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Clean Sweep for Ireland at the EuroHockey Championship II, Men

 

EUROHOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP II FINAL 

IRELAND 5  UKRAINE  2

Ireland won the EuroHockey Championship II title on  Saturday despite trailing at half -time.

Leadership takes many forms. Sometimes the leader inspires the others to do great things, other times they lead by example. Captain Sean Murray took the latter path. Finding his side trailing at half time he scored twice in the fourth quarter, once to equalize and the second to put Ireland in the lead. Further goals from Benjamin Walker and  a Lee Cole penalty stroke sealed a 5-2 victory.

But as in the semi-final win over Scotland, Ireland were better in the second half, in this game against Ukraine too. Ireland took the lead through a penalty corner converted by Shane O’Donoghue in the 7th minute, but as the quarter wore on the opposition came more into the game. Ukraine got an equaliser on 9 minutes from Viacheslav Paziuk’s converted penalty corner to make it 1-1. Oleksandr Boiko gave Ukraine the lead with his converted penalty corner on 12 minutes and it was a lead they held on to right to the end of not only quarter one, but right up to half-time.

The third quarter saw Ireland looking more on the front foot and coming back into the game.

Sean Murray  scored a field goal in the 50th minute to make it 2-2. He got his second of the match in the 51st minute to put Ireland 3-2 ahead. Ireland went further ahead  in the 53rd minute through a Benjamin Walker field goal 4-2 ahead. And finally in the 56th minute Lee Cole converted a late penalty stroke to secure a 5-2 win.

In doing so Lee Cole scored his 9th goal of the tournament to secure the tournament top scorer award. David Harte was voted goalkeeper of the tournament by the coaches and manager of the participating teams. Ireland’s captain Sean Murray was voted player of the tournament and todays player of the match tournament would have gone a long way to helping him in that win. Final score Ireland 5 Czech Republic 2

IRELAND: David Harte (GK), Charlie Rowe, John McKee, Kyle Marshall, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (Capt.), Peter McKibbin, Jeremy Duncan, Benjamin Walker, Jonathan Lynch , Lee Cole.  SUBS USED: Luke Witherow, Conor Empey, Sam Hyland , Ben Johnson, Nicholas Page;

UKRAINE: Bohdan Tovstolytkin (GK), Viacheslav Paziuk, Mykhailo Yasinskyi, Dmytro Luppa (Capt.), Volodomyr Kaplinskyi, Vitalii Shevchuk, Maksym Onofriiuk, Bohdan Kovalenko, Volodomyr Zhmereniuk, Andrii Koshelenko, Oleksandr Boiko, SUBS USED: Oleksandr Diachenko, Iurii Moroz, Oleksii Popov, Yurii Dzemukh, Volodomyr Kostechko, Oleksandr Yashinskyi;

Clean Sweep: L-R: Lee Cole, Top goalscorer of the Tournament, David Harte, Top Goalkeeper of the Tournament and Sean Murray, Top Player of the Tournament.

Pool C got underway on Friday to try and sort out the positions 5th to 8th in the Euro Hockey Championships II. World Ranking points and seedings for future tournaments on the line it meant that every team involved in the latter two days of this tournament had something at stake in their final games of the week.

3rd and 4th PLACE FINAL  

ITALY  1  SCOTLAND 4

Pool B winners Italy ended up in a Bronze medal match against Pool B runners-up Scotland on Saturday at Sports Campus Ireland. Scotland, coached by Irishman Jonny Caren, were beaten in their semi final 4-1 by Ireland whereas the Italian had lost 4-3 in a shoot out to Ukraine after a 3-3 draw in normal time.  Italy had beaten Scotland in their Pool match and took the lead on this occasion too through a Davide Arioso field goal. Italy led 1-0 at half-time. Fraser Moran equalised for Scotland in the third quarter with a 34th minute field goal and took the lead through one from Jamie Golden on 40 minutes to leave them 2-1 up. Andrew Lochrin added an open play goal on 53 minutes to leave Scotland 3-1 up . Italy having withdrawn their goalkeeper in favour of another attacker, conceded a fourth in the 57th minute when Jamie Golden’s second of the game left them 4-1 up. They soon reversed that and played out the remaining minutes of the game as normal.

Scotland win the bronze medal in the competition . For Italy is the consolation of being the potential replacement in the Olympic qualification group in January should one of the other quaIified nations decide they cannot participate for some reason or other.

 

CZECH REPUBLIC 7 TURKIYE 1

The Czech Republic’s bit to finish 5th in the tournament gained a lot of momentum after their win over Turkiye.  Denis Tomes opened the scoring with an 8th minute goal from open play. 1-0 to the Czechs. Lukas Plochy opened his account with a field goal on 17 minutes to make it 2-0.  He added another one in the 17th minute to leave the score 3-0 to the Czechs.  Captain Adam Uhlir added another from open play to leave the half time score Czech Republic 4 Turkiye 0.

Lukas Plochy completed his hat-trick early in the third quarter to make it 5-0 in the 33rd minute with a goal from open play. The Turks finally got on the scoresheet from a penalty corner in the 35th minute but that was about as good as it would get for them. Adam Uhlir restored his country’s five goal margin from a penalty corner in the 36th minute.   And Lukas Plochy got his fourth of the match  got a field goal to leave the final score Czech Republic 7 Turkiye

Lukas Plochy’s four goal haul in this game against Turkiye put him in contention for the tournament’s top scorer competition.

