Ireland’s young guns win series over Scottish men

Ireland’s young guns ran up a strong 6-1 win over Scotland’s men to win their uncapped series at Jordanstown in impressive fashion.

Mark Tumilty’s side had won the first match 3-1 before falling 1-0 on Saturday before this comprehensive scoreline from a weekend in which he gave 14 new players their first taste of international hockey.

They were 3-0 up on Sunday morning courtesy of goals from Sean Murray, Michael Robson and Tim Cross in the first quarter before Banbridge man Jonny McKee put them four clear.

The Scots got one back before half-time but an Ian Stewart corner goal – his second of the weekend – and a solo goal from Daragh Walsh completed an upbeat performance for the side in their first formal action since November 2019.

On Saturday, Scotland scored early on and held sway in the early stages before Ireland grew into the game but they could not break through David Forrester’s defences, the goalkeeper brilliantly denying Ian Stewart and Tim Cross in the closing stages.

The results bring a strong confidence boost to the panel ahead as they ramp up preparations for the EuroHockey Championships II in Gniezno, Poland in August.

There, Ireland need a top five finish to land a place in October’s World Cup qualifiers; prior to that, Ireland will meet the Scots again in a series and also face Great Britain.

“I am very pleased with the weekend,” Tumilty said of the weekend. “It was good to finish the weekend strong. I feel that the players are making good progress as we try to develop our playing style. It was also great for the players to spend time together off the pitch as this group now contains many new players.”

Men’s international series
Saturday: Ireland 0 Scotland 1
Sunday: Ireland 6 (S Murray, M Robson, T Cross, J McKee, I Stewart, D Walsh) Scotland 1