Maguire brace keeps Ireland afloat

Ireland’s profligacy in attack continues to cause concern for senior men’s coach Paul Revington, after they spurned another hatful of chances  in recording a 3-3 INSEP Five Nations draw with hosts France in Paris last night. The absence of John Jermyn’s drag-flicking excellence was feltpainfully noticeable when seven short corners went unconverted in Wednesday’s scoreless raw with Poland, and it was a case of déja vu in the French capital last night. Skipper Ronan Gormley gave Ireland a fourth-minute lead from a short corner, but France replied with a  set-piece of their own and a penalty stroke, both from Fabian Magner, to lead 2-1 at the break.

A Phelie Maguire solo goaleffort — his first international goal since February 2008 — levelled it again, before the Belgium-based midfielder cancelled out Magner’s hat-trick strike with a first-time effort on 57 minutes for 3-3. Ireland sit third in the table with two points from as many games, following an encounter which saw five yellow cards – four for the French and one for Ireland’s Paul Gleghorne. Irish assistant coach Arul Anthoni said: “We are disappointed in not getting the full points, due to the number of chances we created and corners we had. Hopefully we can rectify this for tomorrow, focusing on our final touches.” His side next play Malaysia on Saturday at 2.30pm (Irish time) when Alan Sothern could become the fourth player in a week to earn his 50th cap for Ireland following John Jackson, Mitch Darling and Conor Harte who reached the milestone today. Malaysia, meanwhile, continued their winning start to the competition by beating Scotland 3-1 with goals from Ahmad Tajudin, Hanfi Hafifihafiz and Mahammad Razie – three of the star men in last week’s series in Dublin – and they lead the tournament by three points. IRELAND: David Harte, John Jackson, Ronan Gormley (capt), Eugene Magee, Andy McConnell, Mitch Darling, Timmy Cockram, David Ames, Paul Gleghorne, Conor Harte Subs: Chris Cargo, Alan Giles, Joe Brennan, Phelie Maguire, Alan Sothern Standings: 1. Malaysia 6pts (+4) 2. Scotland 3pts (-2) 3. Ireland 2pts (0) 4. Poland 1pt (-1) 5. France 1pt (-1) Match Schedule (Irish Time): Friday (3pm): Poland vs Scotland Saturday (2.30pm): Ireland vs Malaysia; (5pm) France vs Poland Sunday (1.30pm): Ireland vs Scotland; (3pm) France vs Malaysia