Muller upbeat despite series whitewash

Gene Muller believes Ireland are on an upward trajectory, despite finishing a punishing series of six matches in 10 days with a 4-1 loss to Australia at Belfield on Saturday. Emily Hurtz continued to be the biggest thorn in Ireland’s side, as she rattled home a hat-trick of close-range short corner goals. Hurtz had hit the winners in both of the 1-0 victories for the Hockeyroos earlier in the week, close games which raised Irish hopes of nicking a shock win over the world number five outfit. But though Muller’s troops again defended adroitly from deep positions to quell the visitors’ threat from play, they were undone by Australia’s set-piece prowess.

They converted four out of seven corners inside 50 minutes, Hurtz bagging the first three before Megan Rivers notched the fourth. Lisa Jacob pulled one back for the hosts late on, again from a corner rebound. Muller nonetheless believes his side has upped their performances since finishing a disappointing third at April’s World Cup qualifier in Chile. “Overall, it has been a tough 10 days, with six very difficult matches against World Cup teams. I felt we performed well in four of the six matches, we definitely have made big increase in performance since Chile.” Following on from Eimear Cregan becoming Ireland’s most capped player of all time in Germany last week, other Irish players have reached some personal milestones recently. Ballymoney’s Bridget Cleland has broken the 150 cap barrier, while UCC’s Julia O’Halloran has notched her 50th appearancecap. It was also a fortnight to remember for Cork Harlequins’ Sinead McCarthy and Railway Union’s Nikki Evans as they won their first caps, with McCarthy in particular impressing. Meanwhile, Ireland A’s good start at the Junior Celtic Cup in Coolnafranky soon unravelled, as defeats to Scotland and eventual winners France saw them finish third. An opening-day 4-1 win over Wales sparked hopes of a serious challenge by the hosts in the U21 competition, but a reverse to France by the same scoreline, followed by a 2-0 defeat to the Scots, quashed their chances.

There was better news for the U16 and U18 girls, who both recorded comfortable victories over home nations opposition. Una McCarthy’s U16 side were in sizzling form in a two-game series with Wales, winning 6-1 and 6-0. Katie Mullan cracked in four of those, including a hat-trick in the second encounter, while Munster’s Roisin Upton and Antonia McGrath also made their mark on the scoresheet. The U18 girls followed up the encouraging performances in their tied three-game series with Belgium by defeating Scotland twice at Jordanstown this weekend. They recorded a 3-1 win on Saturday afternoon with goals from Nicola Gray, Leah Ewart and Katie Codyre while Sunday brought a 3-2 win. This time, Gray and Ewart were joined on the score-sheet by Aisling Naughton. For more of Adrian Boehm’s pics from these games, click here and here; Ondine Roche’s photos of the game can be seen here. Senior International Series, Belfield Ireland 0 Australia 1 (E Hurtz) Ireland 0 Australia 1 (E Hurtz) Ireland 1 (L Jacob) Australia 4 (E Hurtz 3, M Rivers) Women’s Junior (U21) Celtic Cup, Coolnafranky Ireland 4 (A O’Flanagan 2, K McKenna, K McConnell) Wales 1 Ireland 1 (A O’Flanagan) France 4 Ireland 0 Scotland 2 Standings: 1. France 9pts (+11) 2. Scotland 6pts (+5) 3. Ireland 3pts (-2) 4. Wales 0pts (-14) Ireland U18 girls 3 (L Ewart, K Codyre, N Gray) Scotland 1 Ireland U18 girls 3 (L Ewart, N Gray, A Naughton) Scotland 2 Ireland U16 girls 6 (C Brown 2, K Lloyd 2, K Mullan, A McGrath) Wales U16 0 Ireland U16 girls 6 (K Mullan 3, E Carey, G Frazer, R Upton) Wales U16 1