloe Watkins said the make-up of Ireland’s group meant she always “kind of felt it was going to come down to the final pool game against Spain” as the Green Army take on their most frequent recent rival.

The two sides’ recent history has often been intertwined with Ireland edging out the Spanish in the 2018 World Cup semi-final in a shoot-out.

In so doing, they gained more than a modicum of revenge for a chastening 7-2 loss when the two sides met in the 2017 Europeans at this same Wagener Stadium venue where they will meet on Wednesday at 11.30am (Irish time).

Outside of those key meetings, Spain is Ireland’s most frequent haunt for training camps with trips to Valencia, Jaen, Malaga and Granada in recent times.

In January, Ireland edged a five-game, uncapped series with two wins and two draws to their credit but all with precious little between the sides.

Like Ireland, they have established themselves in the world’s top ten; they sit seventh, Ireland ranked eighth.

“The Spanish are the old enemy for us; they have been on a similar journey as ourselves over the years,” Watkins added.

“They are an incredibly good team and it will be a really tough challenge. Again, it will be very different to Scotland and the Dutch. They are very skillful and it will take a lot of hard work to break them down but I think if we just do our homework and focus, we’ve had good results against them in the past. But it will take a big effort, make no doubt about it.”

Her battle in the central exchanges with Gigi Oliva will be a pivotal one; Watkins has been lining out against the Spanish playmaker for the guts of 15 years since Under-16 level in a rivalry that has also traversed club contests in Spain and the Netherlands.

The age and cap profiles are also remarkably similar with many players at the apex of their careers, late 20s and closing in on the 200 cap mark. Ireland have 13 centurions, Spain have 12.

Victory for Ireland will bring a 2022 World Cup ticket along with assured entry to the top tier of the 2023 European Championships.

A draw, though, will not do as the Spanish nicked a consolation four minutes from full time against the Dutch in a 7-1 defeat which may prove vital; it leaves them ahead of Ireland on goal difference thanks to their earlier 4-1 defeat of Scotland.

For Spanish coach Adrian Lock – now in his ninth year as head coach – he says he does not expect the late goal to have too much of a material impact despite giving his side an extra buffer.

“That last goal doesn’t change too much other than it can be a draw but our mindset for the game doesn’t really change and we go to try and win it.

“We know Ireland pretty well, we know them individually like they know us. They are a team who has come a long way in the last few years in a similar way in which we have. It will be tough and the small details will tell in the scoreline.”

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