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Ireland's Peter Caruth fends off Glenn Schuurman of The Netherlands during their Olympic match. Morgan Treacy/INPHO
Hockeyed

Ireland suffer thrashing at the hands of the Netherlands

The Irishmen received a 5-0 drubbing from the men in orange tonight in Rio.

THE DUTCH MEN’S hockey team inflicted a masterclass upon Ireland in Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Hockey centre tonight as the Green Machine fell to a 5-0 thrashing in their Pool B clash.

The Dutchmen held the majority of possession in the early stages of the game and their dominance was rewarded in the seventh minute after Mink van der Weerden scored from a penalty corner.

A minute later, Netherlands doubled their advantage after Jorrit Croon flicked a stylish shot over David Harte’s head and into the Irish goal.

Irishman Kyle Good almost grabbed one back towards the end of the first quarter but Dutch keeper Jacob Stockmann quickly quenched any threat he posed.

The start of the second quarter offered little in terms of real goal-scoring chances as Netherlands looked to keep hold of the ball and protect their 2-0 lead.

Proceedings were delayed for a while during the quarter after Conor Harte suffered an injury after being hit by the ball, and the Irishman eventually had to be carted off the field.

Ireland’s manager, Craig Fulton, urged his team to remain calm and stick to the game plan as  John Jermyn replaced the injured Conor Harte.

Conor Harte is taken from the field of play with an injury Conor Harte is carted off the field during Ireland's Pool B clash with the Netherlands in Rio. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

Ireland had an opportunity to score from their first penalty corner of the game towards the end of the first quarter but they failed to get a shot on target and it remained 2-0 at halftime.

Ireland began to show a lot of promise after the restart but a resolute Dutch defence kept the Irish men at bay.

Despite plenty of attacking threat from the Irishmen, it was the team ranked second in the world that struck next with Mink van der Weerden capitalising from a penalty corner in the 40th minute.

Similarly to their first goal, the Dutch followed up with another goal two minutes later after a superb break down the left flank from Valentin Verga before playing the ball into Marco Pruijser who slotted the ball past the Irish captain, David Harte.

Mink van der Weerden almost scored his third from a penalty corner only for a fantastic save from David Harte. Ireland looked promising from the counter attack but any chance was quickly dealt with by the returning Dutch defence.

Chris Cargo with Sander Baart Ireland's Chris Cargo and Sander Baart of The Netherlands challenge for the ball during their Pool B clash. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

There was no shortage of opportunities for Ireland to score a goal in the final 10 minutes but they failed to get the ball on target from numerous penalty corners.

Ireland’s woes continued right up until the final minute of the game after a ball centered by Jereon Hertzberger deflected off Eugene McGee and into his own goal.

Ireland must now look ahead to playing Germany on Tuesday.

Although Craig Fulton’s men haven’t managed a win, all hope is not lost and the dream of winning a place in the quarter-finals is still very much alive.

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