The Irish women’s hockey team lifted the mood of Irish hockey supporters when they moved top of the group in the FIH Road to London Tournament this afternoon, with a 5-0 win over Mexico in Kontich, Belgium.
Their five-goal haul, against a side that has already conceded seven to Spain and 12 to the hosts, came in the second half through braces for Audrey O’Flynn and Emma Smyth, before Cliodhna Sargent rounded off the scoring.
Despite dominating the opening half, the breakthrough only came in the 44th minute when O’Flynn flicked in a short corner. Curiously, that prompted a change in goal for Mexico with the hitherto impressive Ahidee Castillo taken off for by Selma del la Flores.
The replacement did little but pick the ball out of the net after that as Smyth scored on a reverse shortly after the opener. Both players doubled their tallies in the last five minutes and Sargent wrapped up the win in the 69th minute.
Nearest rivals Belgium and Spain play this evening.
Gene Muller’s still have these two fixtures to come, however. They will meet Spain on Thursday before ending the group stage against the hosts on Friday.
The top two teams will meet in the final on Sunday, with only the winner securing a place at London 2012.