 

PORTUGAL 6  SWITZERLAND 4

Portugal got their first win in Pool C at a crucial time to clinch 7th position in the tournament, with a 6-4 win over Switzerland at Sports Campus Ireland on Saturday.  Portugal took an early lead when captain David Franco gave them a 1-0 lead converting a 12th minute penalty corner. They increased their lead on 16 minutes when Rodrigo Castro scored a field goal. Yannick Hug’s penalty corner in the 24th minute got the Swiss off the mark but the Portuguese restored their two goal advantage in the 39th minute when Rodrigo Castro scored his second goal of the day.

Boris Stomps cut their lead to one with his 44th minute penalty corner and Tiago Ventosa gave Portugal a 4-2 lead from a field goal on 47th minute.  David Franco’s second penalty corner conversion of the day stretched Portugal’s lead to 5-2 in the 52nd minute. The Swiss responded with a Boris Stomps penalty corner in the 53rd minute to make it 5-3.  Portugal restored their three goal lead when Aidan Fourie scored from open play with five minutes remaining.  The Swiss got their fourth and final consolation goal when Lukas Hengartner converted a final minute penalty corner.

The Pool C final standings now look like this  

5th are the Czech Republic  with 7 points and a goal difference of plus 7

6th are  Switzerland with  4 points and a goal difference of plus 1

7th are  Portugal with 3 points and a goal difference of zero

8th are  Turkiye with 3 points with a goal difference of minus 8

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Semi-Final Day at the EuroHockey Championship II Men.

IRELAND  4 SCOTLAND 1

Ireland’s first target from this tournament, which was to secure one of the two spots available in January’s Olympic Qualification Groups, was secured with a second half onslaught which saw them secure a 4-1 win and a place in the final. Scotland began the game very well and created numerous opportunities and they could have counted themselves unlucky not to have been 1-0 up by half time.

The second half was a completely different story however. Jeremy Duncan opened the scoring in the 31st minute from open play to make it 1-0. Ben Johnson increased their lead from a goal from open play  in the 40th minute to give a Ireland a 2-0 lead at the end of the third quarter.  Lee Cole converted two penalty corners in the 50th and 53rd minutes respectively. To leave Ireland leading 4-0 ahead with only 7 minutes left to play.

Scotland finally got the goal their first half play, deserved, when Alan Forsyth converted a penalty corner in the 58th minute to leave the score 4-1 to Ireland. For Scotland a 3rd and 4th place final with Italy awaits. Ireland take on Ukraine in the final with both sides having secured their place in January’s Olympic qualifiers and having achieved that target there’s a trophy up for grabs in tomorrow’s final.

 

IRELAND: David Harte (GK), Lee Witherow, John McKee, Kyle Marshall, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray [capt], Michael Robson, Benjamin Walker, Lee Cole, Conor Empey, Sam Hyland; SUBS USED:- Charlie Rowe, Peter McKibbin, Jeremy Duncan, Jonathan Lynch, Ben Johnson, Nicholas Page.

SCOTLAND: Thomas Alexander (GK), Joe Mc Connell, Alan Forsyth, Robert Field, Andrew McConnell, Duncan Riddell, Lee Morton (capt.), Craig Falconer, Jamie Golden, Fraser Moran, Callum Mackenzie SUBS USED:- Thomas Austin, Struan Walker, Keir Robb, Andrew Lochrkin, Kyle White, Ali Douglas

 

ITALY 3  UKRAINE 3  ( UKRAINE WON 4-3 IN SHOOT-OUT)

Group B winners Italy took on Group A’s second placed nation Ukraine in the opening semi-final and produced a six goal thriller that went all the way.  Manuel Mondo put the Italians 1-0 up with a converted 7th minute penalty corner. Viacheslav Paziuk equalised for Ukraine in the 10th minute from a converted penalty corner.  Andrii Koshelenko gave Ukraine the lead in the 18th minute from open play. Davide Arosio equalised with a goal from open play in the 39th minute to make it 2-2.

And Davide Arosio  gave the Azzuri a 3-2 lead in the 46th minute.Maksym Onofriiuk equalised for Ukraine in the 47th minute and there was no further scoring so it went to a shoot out.

Maksym Onofriiuk took the first penalty for Ukraine and scored 1-0

Geronimo Clement took the first one for Italy and didn’t score .

Vitalii Shevchuk took the second one for Ukraine and scored 2-0.

Thomas Keenan took the second one for Italy and scored 2-1.

Bohdan Kovalenko took the third one for Ukraine and scored 3-1.

Davide Arioso took the third one for Italy and did not score still 3-1.

Volodomyr Kaplinskyi took the fourth one for Ukraine and did not score 3-1.

Claudio Brocco took the fourth one for Italy and scored  3-2.

Andrii Koshelenko  took the final one for Ukraine and scored 4-2

Mattia Ambrosini took the final one for Italy and scored and it ended 4-3 to Ukraine.

Ukraine qualify not only for the final of Euro Hockey Championship II tomorrow afternoon but also secured that precious second spot in January’s Olympic qualifiers on offer from this tournament.

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EuroHockey Championship II Men, Day 4 Match Reports

IRELAND 6 PORTUGAL 2 

Ireland secured the Pool A first place berth and a semi-final against Scotland on Friday evening with a 6-2 win over Portugal. It was a very close affair early on when Ireland raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to an 11th minute Benjamin Walker goal from open play and a converted penalty corner from Lee Cole on 19 minutes. Portugal responded through a David Franco converted penalty corner on 20 minutes to leave Ireland leading 2-1 at half time.

