A EuroHockey Nations Championships that has been at various times chastening and heartbreaking for Irish hockey ended on a positive note, as both the men and women avoided relegation with the former securing fifth place, matching their highest ever finish in 1995.
To do so, 18th-ranked Ireland they stunned world number five Spain — the fourth top 11 side they’ve beaten this summer — 3-2, with all the goals coming from penalty corners.
By quirk of rotation, number one drag-flicker John Jermyn was off the field for all of Ireland’s six corners, but it mattered little as Timmy Cockram’s brace in the closing six minutes concluded a remarkable late burst of effort from the Irish, coming from behind for the second time in the match.
Earlier, Eugene Magee had ensured Ireland held half-time parity despite a subdued showing, his drag cancelling out Pau Quemada’s opener for the Spanish.
Ireland coach Paul Revington was keen to focus on the future, again saying this was solely a way-point with more to come from his side as they now prepare for an Olympic qualifier next year, most likely in Japan.
“I’m proud but we have got our sights firmly set on next year to make improvement. We’re pleased with what we have done this summer and know it will create a good foundation,” he said.
“The highlight for me is we managed to get 40 players contributing in the past three months. For Irish hockey, that is going to be the way we achieve things.”
Ireland’s women also deserve credit for summoning immense resolve to notch a sixth-place finish, sending Azerbaijan down to the B division instead and ensuring they’ll likely leap above them in the world rankings.
That was achieved via a 4-1 victory over basement side Italy, in which three goals in as many first-half minutes from Emma Clarke, Nikki Symmons and Aine Connery proved pivotal. The Azeris couldn’t subsequently get the result they needed against Belgium.
Ireland had looked odds-on to go down after three pool stage defeats left them in a perilous position going into the relegation pool, but the wins provided some solace for under-pressure coach Gene Muller.
Speaking directly after the tie, coach Muller gave his synopsis of the match: “It was a much closer game than 4-1. We were fortunate to get three goals in a short space of time. The Italian team is extremely difficult to play against. They have skilful players and threat over distance so it was difficult to know what pressure to play..”
Asked by Talk Hockey Radio’s Peter Savage about Ireland’s attacking style, Muller said it was a welcome change to see his side on the right end of a quick string of goals.
“Sometimes we’ve been on the receiving end of that this tournament. In the last three matches, we’ve been quite flowing at times. After the first two, we managed to find a little bit more freedom and played with less fear and it worked out for us. Sometimes the players carry too much with them onto the field. There’s been a lot more chances created and attractive hockey.”
An hour-long special about Ireland’s European championship campaigns will be screened on RTÉ 2 tonight at 8pm.
EuroHockey Nations Championships, Germany
Men, Relegation Pool C
Ireland 8 (J Jermyn 2, M Watt, M Darling, E Magee T Cockram, D Ames, G McCabe) Russia 2 (A Plantonov, P Plebiskiy);
Ireland 3 (T Cockram 2, E Magee) Spain 2 (P Quemada, S Freixa);
3rd/4th playoff: England 2 Belgium 1 (aet, gg). Final: Germany 4 Netherlands 2.
Final tournament rankings: 1 Germany; 2 Netherlands; 3 England; 4 Belgium; 5 Ireland; 6 Spain; 7 Russia; 8 France.
*Germany, Netherlands and Belgium qualify for 2012 Olympics (England already represented as Great Britain hosting). Ireland, Spain, Russia and France go forward to Olympic qualifiers in 2012. Russia and France relegated to European B division for 2013 championships.
Women, Relegation Pool C
Ireland 3 (M Harvey, E Clarke, N Symmons) Azerbaijan 1 (YS Kim);
Ireland 4 (E Clarke, N Symmons, A Connery, S McCay) Italy 1 (A Padalino);
3rd/4th playoff: England 2 Spain 1; Final: Netherlands 3 Germany 0.
Final tournament rankings: 1 Netherlands; 2 Germany; 3 England; 4 Spain; 5 Belgium; 6 Ireland; 7 Azerbaijan; 8 Italy.
Germany, Netherlands and Spain qualify for 2012 Olympics (England already represented as Great Britain hosting). Ireland, Belgium, Azerbaijan and Italy go forward to Olympic qualifiers in 2012. Azerbaijan and Italy relegated to European B division for 2013 championships.