USA are Ireland’s nemesis once again

Ireland succumbed to a second half USA fightback to lose 3-1 in Belfield and drop to third place in their group of the FIH Champions Challenge I, handing them a quarter-final date with rivals Belgium on Thursday. The girls in green exited at the quarter-final stage at the hands of the Americans last year, and they’ll be glad to have seen the back of them – for now – in this year’s tournament. Niamh Atcheler’s neat penalty corner touch had the hosts in the ascendancy after just six minutes. But a host of corner chances at both ends – there were 19 in total on the night – meant it was never likely to be enough.

Shannon Taylor levelled matters with 20 minutes to go, a perfectly executed touch to Lauren Pfeiffer’s angled drive. And the creator turned scorer when she got a similarly deft stick to Katie O’Donnell’s cross. Katie Mullan thumped home for Ireland but her effort was chalked off due to a prior foot and the US closed out the tie much stronger with skipper Lauren Crandall copper-fastening the win two minutes from the end. Ireland must now face Belgium in the quarters, the side who beat them to Olympic qualification last March, as USA topped the group and earned a date against tournament low-rank Wales.