10th June, Belfast: The IRL U21 Men’s squad continued their preparations for this summer’s EuroHockey U21 Men’s Championships in Terrassa, Spain. This past weekend they hosted Wales & Scotland in a Tri-Nations Series in Ulster University, Jordanstown. The tournament was played over four days, beginning on Thursday, June 6th and ending on Sunday, June 9th. Ireland submitted two teams into the tournament: Team 1 & 2 to play against the travelling Welsh and Scottish teams.
Day 1: Thursday, June 6th
IRL Team 1 & 2 kicked off the weekend with a match between the two Irish sides. The game was a closely fought one in the opening stages. A goal from Chris Curry in the first quarter gave Team 1 the lead but Team 2 levelled the scoring through a Rob Olden drag flick in Q2. In the latter stages of the game, Team 1 began to pull away eventually ending the game as 4 – 1 victors thanks to goals from Louis Rowe, Ben Pasley and Matthew McKee.
Day 2: Friday, June 7th
The day began with a match up between IRL Team 1 and Wales. It was an exceptionally tightly fought affair with both sides fighting hard for the victory. However, it was IRL who came out the victors thanks to a goal from Matthew McKee which took his tally for the tournament up to 2 in as many games.
In the afternoon, Scotland took on IRL Team 2. The game started quickly and IRL made the most of their strong start, taking the lead from a penalty corner converted by Greg Williams. Not long after Williams got his second of the game, tapping in at the back post from Cian Dorgan’s delivery. IRL were dominant in Q3 but failed to extend their lead. As a last gasp roll of the dice, SCO pulled their keeper with 5 minutes remaining. They used the man advantage well, clawing a goal back in the dying minutes. IRL held firm, however, and came away 2 – 1 victors to take their first points of the weekend
Day 3: Saturday, June 8th
IRL Team 2 and Wales were first on the schedule on Saturday with IRL running out deserved winners. Greg Williams added to his goal tally with a brace, taking his total to 4. James Evans, Ben Ryder, John Cunningham and Zach Silverman were also on the scoresheet helping IRL Team 2 to overcome Wales 6 – 1.
IRL Team 1 replicated the morning’s matchup with a high scoring game of their own against Scotland. Robbie Davidson opened his account with two goals while Louis Rowe, Sam Dale and Milo Thompson were also among the goalscorers. IRL ultimately won the game 5 – 1
Day 4: Sunday, June 9th
It was an all-Ireland final as both Team 1 and Team 2 did enough to secure top spot and second place in the table. Sunday’s outing was an even tighter face-off with both sides effectively cancelling each other out. The deadlock wasn’t broken until the final 5 minutes in Q4 when Robbie Davidson grabbed his third goal of the competition to secure the victory for Team 1.
A massive thank you to all of the players, staff, volunteers and fans who helped make the weekend possible.
We’d also like to thank our U21 Men’s Team Sponsors for their continued Support:
- EY
- SoftCo
- Sports Entertainment Tours
- Emtek
- Shredders Ireland
All images provided by The Front Row Union (https://www.thefrontrowunion.com/)
