IRELAND 3 ITALY 0
DOUBLE goalscorer and Player of the Match Hannah McLoughlin hailed this bounce-back win as a team effort that put Ireland back on track in the FIH Nations Cup tournament in Terrassa, Spain after their 5-1 opening game defeat by the hosts.
Hannah said: “It’s definitely a lot better than our performance against Spain. We worked a lot on our set plays and penalty corners, and they finally paid off, but it’s a team win today.
“We didn’t start the tournament as we would have liked. But we are a very resilient bunch, and we can bounce back. We knew Spain wasn’t in our game plan and wasn’t our best day. But within 24 hours, we completely turned it around, and we are very excited now to meet Korea next.”
Italy, ranked 17 in the world to Ireland’s 13, had lost to Korea in their opening game and face top seeds Spain next.
So a win over Korea on Thursday will most likely be enough for Ireland to make the last four.
The winners of the tournament will be promoted to the FIH Pro League next season.
Ireland opened the scoring in the fourth minute, Niamh Carey, from open play, shooting home a pass from Hannah McLoughlin. It was 2-0 in the 17th minute when Hannah McLoughlin converted a penalty corner and the same player made it 3-0 with her second penalty corner of the match in the 30th minute. With no scoring in the second half, that’s how the game ended.
In the fourth quarter it was a tale of two video referrals. Italy looked for a penalty corner which was overturned by the video umpire in the 48th minute and they lost their video referral. In the 51st minute Italy were awarded a penalty corner which Ireland referred to the video umpire. She upheld the onfield umpire’s decision and Ireland lost their video referral. Sara Puglisis’ drag flick was blocked and Ireland saw out the match at 3-0.
IRELAND: Liz Murphy (GK); Sarah McAuley; Roisín Upton; Elena Neill; Ellen Curran; Sarah Torrans; Charlotte Beggs; Michelle Carey; Katie McKee; Katie Mullan; Niamh Carey. Subs used: Sarah Hawkshaw (3 mins); Naomi Carroll (3 mins); Hannah McLoughlin (4 mins); Caoimhe Perdue (4 mins); Christina Hamill (5 mins); Síofra O’Brien (7 mins)
ITALY: Lucia Ines Caruso (GK); Teresa Dalla Vittoria; Ilaria Sarnari; Antonella Rinardi; Federica Carta; Sara Puglisi (C); Sofia Laurito; Laura Oviedo; Guadalupe Muras; Victoria Cabut; Maria Lunghi. Subs used: Elettra Bormida (3 mins); Emilia Munitis (4 mins); Antonella Bruni (4 mins); Ivanna Pessini (4 mins); Azul Gilardi (4 mins); Lara Manzoni (4 mins)
