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Under 18 Boys Selection – 8 Nations & Scotland Series

The U18s travel to Jordanstown this Friday for a 3 match series against Scotland U18.

This is their penultimate match series before they travel to Germany next week for the much anticipated 8 Nations. 

Hockey Ireland Under 18 Boys – Scotland Series Squad – Jordanstown July 1st to 3rd 2022
Player
 Province Club School
Alex Lynch
 Leinster Three Rock Rovers The High School
Allen Lyons Ulster Annadale Hockey Club Royal Belfast Academical Institution
Ben Pasley Leinster Three Rock Rovers HC The High School
Ben Pollock Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy
Cian Dorgan Munster Cork C of I HC Ashton
Conor Matthews Ulster Annadale Hockey Club Sullivan Upper
Harry Dagg Leinster Avoca Temple Carrig
James Evans Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy
Josh Gill Leinster Three Rock Rovers Wesley College
Mackenzie Connor Ulster Lisnagarvey Hockey Club Friends’ School Lisburn
Mark Cuddy Ulster Cookstown Hockey Club Cookstown High School
Matthew McKee Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy
Matthew Stevenson Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy
Patrick McElhinney Ulster Annadale Hockey Club Methodist College Belfast
Rhys Armah-Kwantreng Leinster Monkstown HC St Andrew’s College
Sam Chapman (GK) Leinster YMCA Wesley College
Sam Dale Munster Cork Harlequins HC Bandon Grammar
Scott Hosick (GK) Ulster Lisnagarvey Hockey Club Friends’ School Lisburn
Tiarnan Gaffney Munster Catholic Institute HC Villiers School
Tommy Dobson Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy

No cost at the gate over the weekend.

Hockey Ireland Under 18 Boys – 8 Nations Squad – Germany July 11th to 17th 2022
Player
 Province Club School
Allen Lyons Ulster Annadale Hockey Club Royal Belfast Academical Institution
Ben Pasley Leinster Three Rock Rovers HC The High School
Ben Pollock Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy
Cian Dorgan Munster Cork C of I HC Ashton
Conor Matthews Ulster Annadale Hockey Club Sullivan Upper
Conor Murphy (GK) Leinster Avoca Hockey Club Newpark
James Evans Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy
Josh Gill Leinster Three Rock Rovers Wesley College
Mackenzie Connor Ulster Lisnagarvey Hockey Club Friends’ School Lisburn
Mark Cuddy Ulster Cookstown Hockey Club Cookstown High School
Matthew McKee Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy
Matthew Stevenson Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy
Patrick McElhinney Ulster Annadale Hockey Club Methodist College Belfast
Rhys Armah-Kwantreng Leinster Monkstown HC St Andrew’s College
Sam Dale Munster Cork Harlequins HC Bandon Grammar
Scott Hosick (GK) Ulster Lisnagarvey Hockey Club Friends’ School Lisburn
Tiarnan Gaffney Munster Catholic Institute HC Villiers School
Tommy Dobson Ulster Banbridge Hockey Club Banbridge Academy
Non-Travelling Reserves:
Alex Lynch
 Leinster Three Rock Rovers The High School
Harry Dagg Leinster Avoca Temple Carrig
Sam Chapman (GK) Leinster YMCA Wesley College
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IRELAND U16 GIRLS – SQUAD SELECTION – EDINBURGH SCOTLAND

U16 Squad travel to Edinburgh this weekend.
Matches will take place at Meggetland Sports Complex
MatchTimes:
Fri:  5pm
Sat: 2pm
Sun: 10am
“The players have been working extremely hard over these last 6 weeks. This three-match series is a fantastic opportunity that allows us to bring us a larger squad and provide key international development for this age group. It will also provide great preparation ahead of our 8 Nations tournament in Barcelona from 10-17 July
We are very much looking forward to it”
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Senior Men kick off 4 Nations in Scotland.

The senior men’s team get started today with a 4-Nations tournament at the Uddingston Cricket and Sports Club Scotland.

They will take to the pitch on Wednesday 29 June – Sunday 3 July to take on Scotland; Wales; and the USA in the capped and competitive tournament.

The full list of games is below:

Schedule

Wednesday 29 June

17:00 | Ireland v Wales

19:00 | Scotland v USA

 

Thursday 30 June

17:00 | Ireland v USA

19:00 | Scotland v Wales

 

Saturday 2 July

13:00 | Wales v USA

15:00 | Scotland v Ireland

 

Sunday 3 July

11:00 | 3rd v 4th

13:00 | 1st v 2nd

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Uniphar Under-23 Five Nations Championship – day six round-up

The Netherlands took the laurels from the Uniphar Under-23 Five Nations tournament in Belfield with an excellent 4-1 win in Sunday’s final against India in front of a large crowd.

