Irish Women Runners-up to Korea in FIH Final in Banbridge, but Olympic qualifier in Autumn Secured. Ireland 1 – 3 Korea.

Ireland 1 (N Daly) Korea 3 (H Kim, E Cheon, J Kang)

A tight opening half had the two teams 0-0 at half time despite both sides having a few chances to score. A brilliant pass by Roisin Upton in the first quarter gave Chloe Watkins a shot at the Korean goal, but Korean goalkeeper Soo Ji Jang managed to get her foot to the ball preventing Ireland getting on the scoreboard. Yuri Lee from Korea also found a chance for herself at the opposite end of the pitch, although McFerran was on hand to keep the match nil all. The Green Army seemed to progress as the quarter advanced but the Korean defence remained strong throughout.

The second quarter saw a lovely chance for O’Flanagan, provided by a pass from Deirdre Duke, however Korea’s Jang saved it well. A Penalty Corner for Korea and Hyoju An managed to shoot for the goal but McFerran saved and sent it out wide. Brown provided an excellent pass to Upton who’s drag flick saw the ball in the back of the goal, however an obstruction caused the goal to be disallowed.

Shirley McCay and Zoe Wilson provided noticeable interceptions in the lead up to half time. While McFerran was more active throughout this match than any other over the tournament in Banbridge and her skills were put to good use.

Ireland really applied the pressure in the opening minutes of the third quarter but a robust defence by Korea kept them at bay. As the quarter progressed Korea seemed to up the tempo and Hannah Matthews and Roisin Upton became instrumental in Ireland’s play.

The final quarter provided goals from Hyunji Kim and Eunbi Cheon before Nicola Daly managed to get one over the line in a third attempt in an Ireland Penalty Corner. Although Ireland’s decision to pull the goalkeeper to increase their outfield numbers proved un-advantageous as Korea’s Kang managed to put the ball in an empty net to seal the win.

Despite the result the Irish Women’s Olympic qualification ambitions remain unscathed with the squad safely through to a direct qualifier in the Autumn.

Speaking on the match, Interim Head Coach Gareth Grundie said, “Overall we played well. I felt like we were the better side for the first three quarters. Korea started very well and were very strong in the final quarter. It wasn’t to be today.”

In terms of what’s to come and how he’s found his time as Head Coach, Gareth said “I’ve really enjoyed the last few months. We’ve made lots of progress and the girls have been great, as have the staff, so we’re in a good position moving forwards.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do in the coming months and working with Sean [Dancer]. We’ve Europeans and an Olympic qualifier to look forward to so the focus will now move to those.”

The FIH Series Finals individual player awards were awarded as follows:

  • Hero Top Scorer – Anna O’Flanagan (6 Goals), IRL, #26
  • Best Player – Anna O’Flanagan, IRL, #26
  • Best Junior Player – Yohanna Lhopital, FRA, #8
  • Best Goalkeeper – Mathilde Petriaux, FRA, #31.

Ireland: A McFerran, R Upton, K Mullan, S McCay, B Barr, C Watkins, L Colvin, N Daly, H Matthews, A O’Flanagan, Z Wilson

Subs: C Brown, L Tice, G Pinder, S Hawkshaw, D Duke, A Meeke, E Buckley.

Korea: S J Jang, Y Lee, H An, E Cheon, J Kang, E Cho, Y Lee, H Jang, H Cho, H Shin, S Lee

Subs: J Seo, S J Choi, S Kim, E Yu, H Kim, S Kang, Y Choi.

Ireland 4 (E Magee 2, S O’Donoghue, M Robson) Scotland 2 (D Riddell, K Bain)

Ireland’s men got their FIH World Series Final tournament in Le-Touquet-Paris-Plage off to a strong start with a solid performance against Scotland this morning.

Eugene Magee opened the scoring in the 2nd minute with a neatly taken reverse shot with Ireland dominating possession in the opening stages of the game. Scotland managed to equalise through Duncan Riddell in the 7th minute after their first penalty corner broke down and the ball was scrambled into David Harte’s goal.

Ireland continued to dominate possession during the first quarter and the pressure paid off when with just 2 minutes to go, Shane O’Donoghue scored from a penalty corner making it 2-1 to Ireland at the break.

