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Ireland defeat Turkey but miss out on top tier qualification

EuroHockey Championship qualifiers

Ireland 9 (B Walker 3, J McKee 2, S Murray 2, M Robson, L Madeley) Turkey 0

Ireland closed out their EuroHockey Championship qualifier with a comprehensive 9-0 win over Turkey but ultimately finished runners-up to tournament hosts France in Calais.
It means they will contest the second tier of the European Championships next summer which, on the current basis, could offer one place in the Olympic qualifier events for Paris 2024.

 

The first half against the Turks was a slightly sleepy affair befitting the 10am Saturday morning start. Sean Murray smacked in a fourth minute effort from Walker’s pass but, otherwise, they found Turkey’s deep-lying defence tricky to unpick.

 

That changed in the second half with eight more goals coming in the last 25 minutes. McKee got the credit for the second when he intercepted 40-metres from goal with his eventual cross turned in by a diving defender.

 

Walker deflected in a powerful hit from Neal Glassey; McKee finished off his 15th goal in 14 matches and Murray clipped in a tidy shot for 5-0 at the three quarter break.

 

Michael Robson’s penalty stroke, another smart finish from Walker and a Luke Madeley drag-flick made it eight. Walker completed the scoring with the pick of the goals in the dying seconds, a head-high volley from Daragh Walsh’s bouncing aerial ball into the circle.

 

And while coach Mark Tumilty was pleased with how his side finished, netting eight second half goals, the 4-1 loss to France was the defining memory.

 

“We were a bit slow to start which was expected after the disappointment of Thursday,” said Tumilty after the tie. “We played some good hockey in Q3 and Q4, scored some nice goals which is pleasing.

 

“But against France, we weren’t good enough. We can’t give a team of France’s standard a two-goal lead and expect to win the game. We can’t make the individual and collective errors and we didn’t create enough chances. You have to be clinical in a game of few chances.”

 

Next on the agenda is the FIH Nations Cup in South Africa which gets under way on November 28th. As such, the Irish men will be back together in two weeks time and have fixtures against England in October in the pipeline.

 

After that, they await the breakdown of continental places for the Olympic qualifiers which will be confirmed in late January

 

Ireland: M Ingram, L Madeley, J McKee, D Walsh, N Glassey, K Marshall, S Murray, M McNellis, J Duncan, B Walker, N Page

Subs: L Witherow, C Robson, K O’Dea, M Robson, J Lynch, S Hyland, J Carr

 

Turkey: M Teke, I Bakar, S Polat, R Kayar, F Atas, M Elagoz, H Tasar, E Durmus, O Karakus, M Ekinci, H Erdogan

Subs: Y Yilmaz, H Ozturk, C Aydin, B Erman, M Demirel, F Ozkurc, F Bursalioglu

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