 

The two sides had drawn in the group stage in the group phase and both were unbeaten going into this decider and they played out a hugely contest.

 

Indeed, both sides ran up six penalty corners in the first half with the Oranje going in front in the 25th minute with a powerful low drag-flick from Belen van den Broek. It was her fifth goal of the competition and would secure her the top goalscorer prize.

 

Beauty Dungdung – named player of the tournament – levelled soon after from a sweet corner move, deflecting into the roof of the goal.

 

But the Netherlands were back in front when another corner shot rebounded off a body on the goal line, allowing Amber Brouwer to step up to score from the penalty stroke spot.

 

It gave the Dutch the edge going into the second half and they managed to exert far more control on the game. And when the chances came, they took them with Emma Santbrink and Sanne Hak both cashing in with next deflections to take the game out of India’s reach.

 

USA landed the bronze medal with an impressive 4-0 win over hosts Ireland. The Junior Green Army came out strong in the first quarter with Aoife Taaffe going close but they were unable to break through before the US took control.

 

They went in front in the 26th minutes from a penalty corner drag-flick from Caroline Ramsay – her fourth of the tournament – for a 1-0 half-time lead.

 

And the Americans produced the goods in the second half to pull away. Olivia Ben-Cole’s pin-point shot doubled the lead. Ryleigh Heck then struck twice in the final quarter to stretch the lead out to four.

 

In the day’s opening fixture, Ireland’s Under-18 side drew 0-0 with Ukraine in a challenge match to open the fixture.

 

Uniphar Under-23 Five Nations Championship – day six results

Final: Netherlands 4 (Belen van den Broek, Amber Brouwer, Emma Santbrink, Sanne Hak) India 1 (Beauty Dungdung)

Bronze match: USA 4 (Ryleigh Heck 2, C Ramsay, O Bent-Cole) Ireland 0

Challenge match: Ireland Under-18 0 Ukraine 0

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SoftCo Series – Ireland v Japan – Game 4.

Ireland 1 (S O’Brien) Japan 2 (M Toriyama, Y Nagai)

Ireland completed their World Cup preparations with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Japan in the fourth fixture of this week’s SoftCo Series at Belfield.

 

Síofra O’Brien’s first international strike from close range was outdone by efforts from Mai Toriyama in the first minute and a spectacular winner from Yuri Nagai in a crackling first half.

 

Coach Sean Dancer, he was frustrated his young side could not eke out cleaner chances to make the difference in front of a capacity home crowd.

 

“We just didn’t have enough consistency and do the things we needed to do well enough,” he said, reflecting on the uncapped series.

 

“They hurt us with their outletting and we didn’t control that well enough. We are progressing with our attacking game but we need to put more chances away.

 

“I’ve been impressed by all [the uncapped players]. Being uncapped and going to a World Cup to face Holland, what more could you want?

 

Charlotte Beggs offers some really nice skills and certainly progressed. She has worked hard physically over the last three months and doesn’t look out of place – she will get stronger and stronger. Her skillset is quality.

 

“I was really pleased for Síofra O’Brien to get her goal; she has been working hard and put some good pressure, is carrying the ball well. Katie McKee scored the other day so the young ones are stepping up.”

 

It concludes a strange phase for Ireland, meeting Japan eight times in a three-week period, four times in Okayama, four in Dublin.

 

“These Japan games never got stale and they play a style of hockey which we want to be able to execute and compete against. It shows why we were so happy to beat them last Sunday and it showed some rewards for the hard work we have been doing.”

 

The Irish players will now take in two three rest days before flying out to Amsterdam for the World Cup next Monday with a hit-out against India serving as final tuning.

 

Dancer says, despite a couple of facial injuries to Naomi Carroll and Deirdre Duke, the side came through this physical test in good health and ready to face the Netherlands on Saturday, July 2nd.

 

“Everyone is actually in a really good spot. If you had asked me four weeks ago, it would have been a different conversation. Everyone is ticking along well; the players will get some R&R for a few days, then work on a few things in

 

Earlier in the day, Ireland’s Under-23 side beat Ukraine 3-0 with final quarter goals Ellen Reid, Leah O’Shea and Mikayla Power.

 

It was a special contest with Minister for State for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan and Senator Emer Currie greeting the two teams prior to the match.