Despite some good pressure from Ireland during the 2nd quarter, they were unable to extend their lead before half time despite winning 2 penalty corners in quick succession before the hooter.

Ireland began the 3rd quarter brightly and Magee extended the lead, shooting low into the bottom corner in the 35th minute. Just a minute later Scotland won a corner which was converted by Kenny Bain to make it 3-2. Michael Robson’s well taken upright reverse shot in the 40th minute restored Ireland’s 2 goal advantage before the end of the 3rd quarter.

Neither side managed to add to the goal tally in the 4th quarter and it finished 4-2 to Ireland.

Speaking on the result, Head Coach Alexander Cox said, “I am happy with the result and the way we played today. A first game at a tournament is always a difficult one and we handled that well.

We have clear objectives on and off the ball which we wanted to see today. I saw some great counter-attack chances. Out 1-0 was one of them.

I’m also happy with the individual performances, which makes a team. There are still points to improve, especially in our defensive structure, but overall a very good start against a well organised and good Scottish side.

The next battle is now our focus, Egypt tomorrow.”

Ireland take on Egypt in their 2nd match of the tournament tomorrow (16th June) at 12:30 Irish time as they continue their journey on the Road to Tokyo.

Ireland: D Harte, J Jackson, J Bell, E Magee, S O’Donoghue, S Murray, B walker, D Walsh, C Harte, L Cole, S Cole
Subs: M Bell, L Madeley, N Glassey, M Robson, P Gleghorne

Scotland: T Alexander, M Bremner, A Bull, R Anderson, R Harwood, K Bain, C Falconer, A McQuade, N Parkes, D Riddell, C MacKenzie
Subs: C Duke, C Golden, G Byers, R Shepherdson, E Greaves, M Collins, D Forrester

Matches are being streamed live on the FIH website: https://fih.live/view/event/48364

Irish Women defeat Czech Republic 4-0 to enter the final of the FIH Series Final in Havelock Park this afternoon. This result has earned them an Olympic qualifier place for October/November later this year.

A drenched pitch meant a slower pace in the opening quarter. The Czech’s started strongly, with 2 penalty corners in the first quarter: foiled once by pitch conditions, which helped Katie Mullan bring the ball back up the pitch, while the second was saved by McFerran, with Hannah Matthews on hand to take the re-bound back out of the Irish circle.

The first chance of the opening quarter came from O’Flanagan, after being set up nicely by Deirdre Duke, however the shot went wide. Duke was back again shortly with the last chance of the quarter, although Czech goalkeeper Cechakova prevented her from putting Ireland on the scoreboard.

The second quarter saw Ireland take the lead. A penalty corner, inserted by Hannah Matthews, provided the opportunity for Shirley McCay sweep it past Czech defence and Cechakova to put Ireland on the scoreboard. Zoe Wilson added to the lead shortly afterwards from another penalty corner. The shot looked wide but hit the post and bounced in to see Ireland 2-0 up. Ireland seemed to come into their own again in the second quarter with far more attacking, threatening the Czech Republic a lot more throughout.

Ireland remained dominant in quarter three, carrying the majority of possession. Upton, Tice, McCay, Barr all playing well throughout to bring ball up to threaten but the Czech defence was much stronger in this quarter. Despite no additions to the scoreboard, Ireland seemed comfortably in control. A short venture into the Irish circle was quickly countered by Chloe Brown who joined the squad this morning as Megan Frazer unfortunately had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury.

Sarah Hawkshaw takes a shot but Cechakova saves it. Ireland were back attacking almost immediately with Shirley McCay retrieving the ball on the line and passing nicely to Sarah Hawkshaw to bring the lead to three goals. Anna O’Flanagan brought it home in the final minute with the fourth and final goal of the match.

Speaking on the match, Interim Head Coach Gareth Grundie said, “I’m very pleased with that performance, it was controlled and disciplined.

We played good, attacking hockey and their keeper had a few good saves.

We’re looking forward to recovering and preparing to go again tomorrow.”

