SPAIN 5 IRELAND 1
IRELAND captain Katie Mullan backed her team to bounce back from an unexpectedly heavy defeat by hosts Spain in their opening match of FIH Nations Cup in Terrassa.
As they prepare to take on Italy in their second game, Ballymoney’s Katie insisted: “We’ll learn a lot of valuable lessons from the Spanish game, especially from the second half. I think it was tight in the first half. I am very proud of the girls and I know that there’s serious character in this group and that will prove to come to fruition when we face Italy.”
It was a tough start for Ireland’s interim head coach Facundo Quiroga as his World ranked No13 side took on the No8 ranked Spanish.
Ireland took the lead through a field goal by Naomi Carroll in the 13th minute. Lola Riera converted a penalty stroke in the 14th minute to equalise for the hosts and her 29th minute penalty corner gave them a 2-1 lead which they held at the end of the first quarter.
In the third quarter, Marta Segu scored from open play in the 39th minute to put Spain 3-1 ahead and only four minutes later it was 4-1, Marta Segu sending a rebound off Liz Murphy into the back of the net for another field goal. In the fourth quarter Marta Segu, again from open play in the 49th minute, made it 5-1 to Spain.
When these two sides met in the Olympic Qualifier in Valencia earlier this year it was 0-0 after 60 minutes and Ireland only lost their semi-final in a penalty shoot-out. They went on to lose narrowly to Great Britain and won’t be in Paris this summer on the back of that defeat in the 3rd place match. There was none of the tension surrounding that January match on this occasion and the Irish started off reasonably well in the first quarter.
Now they must shake off this defeat quickly and recover straight away with a win over Italy with the prize on offer for the winning team in the tournament a place in the 2024-25 FIH Women’s PRO League.
IRELAND: Liz Murphy (GK); Sarah McAuley; Elena Neill; Róisín Upton; Ellen Curran; Katie McKee; Sarah Hawkshaw; Michelle Carey; Niamh Carey; Naomi Carroll. Subs used: Hannah McLoughlin (3 mins); Sarah Torrans (4 mins); Caoimhe Perdue (4 mins); Charlotte Beggs (3 mins); Christina Hamill (6 mins); Síofra O’Brien (6 mins)
SPAIN: Clara Perez (GK); Lucia Jiminez; Maria Lopez; Marta Segu; Constanza Amundson; Blanca Perez; Begona Garcia; Xantal Gine (C); Lala Vidosa; Alejanadra Torres – Quevedo; Patricia Alvarez. Subs used: Laura Barrios (5 mins); Sara Barrios (4 mins); Julia Strappato (5 mins); Bélen Iglesias (4 mins); Lola Riera (6mins); Beatriz Perez (3 mins)
