Ireland with two wins in their opening matches made a solid start to their World League 2 #RoadtoRio tournament at Belfield.
Yesterday against Canada set piece goals from Aine Connery and Kate Dillon saw Ireland defeated Canada 2-1 in front of packed house.
It continues their confident start to the tournament, which forms part of the Olympic qualifying process, as they head Pool A after two rounds of matches.
After a blistering opening, creating three gilt-edged chances, Ireland did have to survive an early scare when Karli Johansen’s corner shot bounced on to Cliodhna Sargent’s foot on the line.
It led to a penalty stroke. Emma Gray, however, produced a spectacular diving save to deny Sara McManus from the spot.
Canada finished the first quarter the stronger but Ireland soon rediscovered their early control with a high tempo display. They hit the front in the 22nd minute when Chloe Watkins’ excellent incision down the right wing drew a penalty corner which was superbly executed; Cliodhna Sargent applied the pace for Aine Connery to redirect into the roof of the goal.
From there, Ireland were the much more composed but Canada appeared to have a lock on the Irish set piece corner variations, stopping the danger at source on several occasions.
Goalkeeper Kaitlynn Williams dealt with another barrage of shots to ensure that plenty of tension remained in the match, making fine saves from Megan Frazer and Gillian Pinder, keeping the it 1-0 going into the closing stages.
Kate Dillon eventually looked to have sealed the deal with a little over five minutes remaining from Ireland’s sixth penalty corner, bundling home after Shirley McCay’s shot ricocheted this way and that.
Thea Culley, though, made things interesting with two minutes left when she tipped in a clever Canadian corner move, reducing the deficit. But they could not muster another attack of note and Ireland held on for the win.
The result means Ireland head their group after two matches – having beaten Ukraine 5-0 on Saturday – and will top the group on Tuesday if they draw or beat Turkey.
Speaking afterwards, coach Darren Smith said: “I thought we probably had the run of the match. If we had of taken one of three earlier chances, it might have relaxed us and we could have played more naturally. It got a little bit tight and tough after that, which we expected, but its nice to have three more points and still have room to improve.”
Ireland: E Gray, C Sargent, S McCay, M Frazer, H Matthews, G Pinder, E Smyth, N Daly, A O’Flanagan, K Mullan, N Evans
Subs: N Carrroll, C Watkins, A Connery, L Colvin, A McFerran, K Dillon, A Meeke
Canada: K Williams, K Gillis, D Hennig, T Culley, H Haughn, K Johansen, A Raye, N Sourisseau, S McManus, M Secco, B Stairs
Subs: H Stewart, A Woodcroft, S Johnston, S Norlander, A Thicke, R Beale, B Frisch
Ireland’s next match is on St Patrick’s Day at 14:45 against Turkey so come along and support the green army on their Road To Rio!
Pool A: Ireland 5 (A O’Flanagan 2, C Sargent, M Frazer, A Connery) Ukraine 0
Ireland cruised to a powerful opening victory in Pool A of the UDG Healthcare Hockey World League Round 2, beating Ukraine 5-0 at Belfield.
It gave them a solid base for the week which acts as the first qualifying phase of the 2016 Olympic qualifying process.
Anna O’Flanagan got them off to a superb start when she guided in a Katie Mullan cross just three minutes into the game. It came in a rip-roaring start in which Ireland had two further goals ruled out while a couple of close range chances also went a begging.
O’Flanagan doubled up on the quarter-time hooter as Nicci Daly – Ireland’s stand-out performer – tore down the right wing and picked out the striker. From mid-circle, she thumped through goalkeeper Tetiana Stepanchenko’s defences.
Cliodhna Sargent’s swept penalty corner strike extended the lead to 3-0 by half-time of a dominant display though there were more chances to build on the total.
The second half saw more of the same early on with Megan Frazer potting a penalty stroke 35 seconds into the half after Aine Connery’s shot was blocked on the line by a Ukranian body.
Connery applied a simple touch for number five from McCay’s clever angled shot in the 36th minute. With the tension out of the game, the next stages proved frustrating for the Irish as they created a glut of chances but could not add to their tally but they will nonetheless be satisfied with a comprehensive opening day victory.
“We could have scored a few more and were a bit wasteful but 5-0 is not too bad to start a tournament,” head coach Darren Smith said after the match.
“Ukraine arrived in last night and were probably a bit sluggish. What you would like to do is rise above that and be sharper. We lacked a bit of being clinical but also scored some nice goals.”
Next up, they play Canada on Sunday at 3.15pm in Belfield in their second group game and Smith is looking forward to that task.
“I watched them a month ago against New Zealand and they look like they are doing a good job. They are fit, aggressive and pretty hard nosed so it will be a good game and I reckon we will enjoy that.”
Earlier in the day, Chile defeated Lithuania 4-0 while Belarus were 2-0 winners over Austria.
Ireland: E Gray, C Sargent, E Smyth, N Evans, S McCay, M Frazer, N Daly, H Matthews, K Mullan, A O’Flanagan, G Pinder
Subs: N Carroll, A Connery, C Watkins, L Colvin, K Dillon, A Meeke, A McFerran
Ukraine: T Stepanchenko, K Shokalenko, Y Kernoz, Y Shevchenko, K Samokhodchenko, O Derkch, Y Sitalo, V Stetsenko, N Honcharenko, O Hulenko, H Liashenko