Ireland: A McFerran, K Mullan, L Tice, G Pinder, B Barr, L Colvin, H Matthews, A O’Flanagan, Z Wilson, D Duke, A Meeke

Subs: R Upton, C Brown, S McCay, C Watkins, N Daly, S Hawkshaw, E Buckley

Czech Republic: B Cechakova, K Lacina, J Reichlova, A Koziskova, T Mejzlikova, V Novakova, A Lehovcova, A Kolarova, V Decsyova, A Vorlova, N Novakova

Subs: T Holubcova, N Hajkova, K Jelinkova, R Capouchova, N Babicka, M Hlavata, B Brizova

Korea beat Malaysia 3-0 in the second semi-final of the day claiming their spot in the final tomorrow against the Green Army. The final will take place at 15:30 in Havelock Park, Banbridge.

Gareth Grundie had this to say regarding the Korean squad for tomorrow’s final, “We’ve done a fair bit of work on them ahead of the tournament. We’re looking forward to a good competitive game Now that top two is assured we can relax and play our style of hockey”.

Safely topping Pool A and through to Saturday’s semi-final, an 11-0 win saw the Irish Women dominate play for the entire game against Singapore on Tuesday afternoon, with the visitors rarely managing to bring play down into the Irish half of the pitch. The majority of the game comprised of free moving, attacking hockey from the host nation, keeping Singapore under pressure throughout.

A win on Saturday secures an Olympic Qualifier spot for the coming Autumn meaning it’s still all to play for here in Banbridge. Speaking to BBC on the match, Roisin Upton said “We treat the next game as the biggest game each time around.” So there will be plenty of high quality hockey to see this weekend!

Thursday’s matches will see Scotland who were 2nd in Pool B will take on the Czech Republic, the winner of this match will then face Ireland in Saturday’s semi-final. Korea will then play the winner of Malaysia v France in the second semi-final later that afternoon to decide who will take to the pitch for the final on Sunday afternoon.

There is still time to get your tickets for this weekend and come support the Green Army on their road to Tokyo. Don’t miss your chance to see some spectacular hockey this weekend! Tickets are available at www.irelandhockey.sportlomo.com/buy-tickets/

Through to Saturday’s semi-final, an 11-0 win saw the Irish Women dominate play for the entire game with Singapore rarely managing to bring play down into the Irish half of the pitch. The majority of the game comprised of free moving, attacking hockey from the host nation, keeping Singapore under pressure throughout.

The first chance of the game came from Roisin Upton with a drag flick that went wide. However, Megan Frazer put Ireland on the score board shortly after, with an Upton pass to O’Flanagan setting her up nicely to get the goals rolling. The next goal came from Katie Mullan as little as 2 minutes later. Gillian Pinder was next to add to the goals 2 minutes later again stealing the ball from the Singapore defence and knocking it with a reverse stick. Ireland ended the first quarter with a 3-0 lead having held the majority of possession.

Roisin Upton got her next chance from a PC. Inserted by Watkins and deflected by O’Flanagan, Upton managed to slot the ball in passed the Singapore’s Felissa Lai. Less than a minute later a similar play from Watkins and O’Flanagan allowed Lena Tice to slap one into the back of the net making it 5-0 to Ireland.

Sarah Hawkshaw wasn’t long making it 6-0 with a nice deflection in the circle, before Upton came back to claim her second goal of the game, also from a PC, with an expertly executed drag flick from an O’Flanagan deflection. The half-time whistle blew with a 7-0 lead to the Green Army.

A lovely interception from Zoe Wilson in the third quarter led to a chance for Ali Meeke in the circle, although this ended slightly wide. While Ireland remained the dominant team and seemed comfortably in control, a number of lost opportunities were evident as Ireland failed to add to their goal tally in this period. However, Megan Frazer was on fire in Midfield running circles around Singapore giving the 800 or so school children in attendance a real show of skills for them to savour.

A Wilson shot in the final quarter was defended by Goalkeeper Felissa Lai, but Hannah Matthews was on hand to secure the rebound to get the goals going again for the final quarter. Shirley McCay provided a lovely deflection giving lead tournament goal-scorer Anna O’Flanagan the chance to slot one into the net. McCay took her 281st cap today, making her the most capped Irish player, male or female, in any sport. A position she previously held, she takes the title back from Eugene Magee of the Men’s team.