 

Ukraine Hockey Federation vice president Maryna Horokova presented Hockey Ireland President Ann Rosa with a special memento to thank the hosts for all their efforts to support Ukraine’s visit to Ireland.

 

In the game itself, it was evenly matched with the game scoreless until the end of the third quarter before Ireland cut loose. Ellen Reid scored from a corner rebound to make it 1-0 before Cork woman Leah O’Shea scored a peach of a goal for the second.

 

Power then netted an excellent individual strike, weaving through the Ukraine defence before lashing home.

 

In game one, all the goals came in the final quarter with USA taking the lead in the closing phase only for India to storm back and win 4-1. India will take up a place in the final against the Netherlands on Sunday.

 

Before that, the Netherlands face Ukraine at 9am on Saturday morning before Ireland face USA at 11am.

 

Ireland: A McFerran, S McAuley, S Hawkshaw, K Mullan, H McLoughlin, S Torrans, L Tice, N Carroll, C Perdue, K McKee, E Curran

Subs: M Carey, R Upton, C Beggs, S O’Brien, D Duke, C Hamill, Z Malseed

 

Japan: A Tanaka, Y Asai, M Suzuki, Y Nagai, H Nagai, S Oikawa, M Kozuka, M Segawa, S Kobayakawa, M Toriyama,, A Shimada

Subs: E Nakamura, N Matsumoto, M Tsubouchi, K Mori, M Kawamura, K Urata, S Omoto

 

Women

SoftCo Series: Ireland 1 (S O’Brien) Japan 2 (M Toriyama, Y Nagai)

Uniphar Under-23 series: India 4 (Annu 2, N Toppo, V Phalke) USA 1 (H Miller); Ireland 3 (E Reid, L O’Shea, M Power) Ukraine 0

 

Saturday 25th June 2022

Uniphar Under-23 series: Netherlands v Ukraine, Belfield, 9am; Ireland v USA, Belfield, 11am

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EuroHockey ID Championship – Team announcement

Hockey Ireland is delighted to announce the names of the squad members going to play in the EuroHockey ID (Intellectual Disabilities) Championship in Pinoke Hockey Club, The Netherlands from 6th / 9th July 2022. With the finals being played in the Mecca for hockey, the Wagner stadium!

This is the 3rd edition of the EuroHockey ID Championships that Ireland will participate in. The First once was in 2017 when TRRHC sent a club side and since then the growth of Hockey ID has meant that in 2019 club representatives from Monkstown and TRRHC travelled. There was no event in 2021 due to COVID, but this year it’s a true testament to the work from the clubs that we now have a team with representatives from 5 clubs, Three Rock Rovers, Monkstown, Wicklow, Railway Union and Botanic.

“We are thrilled to send a strong squad to The Netherlands with many players getting their first cap for Ireland. This has given a fantastic lift to the whole Hockey ID community and we know that the whole team will do us proud” said Rachel Kelly, Team Manager, Irish Hockey ID Team.

For more information or requests for player interviews please contact: Rachel at: +353 85 777 7643

All athletes had to be over 16 and the team is mixed gender.

Follow @eurohockeyorg on Instagram and Twitter for updates of the event.

Team Ireland

Players (10)

Cameron Ward, Botanic
Charlie O Reilly, Monkstown
Joe Whelan, Three Rock Rovers
Louis Mitchell, Monkstown
Louis Olden, Monkstown
Mark Sullivan, Monkstown
Matthew Burke, Three Rock Rovers
Niamh Kiernan, Railway
Sofia Finnegan, Botanic Hockey
Tony Ryan, Wicklow Hockey

 

Coaching and Management Team (4)

Ann Murray, Botanic
Klaas Jan de Vries, Wicklow
Rachel Kelly, Monkstown
Scott Mulligan, Three Rock Rovers

 

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Curran riding crest of wave ahead of World Cup

As weeks go, Ellen Curran says there have been few better for her. Just a few hours after her inclusion in the Irish World Cup side, college results landed – a first class honours in her masters of Biomedical Engineering.

 

“Pretty much the same day – it’s been a really good week for me!” she said during the SoftCo Series against Japan, admitting the journey has not been plain sailing.

 

She earned her call-up to the Green Army in November 2016 as a teenager but found it tricky to settle in the panel. For both the 2018 World Cup and the 2019 Olympic qualifiers, she was in the shake-up for selection until late in the day but missed out.

Again, at the start of 2020, she was an ever-present in the Olympic preparation camp in South Africa before Covid fell.

