Ireland suffer shootout agony

Ireland’s hopes of becoming the first winners of the Champions Challenge II on home soil were left in tatters last night as Poland claimed a final victory on penalty strokes at Belfield last night. The Irish twice held two-goal leads, but Marcin Strykowski’s deflection with 13 seconds to go pulled the sides level at 3-3. When extra-time couldn’t break the stalemate, misses in the shoot-out by Glenanne duo Joe Brennan and Stephen Butler ultimately cost Ireland, as they lost the shootout 5-4. It wasn’t without controversy, as a Polish substitute broke the hush accompanying Brennan’s stroke, and it remains to be seen whether the side will be punished for their conduct.

Mikey Watt’s tidy finish and a John Jermyn drag-flick — his seventh goal of the tournament — had Paul Revington’s side two to the good inside 15 minutes. Strykowski pulled one back on 39 minutes, but Timmy Cockram’s opportunism allowed him to mug the Polish goalkeeper and square for a diving Watt to make it 3-1 in the 50th minute. Andy McConnell had earlier somehow missed an open goal from Jermyn’s centre as Ireland continued to create the best openings, but Dariusz Rachwalski’s rebound on 57 minutes set up a nervy finale. Ireland began trying to wind down the clock with six minutes to go, a tactic that seemed to galvanise the Poles, who eventually punished the hosts at the death of normal time thanks to Strykowski. David Hobbs did skim a post from a near-impossible angle in extra-time, but Ireland will be left to rue the missed opportunity of promotion to the Champions Challenge I event, and the increased ranking points possibilities it would bring. However, they have made some minor inroads on that front by progressing further in the tournament than Japan, France and Malaysia — who Ireland defeated 2-1 in the last four with strikes from Jermyn and Hobbs — who are all ranked higher. Meanwhile, both of Ireland’s U18 sides will play A division hockey at the 2011 EuroHockey Youth Nations Championships after doing enough in their respective final games. Andy Smyth’s boys side saw off France 5-3 in the final of the Trophy competition in Vienna.

Their 1-0 semi-final win over Wales — in which skipper Stuart Loughrey hit the winner in the dying minutes — had guaranteed a return to A status in two years’ time, but a Stephen Dowds hat-trick and a brace from Kyle Good also gave them some silverware to show for their efforts. The girls’ side faced an altogether different prospect, needing to beat Russia in a relegation playoff to retain their A status. Chloe Watkins and Brenda Flannery swapped strikes with the Russians to leave the tie balanced at 2-2 after a frantic opening eight minutes. A tense battle followed thereafter, with the stalemate eventually broken when Hannah Matthews’ 67th minute pass was finished off by Katie Codyre at the near post. That 3-2 win ensured a fifth place finish, and relief for coach Mary Logue, who afterwards lauded her side’s “tremendous character”.