Katie Mullan gave the home crowd an impressive strike with the power and precision to bury the ball in the bottom corner of the goal, putting Ireland’s goal count into double digits. While Zoe Wilson provided an 11th goal while the crowd was on the countdown from 3.

Speaking on the match, Interim Head Coach Gareth Grundie said “I’m pleased with the way we approached the game today.

We started again with real attacking intent, creating plenty of chances and scored a few nice goals.

We’re delighted to top the group and go through to the semi-finals on Saturday.”

Thursday’s matches will see Malaysia who were 2nd in Pool A take on France who were 3rd in Pool B. While Scotland who were 2nd in Pool B will take on the Czech Republic.

Saturday 15th of June will see Singapore play Ukraine for 7th and 8th position. Safely topping Pool A Ireland will play in the first semi-final of the day, which will get underway at 13:15, taking on the winner of Scotland v Czech Republic. Korea will then play the winner of Malaysia v France in the second semi-final later that afternoon.

Ireland: A McFerran, R Upton, S McCay, M Frazer, E Tice, G Pinder, B Barr, C Watkins, S Hawkshaw, Z Wilson, D Duke

Subs: E Buckley, K Mullan,L Colvin, N Daly, H Matthews, A O’Flanagan, A Meeke.

Singapore: P Maligaya, N A Abdull, I Chan, P Ho, N S Saban, H Johana, L M Toh, L Tan, F Lai, R Sanip, G Leck

Subs: Y T Liu, J NG, X Chua, S Wong, C Chia, S NG, M Francis

At the recent June Board meeting Eric Brady was elected as the new Chairperson of Hockey Ireland. Eric, who first joined the Hockey Ireland Board in 2016 succeeds Bryan Caruth who stood down this May having served the maximum allowed term as a board member. Bryan who will continue his national involvement as Chair of the Competitions Committee was acknowledged at the recent AGM for his long and distinguished service to the Board and received well deserved thanks from the membership for his ongoing and unfailing dedication to the sport of hockey.

Following his election, Eric thanked his fellow board members for affording him the opportunity to take on this role at such an exciting time for the sport of Hockey in Ireland. He said “I look forward to working with the Board, Provinces, Clubs, Volunteers and Membership as a whole to increase participation and success at all levels within the sport”

Two wins from two for Ireland in the FIH Series Finals at Havelock Park as O’Flanagan puts away four goals and Daly does a double. Added to a goal each for Sarah Hawkshaw and Zoe Wilson the Irish Women’s squad were in constant control in a dominating performance of the Czech Republic.

The first chance of the game came from Captain Katie Mullan, but was well saved by Czech Goalkeeper Barbora Cechakova. However, it wasn’t long before Ireland were back in the Czech circle. Mullan managed to deflect off a Czech stick for Nikki Daly to touch the ball into finish to put Ireland in front for an early lead.

A few challenges from the Czech squad occurred in the opening quarter but Ireland remained comfortably in control. Ali Meeke played well to keep the ball out of the Irish circle, passing to Anna O’Flanagan who moved the ball back up into the Czech half.

The first penalty corner of the game went to Ireland, but the Czech defence prevented a goal. Watkins and Colvin played nicely in the middle and helped bring about another chance for Katie Mullan, although this didn’t result in any additions to the scoreboard.

Chloe Watkins won possession on the right wing and feeding the ball to Anna O’Flanagan allowed O’Flanagan to put her first goal of the match away to finish out the first quarter.

The second quarter got off to a similar start in that Ireland held the majority of possession and kept the Czech Republic under constant pressure. Upton and Hawkshaw were strong up the right-hand side to bring the ball back to challenge. Strong defending by the Green Army kept the Czech out of the Irish circle for much of the quarter. Ireland showed impressive ability to switch between three and four at the back as required to counter any Czech attacks. Half-time remained 2-0 with some deserved opportunities for Ireland going wide of the post.

Cechakova managed to save the first Frazer to O’Flanagan attempt but Frazer managed a reverse to O’Flanagan shortly afterwards which Cechakova couldn’t prevent crossing the line. Ireland were straight back to applying pressure with Chloe Watkins an obvious force to contend with in midfield. The next goal of the quarter came when Zoe Wilson managed to get the rebound from Shirley McCay’s free hit which saw the ball dribble past the Czech goalie.