“It was a really difficult period. During Covid, I picked up a niggle and it impacted my performance and I did have a lull for about a year. I wasn’t really in contention for the Tokyo squad.

 

“Post-Tokyo, I was gunning for that spot at the qualifiers, made it for that tournament and subsequently took a break from the setup. I just put my mental health and it worked.

 

“I went back to my club Pembroke – becoming EY Champions and ISC finalists – and was back to finally enjoying it. I got the opportunity to come back into the setup and am now playing the best hockey I ever have.

 

“For me, personally, it’s been the most comfortable I have been in the setup. For a long time, I probably struggled with confidence within the group but I think I am really coming into it now. Maybe it just took from going from midfield into right back which is new for me but a great experience.”

 

As for the SoftCo Series, Curran has been heartened by the performances from the young Irish side against the world number 10 side who recently won the Asia Cup.

 

“We do want to win games for confidence but where we really want to win games is at the World Cup and that is the target. With this new group, we have made such progress from being in Japan to this series. The vibe is really positive, everyone is playing well and we are starting to gel at a nice time.

 

“I was surprised at the numbers of fans who have been here, given Wednesday was a 5pm start on a Wednesday! It’s brilliant to see so many people out and taking an interest before we head to the World Cup and hopefully we will see many of them over in Amsterdam.”

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SoftCo Series – Ireland v Japan & Uniphar Series

Ireland 1 (K McKee) Japan 2 (S Oikawa, M Toriyama)

Ireland’s women look set for a rousing send-off on Thursday evening at Belfield in their final warm-up fixture of the SoftCo Series, closing out a four-game run against Japan.

 

The visiting Japanese side edged out the Green Army on Wednesday evening 2-1 with Shihori Oikawa’s penalty corner and a late Mai Toriyama finish outdoing Katie McKee’s neat finish.

 

It played out in front of a healthy home crowd, a far cry from the final preparations for the now famous 2018 World Cup edition.

 

Back then, Ireland played their final warm-up games – also against Japan – at the Mardyke with scarcely 40 people in attendance but this week has seen the UCD grandstand fill and it looks likely to hit full capacity.

 

“It’s chalk and cheese,” said captain Katie Mullan. “A lot more people know we are going to a World Cup this time!

 

“I remember getting on the plane then and being asked if we were going to play in a rugby tournament. It’s fantastic to have a home crowd before we head away and it does get a buzz going, especially the number of the kids on the sideline.”

 

In terms of Wednesday’s outcome, they were not able to build on last Sunday’s win over the Asian champions when they ended Japan’s 14-game winning streak.

 

The Green Army made the opening waves, winning a couple of corners and McKee almost forced home from close range.

 

Oikawa, however, caught them cold from their second penalty corner, clipping into the bottom left corner for 1-0. McKee – who will make her formal debut in Amsterdam – snatched a great equaliser from Naomi Carroll’s cross, controlling and flicking home.

 

But the game was settled seven minutes from time via an incisive right wing move, squaring for Toriyama to flick in from close range.

 

“We are not as happy with our performance today as Sunday,” Mullan added. “We finished strong on Sunday so there is plenty to take into tomorrow and hopefully put Japan under more pressure and see where that leaves us. This is all about performance and learning and when we do that, it will put us in a good shape for Amsterdam.”

 

Earlier in the day, Ireland’s Under-21s lost 5-1 to Junior World Cup champions the Netherlands in their second fixture of the Uniphar Five Nations tournament.

 

The Dutch side held sway, building a 4-0 lead by the third quarter with two goals from Elzemiek Zandee before Emma Paul slammed home an excellent penalty corner shot.

 

Filiz Tuzgol closed out the win for the Dutch to lift them to seven points from three games where they are level with India at the head of the table. In the day’s first game, India were 3-0 winners over Ukraine.

 

Thursday looks set to be an emotional game for Ireland as they face Ukraine at 5pm – a match-up that should have been their Junior World Cup opening game before the Russian invasion.

 

It takes place at 5pm with the Irish senior women on next at 7pm at Belfield.