Sam Hyland was suspended for 10 minutes thanks to a 23rd minute yellow card which straddled the two halves and Portugal equalised on 33 minutes through a Rodrigo Rebelo penalty corner just as Ireland were about to revert to 11 players.

Jeremy Duncan restored Ireland’s lead through a field goal on 43 minutes to make it 3-2. Shane O’Donoghue converted a penalty corner on 53rd minute to give Ireland 4-2 lead. Within a minute Conor Empey got another goal from open play to make it 5-2 and a penalty corner in the final minute to secure a 6-2 win for Ireland .

Elsewhere in Pool A  Ukraine secured second place and a semi-final berth against Pool B winners Italy on Friday by beating Czech Republic 5-1. Oleksii Popov gave them the lead from open play on 7 minutes. Andrii Koloshenko converted a penalty corner on 19 minutes to make it 2-0. Viacheslav Paziuk converted a penalty corner on 27 minutes made it 3-0 to Ukraine. Maksym Onofriiuk made it 4-0 on 39 minutes and Bohdan Kovalenko added a fifth a minute later to leave Ukraine leading 5-0.

Denis Tomes scored a penalty corner for Czech Republic to leave the final score 5-1 to Ukraine.

IRELAND: David Harte (GK) ( James Milliken GK 31′), Charlie Rowe, Luke Witherow, Kyle Marshall, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (capt.), Peter McKibbin, Jeremy Duncan, Benjamin Walker, Sam Hyland, Ben Johnson SUBS: John McKee, Jonathan Lynch, Lee Cole, Conor Empey, Nicholas Page

PORTUGAL: Balthazar Portugal (GK), David Franco, Diogo Rocha, Aidan Fourie, Rodrigo Castro Ivo Moreira, Tiago Ventosa, Rodrigo Rebelo, Afonso Caramalho, Bartolomeu Portugal, José Santos SUBS USED: Helder Goncalves, Tomas Teixera, Simao Pinheiro, Joao Basilia, Santos Ferreira

 

POOL B

SCOTLAND 10 TURKIYE 0 

Struan Walker scored from open play in the second minute to give Scotland a 1-0 lead.

Alan Forsyth added another to make it 2-0 in the 6th minute. And added a third from a penalty stroke in the 21st minute. Struan Walker got his second of the game to make it 4-0 on 23 minutes. Alan Forsyth made it 5-0 a minute later and added a penalty corner for 6-0  in 39th minute. Jamie Golden added a 41st minute penalty corner to make it 7-0. He added two further goals in the 54th minute to make it 9-0. Alan Forsyth scored the final goal of the match on 56 minutes to make it 10-0 and clinch second spot in Pool B.

 

SWITZERLAND 1 ITALY 2  

Italy clinched the Pool B top spot with their third win of the campaign beating Switzerland 2-1.

Marco Moretto gave Italy the lead with a goal from open play in the 12th minute.

A field goal from Felix Dionisi Vici in the 47th minute left the Azzuri leading 2-0.

Loris Grandchamp converted a penalty corner in the 56th minute to give the Swiss a consolation goal it finished 2-1 to Italy.  Italy will face Ukraine in the first  semi -final on Friday afternoon

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EuroHockey Championship II Men – Day 3 roundup

Day 3

IRELAND   7   UKRAINE 0 

The second game of the day in Pool A saw hosts Ireland take on Ukraine. The Irish team were wearing black armbands and observed a minute’s silence ahead of the game to mark the tragic loss of Aoife Frances Langan, loving long term partner of Luke Madeley.

Ireland got off to a good start and finally took the lead in the second quarter when Shane O’Donoghue converted a penalty corner in the 23rd minute. They increased their lead in the 30th minute when Lee Cole converted another penalty corner to leave Ireland leading 2-0 at the break.

Early in the third quarter Shane O’Donoghue got his second goal of the game converting another penalty corner in the 34th minute to put Ireland 3-0 ahead.  Ten minutes later Ireland were awarded a penalty stroke which Lee Cole converted to put Ireland 4-0 ahead. Twelve minutes later Ireland were awarded a second penalty stroke which Lee Cole also converted getting his second goal of the night to put Ireland 5-0 up.  Two minutes from time Conor Empey converted a penalty corner to make it 6-0 to Ireland and Benjamin Walker scored from open play to seal a 7-0 win.

Commenting after the game coach Mark Tumilty said:

“I was pleased with the way we converted from set pieces but our conversion rate from open play needs work. There’s a lot more  work to be done to achieve our goal of reaching the final of this tournament to secure that potential Olympic qualification tournament in January , starting with tomorrow’s match against Portugal”. 

Given the other results in the Pool so far a point against Portugal would be enough to secure top spot in Pool A and a semi-final berth in the European Championship II, Men in The Sports Ireland Campus.

Having scored 16 goals in two outings Ireland should be confident of securing a spot in the semi-final.