Ireland continued to dominate the game in the final quarter and extended their lead with two goals from penalty corners. Matthews into the circle, Tice with a slap and a goal from Hawkshaw with the deflection for the first. Matthews into the circle again for the second, this time to Watkins, with O’Flanagan for the hat-trick. She went on to secure a fourth goal shortly after with a nice play by Gillian Pinder giving her the opportunity to drive it past Cechakova into the net.

Ireland conceded a late consolation goal from Jindriska Leichova. With McFerran saving the first attempt by Adela Lehovcova, Leichova was able to secure a goal on the rebound. However, a Katie Mullan managed to turn the ball back into the Czech circle giving Nikki Daly the opportunity to get give Ireland back their 7 goal advantage.

Speaking on the match, Interim Head Coach Gareth Grundie said “We showed real intent today and it was good to be rewarded with some great finishing and corner execution.

I was pleased with our overall energy throughout but know this is a stepping stone and our feet are firmly grounded. Our focus remains on the task ahead starting on Tuesday.”

Ireland: A McFerran, R Upton, K Mullan, E Tice, G Pinder, B Barr, L Colvin, A O’Flanagan, Z Wilson, D Duke, A Meeke

Subs: E Buckley, S Hawkshaw, S McCay, M Frazer, C Watkins, N Daly, H Matthews

Czech Republic: B Cechakova, K Lacina, J Reichlova, N Hajkova, A Koziskova, T Mejzlikova, V Novakova, A Lehovcova, A Kolarova, V Decsyova, A Vorlova,

Subs: L Duchkova, K Jelinkova, R Capouchova, B Brizova, N Babicka, M Hlavata, N Novakova

Ireland 8 (N Daly (2), A O’Flanagan (4), S Hawkshaw, Z Wilson) Czech Republic (1 J Reichlova)

Irish Women get their FIH Series Final off to Strong Start with 2 – 1 win over Malaysia.

Ireland 2 (B Barr, K Mullan) Malaysia 1 (S Husain)

Bethany Barr put Ireland on the scoreboard early on with a goal in the forth minute, deflected from the penalty corner, on her major tournament debut. The Green Army showed good speed and intensity in the opening quarter, although Malaysia weren’t without opportunity. Strong defence from Zoe Wilson and Shirley McCay kept the score 1-0 to finish the quarter, with Lena Tice, Bethany Barr, and Roisin Upton also playing a noticeable role in Ireland’s strong defence.

A penalty corner early in the second quarter had the crowd silent in anticipation but was shot just wide by Zoe Wilson. Malaysia seemed to come into themselves as the second quarter progressed, putting Ireland under more pressure than the first quarter. A great play from Katie Mullan kept Malaysia out of the Irish circle. Followed shortly after by a nice series of play which saw O’Flanagan and Mullan moving the play back up the pitch between them, although a tough tackle to O’Flanagan prevented any further opportunity here.

Ireland upped the intensity coming into the third quarter. Hannah Matthews and Ali Meeke held a strong presence on the right-hand side of the pitch controlling much of the Irish possession for a period early in the quarter. A chance for Ireland from Mullan to Duke was well saved by Malaysian Goalkeeper Farah Yahya. Although it wasn’t long before Katie Mullan was back threatening shortly after. A nice side-line ball saw Colvin slip pass to Mullan who reversed in to bring the score to 2-0 at 40 minutes. The Irish women were back attacking the Malaysian circle again shortly afterwards, but the next chance for Ireland by O’Flanagan was kept out of the goal by solid Malaysian defence.

The final quarter saw Sarah Hawkshaw as a noticeable influence up near the Malaysian circle. The sun came out at last and the home-crowd support was stronger than ever. A goal for Malaysia at 55 minutes saw a shot deflected to Siti Husain who managed to get it passed Ireland’s McFerran. Ireland missed out on third goal with a chance for O’Flanagan going wide.

Speaking on the match, Interim Head Coach Gareth Grundie said “We’re please to get the first win of the tournament under our belt.

Conditions in the first half meant the pitch was slow so we didn’t have the tempo in the game that we wanted. We had good improvement in the third quarter and were then comfortable until we let them back six minutes to go. The win has put us in a strong position in the group and we hope to build on this performance tomorrow against the Czechs.”

