Head Coach Craig Fulton has named his 18-man team that will compete at the upcoming Eurohockey Championships in London (August 21st-30th). Fulton has named an experienced team with Eugene Magee and Ronan Gormley having well over 400 caps between them. Fulton’s team recently finished 5th at World League in Antwerp, 2 places higher than their seeding, and above Malaysia (world no. 12) and Pakistan (world no. 10).
The Eurohockey Championships will see the Green Machine face tough opposition; 4 of the world’s top 5 teams will be competing in the tournament. However the squad have faced Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, the 3 highest ranked teams in Europe, as part of their preparations in recent months. Ireland is placed in Group B with Germany (world no. 3), Belgium (world no. 4) and France (world no. 17). The squad is much the same to that which secured 5th place in Antwerp with the 3 changes being the addition of Michael Robson, Mathew Bell and Jonny Bruton.
Discussing the selection and tournament, Coach Craig Fulton said “Final selection was done this week after a 3 week block of training and two important matches against World number two Holland. There are 3 changes to the Irish Men’s group that played WL3 in Antwerp. Matt Bell, Jonny Bruton and Micheal Robson come into the 18 man squad. It is a strong squad and there is plenty of belief and confidence in the group going into the Europeans on the back of good performances in Belgium. At the same time we are well aware of the challenge that lies ahead against the quality opposition at the tournament. Our goal is simple to finish as high as we possibly can.”
Eurohockey Championship Squad
1.Mathew Bell- Banbridge
2.Jonny Bruton- Three Rock
3.Peter Caruth- Monkstown
4.Chris Cargo- Racing
5.Mitch Darling- Three Rock
6.David Fitzgerald- Monkstown
7.Paul Gleghorne- Lisnagarvey
8.Kyle Good- Dragons
9.Ronan Gormley- Krefeld
10.Conor Harte- Racing
11.David Harte- Kampong
12.John Jackson- Reading
13.Eugene Magee- Banbridge
14.Shane O’Donoghue- Dragons
15.Michael Robson- Annadale
16.Kirk Shimmins- UCD
17.Alan Sothern- Racing
18.Michael Watt- Surbiton
Non Travelling Reserves
1.Lee Cole- Monkstown
2.Drew Carlise- Banbridge
3.Neal Glassy- Lisnagarvey
4.Mark Ingram- Pembroke
5. Stuart Loughrey- Cannock
Match Schedule:
Saturday 22nd 8:30am Ireland vs France
Sunday 23rd 8:30pm Ireland vs Germany
Tuesday 25th 1:15pm Ireland vs Belgium
Thursday 27th Classification
Saturday 29th Finals
The tournament website can be found here!
