DURING the first Olympic qualification semi-finals in Women’s Hockey in Valencia Ireland (world ranked #13) were defeated in a penalty shootout against Spain (world ranked #8).
In the other semi-final, Belgium defeated Great Britain to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games meanwhile Great Britain will face Ireland in the bronze medal match on Saturday.
Going into the semi-final, Spain were familiar opponents for Ireland as they play training matches against each other most Januarys with games against these sides known to mostly be very tight encounters.
Patricia Alvarez had the first shot in anger of the game for Spain which was blocked by Sarah Hawkshaw but Ireland went straight up the other end and won a long corner. And the was pretty much the pattern of a first quarter which was fairly even.
The second quarter saw Spain start well and Blanca Perez had the first real chance after the restart but her cross cum shot whizzed across the face of the goal eluding everyone including her teammates. Ireland went on to dominate the second quarter in possession terms having several circle entries, Katie Mullan forcing a couple of saves out of keeper Clara Perez. One effort by Sarah Hawkshaw in the 23rd minute ended up bouncing off one of the umpires but play continued uninterrupted.
So, both sides went in at half time as they had begun Spain 0 Ireland 0. No stoppages, no injuries, no cards and only one penalty corner key stats from the first half. Spain started quarter three strongly. But there were no clear-cut goal scoring chances for either side until the final minute. At the end of the third quarter though it remained Spain 0 Ireland 0.
It was a landmark for Hannah McLoughlin who gained her 50th cap in this game. But the rest of the game had no clear-cut chances and it ended scoreless. There is no extra time in tournaments like these so both sides went straight to a penalty shootout.
First up for Spain was Laia Vidosa who missed 0-0. She was followed by Róisín Upton who also missed still 0-0. Lucia Jiminez then put Spain 1-0 up. Next up for Ireland was Sarah Hawkshaw whose effort was saved by Clara Perez still 1-0 Spain. Third up for Spain was Julia Strapatto who put Spain 2-0 up, Clara Perez then saved Hannah Mc Loughlin’s effort. Fourth up for Spain was captain for the Day Maria Lopez and she added another goal to mean that Spain won 3-0.
Ayeisha McFerran
Ireland player Elena Neill is consoled after the shootout defeat to Spain
