Ireland played Great Britain on Thursday evening in the second of four development matches being played at Lisnagarvey Hockey Club as part of Ireland’s preparations for the EuroHockey Championship II in Gniezno, Poland from August 15 to 21. The remaining development matches will be played on Saturday, August 7 (3pm) and Sunday, August 8 (11am) at the Comber Road venue.

Thursday evening’s match started in gloomy conditions and the 1st half was largely forgettable, with defenses dominating as attacks struggled for cohesion. It was no surprise that the 1st half ended scoreless.

The 3rd quarter was a complete change as the attacks started to flow and both keepers were tested. Ireland scored from an attack built deep in their own half on the 36th minute and they followed this up, 2 minutes later, with their second score which came from a penalty corner.

The attacking play continued, from both sides, in the third quarter and Ireland can thank their keeper for a series of saves, as GB notched up a few penalty corners. However, it was Ireland who increased their lead, on the 50th minute, when they converted a penalty corner.

There was no further score the match ending as a 3 – 0 win for Ireland who should be pleased with their 2nd half performance.

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