Ireland held world No. 4 Belgium to a goalless draw in their first Olympic qualifying match in Valencia.
This was an outstanding defensive performance from the Irishman and gave the team confidence going into the tournament.
Just three weeks ago, the two teams clashed in a five-nation tournament held at the same venue just before Christmas, with Belgium winning 5-3.
All five of Belgium’s goals at that time came from penalty corners.
They scored 12 goals in the match, but Ireland’s defense, led by world-class goalkeeper Aisha McFerran, kept Belgium at bay. Another highlight was an amazing clearance off the line by Lena Neal.
“We showed everything a proud Irish team encompasses and strives for and there was a lot of pride in the jersey tonight, but it has taken us a few years in the past to achieve that performance. I think there was also a lot of hard work over the month, especially defensively,” Ireland captain Katie Mullan explained.
“I’m really, really proud of the girls today. I think from the first minute to the 60th minute, we were in the game and fighting hard. And I couldn’t have asked for more from any of them. Yeah, really. I’m proud.’ And now it’s time to reset, recover and focus on the next game. ”
Ireland got off to a nervy start, ceding a lot of territory to Belgium who had their first penalty corner chance after just 30 seconds.
They scored nine points in the first quarter alone, but brave running from Mulan and Sarah Torrance and heroics from McFerran kept the game scoreless.
However, after half-time Ireland began to find a rhythm and began to frustrate Belgium, although they did not end up causing Belgium many defensive problems.
With eight minutes remaining, Neal cleared off the line to preserve the vitality.
McFerran converted Belgium’s 12th and final penalty corner, but by that point they were running out of ideas on how to beat Ireland.
Ireland will now turn their attention to their next match against Ukraine on Monday.
Moulin continued, “Yeah, it’s a totally different game. Tournament hockey brings all kinds of different surprises. Today he really stepped up to the mark and performed in high-pressure moments. Then he had a lot of confidence. , but that’s all there is to it,” he added. Getting to that point requires hard work on the training pitch.
“We take it one day at a time and the next important thing is to recover tomorrow, get a good rest and be ready for the next game. That’s the approach and we’re looking forward to it.”