IRELAND:  David Harte (GK), Charlie Rowe, Luke Witherow, John McKee, Kyle Marshall, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (Capt.), Jeremy Duncan, Lee Cole, Ben Hyland

SUBS: Peter McKibbin, Benjamin Walker, Jonathan Lynch, Conor Empey Nicholas Page,

NOT USED: James Milliken (GK)

UKRAINE: Bohdan Tovstolytkin (GK), Viacheslav Paziuk, Dmytro Luppo (C), Mykhailo Yasinskyi, Volodymyr Kaplisnkyi, Vitalii Shevchuk, Maksym Onofriiuk, Bohdan Kovalenko, Volodomyr Zhmereniuk, Andrii Koshelenko, Volodomyr Kostechko

SUBS: Roman Bludov(GK) , Iurii Moroz, Oleksii Popov, Oleskandr Boiko, Oleksandr Yasinskyi , Oleksandr Diachenko.

DAY 2 

POOL A 

CZECH REPUBLIC   4    PORTUGAL  3 

Both of the teams involved in the days opening game had lost in their first outings. Portugal had been involved in a 9 goal thriller losing 6-3 to Ukraine. The Czechs also were involved in a 9 goal game but this was a more chastening experience on the receiving end of a 9-0 beating from Ireland. Someone’s losing streak had to end. The Portuguese got off to a good start  and took the lead from open play in 5 minutes when Rodrigo Castro scored. They led 1-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Czechs responded in the second quarter when Ondrej Hes equalised from a penalty corner in the 17th minute to make it 1-1. It remained that score until half time.

Early in the third quarter the Czechs took the lead when Jakub Klaban  scored from open play in the 37th minute.  Rodrigo Castro’s penalty corner, but he was credited with it was deflected past goalkeeper Petr Vetrovsky to make it 2-2 and give Portugal an equaliser on 39 minutes.

The Czechs restored their lead almost immediately when Lukas Plochy scored on 41 minutes from open play to get his 42nd international goal for his country. He has now scored more goals for his country than the rest of his team mates combined. The score now stood at 3-2 to the Czechs and it remained that way till the end of the third quarter.

Portugal equalised from a penalty corner in the 48th minute when Tiago Ventosa converted to make it 3-3. Lukas Plokhy engineered the lead goal for the Czechs with two minutes remaining. His cross was deflected to the net and he was credited with scoring his 43rd international goal. And it remained 4-3 at full time.

 

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EuroHockey Championship II, Men Day 1 Match Reports

IRELAND  9    CZECH REPUBLIC 0 

Ireland closed the first day of the European Hockey Championships II in Abbotstown with a simple mission at the start of play.

Win Pool A and be one of the two finalists and Ireland would secure a spot in a qualification tournament for next years Olympics due to take place in January in either Valencia in Spain or a venue in Pakistan.

Captain Sean Murray got things underway from open play with an opening goal in the 18th minute to make it 1-0 to Ireland.

Benjamin Walker made it 2-0 also from open play in the 24th minute. Sean Murray got his second field goal of the game to make it 3-0 in the 26th minute.

John McKee got his first of the game to make it 4-0 in the 41st minute and Lee Cole added a penalty corner goal  in the 43rd minute to make it 5-0 .

Jeremy Duncan made it 6-0 a minute later from a penalty corner  and further goals from Ben Johnson and Lee Cole penalty stroke in the 56th minute made it 8-0 and the rout was completed by John McKee grabbing his second of the game to seal a 9-0 victory.

IRELAND:  David Harte ; John McKee, Kyle Marshall, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (C) , Peter McKibbin, Michael Robson, Benjamin Walker, Lee Cole, Conor Empey, Sam Hyland SUBS: Luke Witherow; Jeremy Duncan, Jonathan Lynch, Ben Johnson, Nicholas Page

CZECH REPUBLIC: Petr Vetrovsky; Lukas Klaban, Denis Tomes, Dominik Bystricky, Vojtech Kolar, Lukas Plochy, Adam Uhlír  (C), Ondrej Soukup, Stepán Lalík, Martin Capouch, Ondrej Hes SUBS: Stepan Klaban, Vit Soukup, Josef Toms, Tomas Bransovsky, Patrik Dubina, Jakub Klaban, Vojtech Paztika (GK) h-t.

 

POOL A 

 UKRAINE 6  PORTUGAL 3

Andrii Koshelenko opened his account from a penalty corner on 6 minutes, which made it 1-0 to Ukraine. He got his second of the match from a penalty stroke on 14 minutes to make it 2-0.

Bohdan Kovalenko added a field goal in the 20th minute to make it 3-0.  Portugal responded almost immediately through Vasco Ribeiro to make it 3-1.

Portugal were awarded a penalty stroke which José Santos converted on 23 minutes. Maksym Onofriiuk restored a two goal lead for Ukraine from open play in the 25th minute and it was 4-2 at half-time.

Andrii Koshelenko completed his hat-trick with another penalty stroke on 34 minutes to make it 5-2. Portugal responded through a David Franco penalty corner in the 41st minute to make it 5-3.

Andrii Koshelenko  got his fourth goal of the day in the 48th minute from another penalty stroke to leave the final score Ukraine 6 Portugal 3.

 

POOL B

ITALY  4   TURKIYE  0 

The tournament began with a Pool B game on Sunday morning between Italy and Turkiye. Italy took only 60 seconds to get the opening goal of the tournament on Sunday when Francois Sior scored from open play to give the Azzuri the lead.  Juan Munafo increased their lead on 29 minutes to make it 2-0 at half time.  Felix Dionisi Vici weighed in with another goal from open play in the 44th minute to make it 3-0 and four minutes from the end Manuel Mondo converted a penalty corner to leave the final score 4-0 to Italy.

