An excellent second-half performance saw Ireland beat Poland for the first time since 1996 and claim a place in the semi-finals of the Champions Challenge, in Quilmes, Argentina.
In the first half Michael Watt put Ireland ahead and Conor Harte’s two penalty corners put a more accurate reflection on the scoreline.
Shane O’Donoghue completed the scoring for an emphatic win. The threat of relegation from this high level of competition – the second tier in the world list – has been averted.
It also provides further justification for the supporter-funded trip after the Irish Hockey Association board had initially threatened to pull the plug.
Ireland Coach, Andrew Meredith said “It is a great result after a frustrating first half, where we failed to convert our dominance. It was good to see after a much more clinical performance in the last 3rd that we were able to convert our authority in the scoreboard.”
Ireland Starting XI: D Harte, C Harte, Jackson, Gormley, Gleghorne, McCabe, Jermyn, Magee, Cockram, O’Donoghue, Watt
Ireland will face hosts Argentina at 8PM Irish Time on Saturday 1st December 2012 in the Champions Challenge 1 Semi-Final following Argentina’s 5-1 victory over Canada this evening.
The two sides met as recently as Saturday when they faced each other in their opening Pool B game with Argentina coming out victorious 4-3 on that occassion.
