Olympic dream on hold after 11-goal thriller

Ireland continue to be European hockey’s great entertainers but ultimately saw their slim Olympic qualification hopes dashed by the Netherlands, who claimed a 7-4 victory in a topsy-turvy EuroHockey Nations Championship tie in Germany yesterday. Needing an unlikely five-goal margin of victory — or a win of any kind combined with an unlikely French victory over England — Ireland got off to a shocker with Bob de Voogd putting the Dutch in front. But Ireland equalised with a route one goal of real quality, John Jackson’s overhead taking out the entire Dutch defence and midfield, with Eugene Magee supplying a stunning low finish on the half-volley. Ireland then remarkably surged in front, Geoff McCabe batting home from just below shoulder height after Ian Sloan’s drag-flick was saved, but it didn’t last long as Taeke Taekema hauled the Dutch level. The drag-flick master notched another for a 3-2 half-time lead, and two more from his stick after the break — one from an improvised corner – suddenly had the Dutch out of reach at 5-2. Ireland could have been forgiven for turning their thoughts to the weekend’s relegation pool clashes when some Teun de Nooijer magic made it six, showing off all his 400-plus caps’ worth of experience in deftly lifting the ball over Irish netminder David Harte. The latter had performed his usual quotient of heroics to keep the scoreline respectable and he got some payback from his forwards as Magee tore down the left on a 50-yard solo run. His swept reverse-stick cross was diverted onto off the upright but a diving Timmy Cockram had kept pace and just about turned in the rebound from on his knees, having initially beaten the ball into the goal with his own momentum. Harte could do nothing about de Voogd’s second and the Netherlands’ seventh, coming after Billy Bakker had toyed with the Irish keeper amid dwindling defensive numbers, but Ireland ended on a high note inside 30 seconds, Mikey Watt turning and rattling one into the bottom corner to end a breathless last quarter.

Ireland now head into the relegation pool tomorrow with the boon of three points carried over from the win over France and a +2 goal difference. They’ll face Russia first up, hoping for a repeat of July’s 9-2 thrashing at the Champions Challenge. Should Spain – ousted for a semi-final berth and Olympic qualification by Belgium, who came from two down to spark wild celebrations with a 3-2 victory – defeat France in the other crossover, Ireland’s A division status will be secure. That would be their first time doing so at this level since the tiered system came into place, and would also guarantee a highest world ranking ever and allow them something of a shot to nothing in a bid to secure fifth place. Indeed, Ireland’s displays at this tournament have not gone unnoticed; Dutch coach Paul Van Ass afterwards said the Irish “belong at this level” while singing the praises of the “world-class” John Jermyn, Eugene Magee and David Harte. Paul Revington, meanwhile, was pleased to see his side put it up to the Dutch but naturally disappointed at the concession of seven goals, an amount Ireland haven’t shipped in a single game since 1997. “It was highly entertaining from a spectator’s point of view. We were reasonably pleased with first half. With our shape, defensively we were strong with some good, fast break,” he said. “The Dutch pressed well in the second half. We aided it with six minutes of a lack of concentration. We finished scoring four goals and we are reasonably pleased with that but to concede seven is frustrating. “Yes, frustrated at turnovers. At the same time, the Dutch are a very useful side. The way they move, the moment the ball is lost, they’ll place a huge amount of pressure on a lot of teams. This Irish side will have learned a horrible but decent lesson. The more they play at this level, the more they learn and we’re confident they can make big improvements.” While this chance at Olympic qualification has sailed, Revington says there is still plenty to do and remaining an A division side is what needs to be secured for Ireland to continue moving up the chain. “The crucial step in doing that is staying inside the top five or six in Europe. That’s why we’re here, to end up playing sides like the Dutch, but we have other games we have to deal with to make sure we stay in that five or six. “The players set themselves goals for the tournament. They would be disappointed they haven’t pushed into the top two in the pool. At the same time, they would have benefited from the experience and high level of competition.” For more match photos from Sportsfile’s Diarmuid Greene, click here EuroHockey Nations Championships Pool B results: England 8 (A Jackson 3, J Tindall 2, R Alexander 2, A Dixon) France 1 (F Magner); Ireland 4 (E Magee, G McCabe, T Cockram, M Watt) Netherlands 7 (T Taekema 4, B de Voogd 2, T de Nooijer) Standings: 1. Netherlands 9pts (+11) 2. England 6pts (+8) 3. Ireland 3pts (-3) 4. France 0pts (-16) Pool A results: Germany 7 (J-M Montag 2, M Furste 2, C Wesley, T Stralkowski, F Fuchs) Russia 0; Belgium 3 (T Boon, M Luycx, J Dekeyser) Spain 2 (R Oliva, J Fernandez) Standings: 1. Germany 9pts (+11) 2. Belgium 6pts (+5) 3. Spain 3pts (+2) 4. Russia 0pts (-18)