 

SCOTLAND 3 SWITZERLAND 0

The second game of the Pool B of European Hockey Championships II in Abbotstown saw Scotland take on Switzerland.

Johnny Coren’s charges took the lead from open play through a goal from Keir Robb in the 22nd minute.  Jamie Golden increased their lead on the stroke of half time. The Scots led 2-0 at the break.

Struan Walker’s 36th minute penalty corner sealed a 3-0 win.

 

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EuroHockey Championship II, Men Overview

EuroHockey Championship II, Men

  

Ireland are hosting the Men’s  EuroHockey Championship II at the National Sports Campus, Abbotstown from July 23-29.

Eight teams will compete, divided into two Pools consisting of four countries each.

The participating countries will be Czech Republic, Ukraine, Portugal and Ireland in Pool A

and Scotland, Italy, Turkiye and Switzerland in Pool B .

 

Details regarding tickets can be found on www.irelandhockey.sportlomo.com

 

Ireland, who are ranked 13th in the World are in Pool A and play their first game on Sunday July 23rd at 6pm against Czech Republic who are ranked 31st in the World.

Earlier in the day 30th ranked Ukraine take on 40th ranked Portugal at 3:45 p.m.

 

IRELAND FIXTURES: EuroHockey Championship II men (IRELAND 13TH WORLD RANKING) 

 

Sunday July 23rd:  IRELAND V CZECH REPUBLIC (31ST WORLD RANKING) 6:00pm

Tuesday July 25th:  IRELAND V UKRAINE (30TH WORLD RANKING) 7:15pm

Wednesday July 26th IRELAND V PORTUGAL (40TH WORLD RANKING) 7:45pm

 

The current form line in 2023 sees Ireland with four wins and four losses from their eight outings so far this year.

  • Ireland have played Spain (twice) and three game series with Wales and Austria, already in 2023.
  • For the Czech Republic, they have one win, one draw and one loss from their three outings so far this year.
  • Ukraine has a record of one loss from their only outing so far this year.
  • Portugal have not played any international games thus far in 2023.

Historically Ireland has a 71% win rate against the Czech Republic and enjoy a 100% win rate against both Ukraine and Portugal in Men’s hockey.

 

QUALIFICATION FOR 2024 OLYMPICS IN PARIS

 

There are two potential spots for Ireland’s men from these Championships, which make a country eligible for the Olympic Qualifiers in January up for grabs.

However, as Great Britain participate in the Olympics (rather than England, Scotland or Wales), should Scotland finish in the top two, the third placed team would qualify for January’s Olympic qualifiers.

These qualifiers will be eight teams in two different locations Spain or Pakistan. Three teams from each qualification pool will qualify for the Olympics.

 

For the women, they will be playing in the top tier EuroHockey Championship in Germany next month. The teams playing in the competition will be Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, England, Scotland, Italy, and Ireland.

What is required here is a top six finish to make the January qualifiers. The winners will automatically qualify for the Olympics and England and Scotland will be represented by Great Britain, so unless Scotland win the tournament (which on current rankings is highly unlikely), Ireland are practically in those qualifiers next January in either Pakistan or Spain. A top three finish in those should see the women through to the Olympics in Paris.

 

THE TOURNAMENT ITSELF

 

The EuroHockey Championship II, Men gets underway on Sunday with a Pool B game between 26th World ranked Italy taking on Turkiye who are ranked 38th at 11:15am

The second game of the day in Pool B will see 20th World ranked Scotland take on 36th World ranked Switzerland at 1:30pm. This is followed by two Pool A games. Ukraine take on Portugal at 3.45pm and then Ireland play Czech Republic in their opening game at 6pm.

On Monday July 24th there are two games in Pool B with Switzerland taking on Turkiye at 3:15 p.m. followed by a second Pool B game between Italy and Scotland at 5:30pm

On Tuesday July 25th there are two games in Pool A with Czech Republic playing Portugal at 5pm followed by Ireland v Ukraine playing at 7.15pm

On Wednesday July 26th there will be two early games in Pool B. Scotland will take on Turkiye at 12.30pm and Switzerland will take on Italy at 2.45pm.

This will be followed up by a Pool A game at 5pm between Czech Republic and Ukraine, followed by Ireland v Portugal at  7:15pm.

 

On Friday July 28th the end of tournament positional play offs begin and semi-finals will take place.

On Saturday July 29th the gold medal match 3rd /4th place final and remaining play offs will take place.

 

As well as the EuroHockey Championship II for our Men’s National team taking place at The National Sports Campus, Abbotstown, there will be a host of other activities taking place during the week.

There will be a Fanzone with fun activities, hockey activities, with food and beverage concessions and merchandise available for sale.

In addition. there will also be an opportunity to see our women’s team in action as they have a number of friendly matches during the week.

 

Ireland Senior Women’s games.

 

Our women’s team continue their preparations for their EuroHockey Championship Tournament taking place in Monchengladbach, Germany from 18-27 August 2023 will be playing a series of warm up games against Italy and Chile and our senior women’s development team will also be in action against the same two countries as well.

