Milestones for Munster duo

Munster girls Cliodhna Sargent and Audrey O’Flynn head home for Christmas today with plenty reasons to remember Ireland’s Argentinean trip, as both reached significant international milestones against India yesterday.

Sargent became just the 20th female player in Irish hockey history to notch 100 caps, and at 23 she is the second youngest to do so — team-mate Shirley McCay, who reached the ton in April, is six months younger than her. O’Flynn hit the 50-cap mark in yesterday’s clash, reaching the landmark in less than two years since her debut against Belgium in February 2010. She notched Ireland’s equaliser in a 2-1 defeat to world champions Argentina in Parana on Saturday night — a drag-flick to the bottom corner — as Ireland continued to be competitive against higher-ranking opponents while frustratingly letting games slip away. The pattern continued in last night’s bronze medal playoff against India, with Ireland going in front seven minutes in through Áine Connery but eventually losing 4-1, a scoreline which flattered the Indians, who claimed a couple of late goals while Ireland had Sargent operating as a kicking back to add the gloss. Connery’s goals have been among the positives for Ireland, with Alex Speers also getting on the scoresheet at a time when the side looked too reliant on their corner strikers – almost exclusively defenders – for goals. Confidence will be high going into 2012, but there’s nonetheless plenty to work on – in five of the eight games on this tour, Ireland turned potential wins into draws or draws into losses. Four Nations, Buenos Aires/Parana, Argentina (Irish results only) Ireland 0 South Africa 2 Ireland 1 (C Sargent) India 0 Ireland 2 (S McCay, C Sargent) Argentina 2 3rd/4th playoff: Ireland 1 (M Harvey) India 1 (aet, India win 4-2 on strokes) Ireland 2 (A Connery, A Speers) South Africa 2 Ireland 1 (C Sargent) India 2 Ireland 1 (A O’Flynn) Argentina 2 3rd/4th playoff: Ireland 1 (A Connery) India 4