 

Ireland: A McFerran, S McAuley, Z Malseed, M Carey, R Upton, S Hawkshaw, K Mullan, H McLoughlin, S Torrans, L Tice, K McKee

Subs: N Carroll, C Beggs, C Perdue, S O’Brien, D Duke, E Curran, C Hamill

 

Japan: E Nakaumura, N Matsumoto, E Nishikori, M Suzuki, Y Nagai, S Oikawa, M Kozuka, M Segawa, K Mori, M Kawamura, A Shimada

Subs: Y Asai, M Tsubouchi, H Nagai, K Tanaka, A Tanaka, S Omoto, M Toriyama

 

Wednesday 22nd June 2022

Women

SoftCo Series: Ireland 1 (K McKee) Japan 2 (S Oikawa, M Toriyama)

Uniphar Under-23 series: India 3 (N Toppo, M Chorisya, B Dungdung) Ukraine 0; Netherlands 5 (E Zandee 2, I Kroot, B van den Broek, F Tuzgol) Ireland 1 (E Paul)

 

Thursday 23rd June 2022

Women

SoftCo Series: Ireland v Japan, Belfield, 7pm

Uniphar Under-23 series: India v USA, Belfield, 3pm; Ireland v Ukraine, Belfield, 5pm

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SoftCo Series – Ireland v Japan – Game 2.

Ireland 1 (N Carroll) Japan 0

Naomi Carroll’s sixth minute penalty corner goal earned Ireland a victory over world number 10 side Japan on day two of the SoftCo Series at Belfield this week.

It was a positive performance from the new look side as they controlled the tie from start to finish with Carroll getting a delicate touch for the only of the game, using her quick reactions to see off the chance.

Ireland did create a number of other chances but were not able to get the final touch but this was a hugely encouraging performance on the final lead into July’s World Cup.

Dancer’s side are back in action on Wednesday in game three of the series at 5pm.

Earlier in the day, the Irish Under-23 selection was undone 4-1 by India in the Uniphar Five Nations tournament which also runs throughout the week at Belfield.

The Junior Green Army were well in the contest at half-time with Cork Harlequins’ Leah O’Shea on the mark but the Indians were accurate on the counter-attack to pull clear in the second half.

Ireland are next in action on Wednesday when they meet the Junior World Cup champions, the Netherlands, before facing Ukraine on Thursday evening.

Monday’s Under-23 fixtures between USA and Ukraine (1pm) and India against the Netherlands (3pm) are free entry while all games this week are free for Ukranians in Ireland.

Elsewhere, Ali Keogh reached the 100-cap milestone to earn a golden whistle. It came in slightly bizarre circumstances as she became the first umpire to officiate two games in one day in the FIH Pro League.

She took charge of the women’s game between England and Belgium and was due to sit in as a reserve for the men’s game which followed on court.

However, an injury to Paul Walker saw her step in and oversee her second fixture of the day, a 5-0 win for Belgium.

 

Ireland: L Murphy, S McAuley, Z Malseed, M Carey, R Upton, S Hawkshaw, K Mullan, H McLoughlin, S Torrans, C Perdue, E Curran

Subs: N Carroll, C Beggs, K McKee, E Getty, S O’Brien, D Duke, C Hamill, A McFerran

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SoftCo Series – Ireland v Japan – Game 1.

Ireland 0 Japan 2 (K Tanaka, M Toriyama)

Two final quarter goals saw Japan land the opening laurels from the SoftCo Series at Belfield, getting the better of Ireland 2-0 in their four game schedule this week.

 

The Green Army had the best of the first and third quarters but found the finishing touch elusive while the world number 10 Japanese side took theirs.

 

Kaho Tanaka’s delightful lob and a sharp rebound from Mai Toriyama with two minutes to go made the difference.

 

“I thought we played really well today and certainly dominated the game,” said coach Sean Dancer.

 

“Japan are a good team and are always going to keep running. We had our chances and didn’t put them away and then the game ran away from us. Overall result, we are disappointed but, big picture, happy enough.

 

“We had enough chances to win the game but we have got to start scoring them. We are working hard on some of the decision-making and shot selection but it will click.”

 

Dancer will also have a concern over Naomi Carroll who picked up a head injury in the first half which ended her role in this contest.

 

The sides meet again on Sunday at 4pm at the same venue and play a further two times next Wednesday and Thursday in the final warm-up games before the World Cup begins on July 2nd.

 

Sunday also sees the first fixture in the Uniphar Five Nations tournament, also, at Belfield with Ireland’s Under-23 selection facing India at 2pm

 

Ireland: A McFerran, E Curran, L Tice, R Upton, H McLoughlin, C Perdue, S Hawkshaw, M Carey, Z Malseed, S Torrans, K Mullan

Subs: N Carroll, S McAuley, C Beggs, K McKee, D Duke, C Hamill, S O’Brien, E Getty, L Murphy

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