 

WOMENS FIXTURES

Saturday 22nd July IRELAND V CHILE, 15:00 National Sports Campus, Abbotstown

Monday 24th July 20:00 ITALY V CHILE 20:00 National Sports Campus, Abbotstown

Tuesday 25th July IRELAND V CHILE 14:45 National Sports Campus, Abbotstown

Wednesday 26th July IRELAND DEVELOPMENT TEAM V ITALY 10:15 National Sports Campus, Abbotstown

Thursday 27th July IRELAND V CHILE 19:30 National Sports Campus, Abbotstown

Friday 28th July IRELAND DEVELOPMENT TEAM V ITALY 11:30 Three Rock Rovers Hockey Pitch, Grange Road. 

Saturday 29th July IRELAND V ITALY 09:00 Three Rock Rovers Hockey Pitch, Grange Road

 

 

 

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Ireland Senior Women Squad for The Europeans Announced

Ireland’s Senior Women Head Coach Sean Dancer has announced his squad for the upcoming Europeans which will be held at HockeyPark in Monchengladbach, Germany from 18th-27th of August.

Sean Dancer said on his squad selection:

‘As a group we have made fantastic improvements over the last 12 months on and off the field, and we have high ambitions, knowing the tough challenge of a very competitive European Championship.’

‘This year’s Europeans also doubles as the first step of the Olympic qualification process, adding extra pressure on all those involved. We will need to stay focused on ourselves and playing our attacking style of play.’

On the Goalkeepers Sean said:

‘We are excited to have Ayeisha back with us, after extended time away for her heavy club season. Lizzy Murphy has taken this as an opportunity to play and develop her game further and we are now in a position of having two strong international keepers, leading into this tournament.’

On Caitlin Sherin getting her first International Senior cap:

‘Caitlin has earnt her opportunity to compete at her first major tournament, this will be an exciting time for her and her family.’

The Senior Women will play in a series against Italy and Chile at the end of July and Sean commented:

‘We are looking forward to the opportunity to play Italy and Chile at the end of July, as part of our final preparations. To have good quality games, in Dublin at Abbotstown, is very important. We are extremely grateful to our sponsors and especially Sport Ireland, for making this happen.’

 

Italy / Chile Series + European Selection July 2023

 

20 Player Selection Squad
Selection PLAYER Shirt # Region Position Age CAPS
1 MURPHY, Elizabeth #2 Leinster Goal Keeper 25 20
2 McFERRAN, Ayeisha #1 Ulster Goal Keeper 27 120
3 UPTON, Róisín (VC) #6 Munster Defender 29 103
4 TICE, Elena #12 Leinster Defender 25 136
5 SHERIN, Caitlin #18 Leinster Defender 22 –
6 McAULEY, Sarah #3 Leinster Defender 21 23
7 CURRAN, Ellen #14 Leinster Defender 25 41
8 PERDUE, Caoimhe #15 Munster Defender 23 13
9 McLOUGHLIN, Hannah #10 Leinster Defender 23 40
10 MULLAN, Kathryn (C) #9 Ulster Midfielder 29 220
11 McKEE, Katie #21 Ulster Midfielder 23 8
12 HAWKSHAW, Sarah #8 Leinster Midfielder 27 60
13 CAREY, Michelle #5 Leinster Midfielder 24 24
14 BEGGS, Charlotte #16 Ulster Midfielder 20 13
15 TORRANS, Sarah #11 Leinster Striker 24 47
16 CAREY, Niamh #7 Leinster Striker 24 12
17 CARROLL, Naomi #13 Munster Striker 30 135
18 DUKE, Deirdre #28 Leinster Midfielder 31 162
19 HAMILL, Christina #17 Leinster Midfielder 23 14
20 O’BRIEN, Siofra #25 Leinster Striker 23 6

 

 

 

 

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U18 Boys and Girls European Championships Reports

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS   POOL A DAY 1

FRANCE  3   IRELAND  1

Ireland Under 18 girls team began their Pool A campaign at the European Championships in Krefeld with an opening game against France which ended in a 3-1 defeat. Philippine Delemazure gave France a 1-0 in the first quarter from open play. It remained 1-0 at the end of quarter two going into the half time break.

A scoreless third quarter was followed by a dramatic fourth quarter.  France increased their lead from a penalty corner. Paola Le Nindre converting it to put France 2-0 ahead. France added a third in the final minute from Emilie Santé to make it 3-0.  Ireland responded with a consolation goal in the final minute through Milla Fulton to leave the final score 3-1 to France.

Elsewhere in Pool A Belgium beat Scotland 3-1 which makes them level in third with Ireland at the bottom of Pool A. Pool B commenced on Sunday when the Netherlands beat England 1-0 and Spain beat Austria 10-0.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18  GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL  A  DAY 2  

BELGIUM 5 IRELAND 1 

This game began well as Ireland took the lead through Rebecca Carthy in the 5th minute. Mien Palfliet had the Belgians level within two minutes to make it 1-1. Hélene Devla put the Belgians 2-1 ahead from open play in the 24th minute and that was the half-time score.

Louise Van Hecke converted a penalty corner  and made it  3-1 to Belgium on 40 minutes. Lisl Denef also converted a penalty corner on 44 minutes to make it 4-1 to Belgium and Louise Dewaet added a fifth in the 52nd minute to make it 5-1.

Elsewhere in Pool A  Germany defeated Scotland 4-0. In Pool B  England defeated Austria 9-0 and Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL A DAY 3  

IRELAND 2 SCOTLAND 1 

Ireland got their first pool A win of the tournament against Scotland. Mikayla Power converted a 28th minute penalty corner to put Ireland 1-0 ahead. Amelia Jerman increased their lead from another penalty corner in the 29th minute to put Ireland 2-0 ahead.

