Path Laid Out For Green Machine In 2019

The Green Machine path is well laid out for 2019 with FIH Series Finals in Le Touqet in June and Olympic Qualification then firmly coming into focus, there is also the Eurohockey Championships to look forward to in Belgium this August.

Ireland’s men will begin a series of training camps in the coming weeks, utilising a panel of 30 players as they prepare for the FIH Series Finals. While pools for that tournament are yet to be confirmed, they could face Chile, Egypt, France, Korea, Scotland, Singapore and Ukraine. Their first international fixture of the year will take place in Kampong against Japan in April, a side on the rise as they were crowned champions at the Asian Games last year.

Similar to last year, the Green Machine will welcome USA to Dublin in May for 2 competitive fixtures on May 24th and 26th, acting as fitting preparation with the FIH Series Finals the following month. A top two finish in Le Touqet will secure Ireland’s place at the Olympic Qualifiers in October/November (date TBC) but before sights can shift to Olympic qualification, the Eurohockey Championships in Antwerp awaits. There are no easy games at the highly competitive continental championships and Ireland sit in a challenging pool with the Netherlands, Germany and Scotland. Preparation for the Euro’s is likely to come in the form of a 4 Nations tournament in Santander in early August.

Speaking about the year ahead, head coach Alexander Cox said “I am delighted to have committed my future to Hockey Ireland and to continue working with the Green Machine at such an exciting time for hockey in Ireland. We learnt a lot from the World Cup in India and are looking forward to getting back on the pitch together and begin working towards Olympic qualification, which is our main goal for this year.

It will be a great opportunity for Irish fans to see the Green Machine at home in May when we face the USA and we are expecting 2 high quality games from an ever-improving side. We are working as a large panel of 30 at the moment which increases the competition in our selection and will begin our training camps shortly”.

Squad:

1. David Harte

2. David Fitzgerald

3. Mark Ingram

4. Jamie Carr

5. Jonathan Bell

6. Conor Harte

7. Paul Gleghorne

8. Luke Madeley

9. Stuart Loughrey

10. Matthew Bell

11. Lee Cole

12. Stephen Cole

13. Shane O’Donoghue

14. Michael Robson

15. Callum Robson

16. Kirk Shimmins

17. Sean Murray

18. Daragh Walsh

19. Chris Cargo

20. Matthew Nelson

21. Jeremy Duncan

22. Eugene Magee

23. Owen Magee

24. Alan Sothern

25. Ben Walker

26. Johnny McKee

27. Peter Caruth

28. John Jackson

29. Julian Dale

30. Neal Glassey

Upcoming 2019 Fixtures:

24/4/19 Ireland vs Japan in Kampong

24th & 26th May Ireland vs USA in Dublin

15-23 June FIH Series Finals in Le Touqet, France

1/8/19-7/8/19 4 Nations in Santander (TBC)

17/8/19 Ireland vs Netherlands Eurohockey Championships in Antwerp

18/8/19 Ireland vs Scotland Eurohockey Championships in Antwerp

20/8/19 Ireland vs Germany Eurohockey Championships in Antwerp

22-25/8/19 Classification Matches Eurohockey Championships in Antwerp

/by

Green Army 1 vs 1 India

Ireland 1 (Hawkshaw)

India 1 (Kaur)

With only one place in the world rankings between Ireland and India this was always likely to be an evenly contested clash. The Green Army welcomed back Lizzie Colvin and Shirley McCay to the fray for the first time since their historic World Cup final and Colvin was quick to make an impact in mid field; pulling defenders away to create space before releasing passes to the wings. India won an early PC and netted a goal in the opening quarter, but it was rightly disallowed after hitting an India foot. Recently capped Serena Barr was distributing the ball with ease in the Irish midfield while Hannah Matthews was on hand to dispossess the Indian attackers as they opted for the direct route. It was a powerful penalty corner drag flick from Gurjit Kaur that broke the deadlock in the first half.

Katie Mullan led the chase as Ireland searched for an equaliser with a powerful pass across the face of goal, but Aisling Naughton’s deflection went just wide of Rani’s goal. Matthews was pulling the strings in the backline and sent a pinpoint pass to Ali Meeke who calmly found Sarah Hawkshaw in front of goal for the equaliser. The experienced Indian side tested Emma Buckley on several occasions but the Racing keeper frustrated the strikers with several fine saves. Ireland had the opportunity to put the game to bed in the final moments from a penalty corner won by Anna O’Flanagan following a great team move from Sinead Loughran, Hawkshaw and Leah McGuire but the eventual effort was cleared and the sides shared the spoils in an even contest.

Starting: E Buckley, R Upton, C Brown, K Mullan, S Loughran, H McLoughlin, L Colvin, H Matthews, S Hawkshaw, A O’Flanagan, E Curran,

Subs: E Murphy, A Naughton, S McCay, S Barr, D Duke, A Meeke, L McGuire

Schedule (all times listed are local):

1/2/19 4:30pm Ireland 1vs1 India in Hockey Santomera pitch, Murcia

3/2/19 11am Ireland vs India in Hockey Santomera pitch, Murcia

4/2/19 6:30pm Ireland vs Spain in Armilla Hockey, Granada

6/2/19 12:30pm Ireland vs Spain in Armilla Hockey, Granada

7/2/19 11am Ireland vs Spain in Armilla Hockey, Granada

/by