Ireland 0

Belgium 2

THE IRELAND MEN’S hockey team have been defeated by reigning Olympic champions Belgium in their Group B opener at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in Paris.

Goals from Tom Boon and Alexander Hendrickx sealed the win for Belgium while Ireland goalkeeper Davey Harte produced a number of crucial saves as part of a gutsy defensive performance.

Boon gave Belgium the lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter before Hendrickx added the second goal with a dragflick from a penalty corner in the fourth quarter.

Along with the defending Olympic champions, Group B also contains Tokyo silver medalists Australia and India, who were the bronze-medal winners in 2021. Argentina and New Zealand complete the group, with four teams progressing to the quarter-finals.

Ireland will face Australia next.

'Incredibly proud of the effort we put in'

David Harte reacts to the courageous 2-0 defeat to defending gold medallists Belgium#rtesport #paris2024
📱Report https://t.co/mP7axxOkYK
📺Watch https://t.co/b2OI4OoWVJ pic.twitter.com/BJaCdKNpvY

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 27, 2024

“Incredibly proud of the performance,” Harte told RTÉ Sport after the game. “They’re the world number three side for a reason and we knew coming into this game, despite having two good results back in the summer, that this would be a different task [FIH Pro League]. Just incredibly proud of the effort that we put in.

“We did get opportunities. We got a few corners but realistically, we were just living off too many scraps. And if we had held possession better, especially inside their 23, we might have at least come away with a goal or two.”

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