Scotland got what proved to be a consolation goal in the third quarter when Lexie MacMillan scored from open play on 33 minutes and it finished 2-1 to Ireland.

Elsewhere in Pool A Germany beat France 5-0.

The first Round 4 games didn’t involve Ireland as Pool A contained five teams and one team was idle on each game day. Scotland and France drew 1-1 and Belgium and Germany played out a scoreless draw.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS  POOL A DAY 4 

IRELAND 1 GERMANY 2 

Ireland took on hosts Germany in their final pool game in Krefeld at the Euro Under 18 Championships. Germany took the lead through Lynn Krings in the 28th minute when she converted a penalty corner.  The score remained 1-0 to Germany until the 59th minute when Ireland equalised through a penalty corner converted by Mikayla Power. Literally seconds later Germany secured victory when Katharina Becker scored from open play and it ended 2-1.

 

7TH-8TH PLACE PLAY OFF 

IRELAND 0 SCOTLAND 2

Perhaps this 5th game was a game too far for the Ireland Under 18 girls as they lost 0-2 to Scotland against an opponent they had beaten 3-2 earlier in the week.

Lucy MacMillan scored from open play to give Scotland the lead in the 19th minute. It was 1-0 at the break to the Scots.

Scotland sealed victory in the 40th minute when Cara Falconer scored from open play to leave the final score 2-0 to Scotland. Ireland end the tournament in 8th place.

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 BOYS  CHAMPIONSHIPS   POOL A  DAY 1

AUSTRIA  3  IRELAND  1

Ireland Under 18 Boys team got off their Pool A campaign at the European Championships to a disappoint start losing 1-3 to Austria in their debut game.  Ireland began well and took the lead in the 22nd minute when James Evans gave them the lead from open play.

Ireland’s lead only lasted seven minutes as Austria equalised through a penalty corner converted by Erik Shiesser,  their captain, in the 29th minute. It remained 1-1 at the half-time break.

Austria finished stronger in quarter four taking the lead through Theodor Morowec who converted a penalty corner in the 54th minute to put Austria 2-1 ahead. They sealed the win with a Benedikt Meisel goal from open play on 58 minutes to leave the final score 3-1 to Austria.

Elsewhere in pool A, Belgium beat Scotland 8-1 leaving Ireland in 3rd position in the pool after game 1 on goal difference. Pool B commenced their games on Monday with a 2-2 draw between Spain and England and a 7-0 win for Netherlands over Poland .

 

DAY  2   EUROPEAN UNDER 18 BOYS  CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL A    

BELGIUM 8 IRELAND 0

Charlie Langedries opened Belgium’s account in the 10th minute from a penalty corner 1-0 Belgium.

Jean Cloetens field goal made it 2-0 in the 11th minute. Lucas Balthazar added another to make it 3-0 from a penalty corner in the 15th minute. Larry Fauchey made it 4-0 in the final minute of the first half. Lucas Balthazar grabbed his second of the game to make it 5-0 from a penalty corner. Guerlain Hawaux  got a field goal to make it 6-0 in the 40th minute. Two further goals from Charlie Langedries in the 43rd and 57th minutes respectively completed his hat-trick and an 8-0 thrashing for the Belgians

Elsewhere in Pool A,  Germany defeated Scotland 2-0 and in Pool B there were a 3-0 win for Spain over the Netherlands and  England thrashed Poland 8-0.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL A  DAY 3   

IRELAND 3  SCOTLAND 2

Murray Griffiths scored a field goal to give Scotland a 1-0 lead on 10 minutes.  Johnny Bradley increased their lead converting a penalty corner on 21 minutes to make it 2-0 to Scotland. Ireland got back on terms when James Evans scored a field goal in the 24th minute.

It was 2-1 to Scotland at half time. It was lead they held on to until late in the fourth quarter when Ireland got an equaliser from a 55th minute penalty stroke scored by Matthew McKee. James Evans scored from open play a minute later to give the Boys in Green their first pool win 3-2 over Scotland .

Elsewhere in Pool A  Germany thrashed Austria 12-0.

The first Round 4 games didn’t involve Ireland as Pool A contained five teams and one team was idle on each game day. Scotland beat Austria 2-1 and Belgium beat Germany 3-2.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18  BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL A DAY 4

IRELAND  0 GERMANY 6

Ireland completed their Pool A programme with a game against hosts Germany in Krefeld. German captain Jonas Cofalla led by example scoring a penalty corner in the 15th minute to give his country a 1-0 lead. He added a second from a subsequent penalty corner two minutes later to leave the hosts 2-0 ahead.  Morten Berendts converted a third penalty corner in the 33rd minute to give Germany a 3-0 lead. Ben Hasbach added a fourth from open play in the 38th minute. Lukas Kossel added a fifth in the 54th minute and Justus Warweg made the score 6-0 in the 58th minute. Final score Ireland 0 Germany 6  leaving Ireland in 5th place in Pool A .

By finishing in 5th place in Pool A Ireland go into a Saturday play off against Poland who finished in 4th place in Pool B. The winners of this will go into a 7th-8th place play off on Sunday against Austria.

