LAST UPDATE | 15 Jan
IRELAND’S WOMEN WILL face a make-or-break showdown with South Korea on Tuesday evening at hockey’s final Olympic qualification tournament in Valencia, following their 8-0 win over Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the men’s team battled hard this evening but lost out to Belgium in their second outing of the pool stage.
After commencing their qualification bid with a win over Ukraine, the Ireland men’s team suffered a 4-2 defeat this evening. Belgium took the lead in the opening quarter and doubled their lead in the second from a penalty corner.
Ben Johnson struck one back for Ireland with 21 minutes gone, but the Belgians then went 3-1 up with half-time approaching. Ireland conceded another goal shortly after the resumption while Matthew Nelson managed to grab a second goal for Ireland in the final quarter.
They will have a rest day tomorrow before facing into a vital final pool stage clash with Japan on Wednesday.
𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝟐 - 𝐁𝐄𝐋 𝟒
— Hockey Ireland (@irishhockey) January 15, 2024
The Men in Green battled exceptionally hard. A rest day tomorrow before a final pool stage showdown vs Japan on Wednesday.#HockeyInvites #EnrouteToParis #Paris24 #greenarmy pic.twitter.com/FzQtZLAZ3R
Meanwhile, Sean Dancer’s side boosted their hopes with a resounding 8-0 win against Ukraine on Monday morning.
After holding Belgium to a valuable 0-0 draw in their Pool A opener, they now sit second in the pool on goal difference behind Belgium, who racked up a 10-1 win over South Korea later on Monday.
Ireland now need a draw or better against South Korea to clinch a top-two finish in the pool and progress to the semi-finals.
From there, with only three Olympic tickets remaining, Ireland would have two chances to book their place on the plane: either by winning their semi-final, or if not, by winning the third-/fourth-place play-off.
After a scoreless opening quarter, goals from Sarah Torrans and Niamh Carey helped Ireland to a 2-0 lead over Ukraine at half-time.
Hannah McLoughlin and Deirdre Duke further stretched Ireland’s advantage in the third quarter before the floodgates opened in the forth, with Roisin Upton, Beth Harper, Torrans, and Katie Mullan all adding to the scoresheet.
Dancer said afterwards: “The build up play for some of the goals was based on good attacking play and that was another pleasing aspect of today’s performance. Our set pieces and penalty corners worked well today too.
“But conceding zero goals too, is almost as important as scoring goals.”
On Tuesday evening, Belgium take on Ukraine at 4pm Irish time before Ireland meet South Korea at 6.15pm.