A positive outing for the host nation in their opening match of their FIH Series Finals. The road to Tokyo is long, but it’s underway at last!

Ireland: A McFerran, K Mullan, S McCay, M Frazer, E Tice, B Barr, C Watkins, L Colvin, N Daly, H Matthews, A O’Flanagan

Subs: E Buckley, R Upton, G Pinder, S Hawkshaw, Z Wilson, D Duke, A Meeke.

Malaysia: F Yahya, N Rashid, N Shabuddin, S Ruhani, J Din, N Sumantri, H Onn, S Awang, N Saiuti, N Zulkifli, K Gurdip

Subs: N H Ali, H Aziz, S Mat Isa, F Sylvester, F Sukri, S Husain, N Syafi.

Ireland 3 (E Magee) France 1 (G Baumgarten, E Tynevez).

A hat-trick from Eugene Magee saw Ireland beat France in the second of this two-match series in Lisnagarvey Hockey Club.

Magee put Ireland on the scoreboard early on with a goal in the 2nd minute of play, in noticeably better conditions than last Tuesday’s match. The Banbridge man took his 280th cap in this match making him the most capped Irish Hockey player ever, surpassing Shirley McCay’s previous record of 278 caps.

However, the two look set to leapfrog each other for the top position of the coming fortnight between their respective FIH Series finals in Le Touquet and Banbridge.

France’s Gaspard Baumgarten secured an equaliser in the 15th minute to end the quarter 1-1.

The second quarter was marked by pressure from both teams, yet little clear cut goal scoring opportunities. France took the lead with a well taken goal from Etiene Tynevez at 25 minutes, but Magee wasn’t long securing the equaliser.

A short corner for France provided little threat for Ireland ahead of the half-time whistle, with the Irish defenders standing strong to ensure the score remained 2-2.

Quarter three provided chances for both teams, with Paul Gleghorne and Johnathan Bell alongside Jamie Carr in goals standing strong.

The final quarter of the match saw France’s Charles Masson receive a yellow card for poor tackle in the 51st minute. While Eugene Magee was on fire again scoring his third goal of the match at 53 minutes.

The Green Machine travel to Le Touquet next where their FIH Series Finals begin on June 15. All travelling support welcome! You can find more information on the tournament at: https://www.fihseriesfinals.com/1051/competitionOverview

Ireland: D Harte, J Jackson, J Bell, E Magee, S O’Donoghue, S Murray, B Walker, D Walsh, P Gleghorne, L Cole, S Cole,

Subs: J Carr, M Bell, L Madeley, M Nelson, M Robson, N Glassey, C Harte.

France: A Thieffry, T Genestet, H Genestet, S Martin Brisac, B Rogeau, V Lockwood, C Masson, N Dumont, G Baumgarten, F Goyet, JB Forgues,

Subs: P van Straaten, A Bellenger, C Peters-Deutz, E Tynevez, T Ponthieu, M Branicki, C Saunier.

Press Release from Ulster Hockey, June 5th 2019

“The Ulster Hockey Management Board is pleased to announce the appointment of our new Executive Manager Marc Scott.

We are delighted that Marc is joining us on Monday 10th June 2019 and his role will be to drive forward the promotion, development and management of Hockey across the province.

Marc Scott is highly qualified in Sports and Business Law, Sport Studies and Governance together with Management and Leadership. He joins Ulster Hockey following a successful career with the Scottish Institute of Sport, Scottish Hockey and Sport Northern Ireland where he gained extensive experience in Performance, Governance and Management roles. Marc is looking forward to working with our talented Ulster Hockey Staff and supporting the Management Board in our transition to an Incorporated Company and a charitable status organisation.

The Board and the Staff warmly welcome Marc Scott as leader of the Staff Team and wish him every success. I’m sure the Ulster Hockey family will join me in congratulating Marc in winning through from a list of high calibre candidates and will actively support Marc in his new role.

Billy Pollock

Chair – Ulster Hockey”

“Photo LtoR: New Executive Manager meeting some of the Staff Team, Andrew Johnston, Marc Scott (Executive Manager), Billy Pollock (Chair Ulster Hockey) & Andrew Brown”