IRELAND : Sam Chapman, Aaron Baxter, Mark Cuddy, Ben Pasley (captain), Matthew MocKee, Ben Pollock, Robert Olden, Joshua Gill, Matthew Stevenson, Alex Lynch, Matthew Spence, Ben Walker, James Evans, Tommy Dobson, Tommy Maxwell, Max Caulwell, Samuel Dale SUB GK :  David Persse

 

POOL B SUMMARY 

The final round of Pool B matches saw Spain beat Poland 5-0 and the Netherlands narrowly beat England by 4-3. This left the final standings as follows

1st  Spain 2nd Netherlands 3rd England 4th Poland

 

PLAY OFFS  7TH -9TH  PLAY OFF SATURDAY  JULY 15TH 2023

IRELAND 6 POLAND 1

Ireland beat Poland 6-1 to qualify for the 7th-8th place play off. Robert Olden converted a penalty corner on 22 minutes to give Ireland a lead.  Matthew McKee made it 2-0 from a field goal on 28 minutes. Matthew McKee converted a penalty stroke on 32 minutes to make it 3-0. A second Robert Olden penalty corner on 43 minutes made it 4-0. Emil Witczak got Poland on the score sheet from open play on 47 minutes to make it 4-1. Matthew McKee with a second converted Penalty stroke made it 5-1 on 52 minutes and Samuel Dale converted a penalty corner in the 59th minute to round out the scoring.

 

7TH-8TH PLACE PLAY-OFF  SUNDAY JULY 16TH 2023

IRELAND 2 AUSTRIA 1 

Ireland took the lead through Max Caulwell on 4 minutes from open play. Adrian Fink converted a 13th minute penalty stroke to equalise for Austria. Seventh place was secured for Ireland by a goal from open play scored by captain Ben Pasley leading by example. It ended 2-1 to Ireland.

Despite beating Austria 2-1 in this play off final and technically finishing 7th, Ireland have been relegated out of the top tier of European Under 18 Boys hockey and will compete in Division B next time out despite closing out the tournament with a record of 3 wins from 6. Finishing bottom of Pool A was enough to secure relegation.

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Game 3 IRL V Austria Match Report

IRELAND 1 AUSTRIA 0 

Ireland won the third of their series of matches with Austria 1-0 to seal a 2-1 Series win at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown.

Saturday afternoon’s game was a much tighter affair than Friday’s encounter and it was a closely fought game from start to finish.

Determined not to repeat the hiding they received the evening before, Austria were more resolute in defence and didn’t surrender as many goal scoring opportunities to the Irish. Ireland had a goal ruled out early on in the first half of the game, as did Austria in the second half of the match.

Indeed, set pieces were plentiful with Ireland getting seven and Austria getting four on the day. A few cards were dished out too.

Moritz Frey was the first person to receive a green card on 17 minutes for Austria. He was followed by team mate Oliver Binder and Ireland’s Conor Empey in the 37th minute. Luke Madeley saw a green card a minute later, temporarily reducing Ireland to 9 players. Oliver Kern of Austria got a green card in the 45th minute.

The breakthrough score finally came in the final quarter when Conor Empey’s field goal struck the backboard in the 51st minute. Ireland won 1-0 and go into the European Championships II in eight days time with a winning record. Coach Tumilty was pleased to have won the series  and a top two finish in the European Championships II  competition will give a possible qualification spot for next years Olympics in Paris.

IRELAND:  David Harte (GK), Luke Witherow, Luke Madeley, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (C), Jeremy Duncan, Michael Robson, Benjamin Walker, Jonathan Lynch, Lee Cole, Conor Empey SUBS USED: Kyle Marshall, Charlie Rowe, John McKee, Peter McKibbin, Ben Johnson, Nicholas Page

AUSTRIA: Mateusz Szymczyk (GK), Oliver Binder, Benjamin Kolbl, Benjamin Stanzl, Franz Lindengrun, Nikolas Wellan, Fabian Unterkircher, Leon Thoern, Moritz Frey, Xaver Hasun (C), Oliver Kern.  SUBS USED: Peter Kaltenboeck, Bastian Valas, Josef Winkler, Fulop Losonci, Mateusz Nyckowiak, Clemens Rusnjak

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Seventh Heaven for Ireland Men

 

Ireland – 7 Austria -0

Ireland bounced back from their opening day defeat to Austria with a comprehensive 7-0 win over the visitors in the second of the three-game series.

Michael Robson converted a penalty corner in the 5th minute to put Ireland 1-0 up. Lee Cole scored from open play in the 12th minute to make it 2-0 to Ireland. John McKee got his first of the game a minute later to put Ireland 3-0 up. Jeremy Duncan added a fourth on 28 minutes to leave the half time score at 4-0.

Shane O’Donoghue converted a 33rd minute penalty corner to make it 5-0 to Ireland. Ben Johnson grabbed a goal to make it 6-0 in the 52nd minute and Johnny McKee got his second of the game to make the final score 7-0 three minutes from time.

After the game, Coach Mark Tumulty was pleased with the clinical nature of the finishing from the team and the improvement over the first game. He stressed the need for the team to achieve a level of consistency and is looking for more of the same from their third game on Saturday afternoon.

IRELAND:  David Harte, Luke Madeley, Johnny McKee, Kevin O’Dea, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (c), Peter McKibbin, Michael Robson, Lee Cole, Conor Empey, Ben Johnson

AUSTRIA: Mateusz Szymczyk (GK), Oliver Binder, Benjamin Koelbl, Benjamin Stanzl, Franz Lindengrun, Nikolas Wellan, Fabian Unterkircher, Leon Thoernblom, Fulop Losonci, Xaver Husun (C), Oliver Kern.

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