Ireland 0-5 Australia
Ireland suffered another heavy defeat in the FIH Pro League as Mark Tumilty’s side lost 5-0 to Australia in Bhubaneswar, India.
Ireland, who opened the game with a 5-1 upset over world number one Netherlands, got off to a good start and dominated the ball without creating any clear-cut chances.
Both teams traded long corners early on, but nothing paid off, and the stalemate remained until the end of the first quarter.
Michael Robson made his 150th international appearance and Ben Walker returned to the team after missing the Olympic qualifiers in Valencia due to injury, but it was his substitute who put the inexperienced Australian team ahead with a shot. It missed goalie James. Tom Craig Milliken in the 17th minute.
Craig put the ball into the net again four minutes later, but the referee had already blown the whistle for a penalty corner.
The second goal came from a set piece and was scored by Jeremy Hayward. Flynn Ogilvie broke down the right flank to find Craig, whose short pass to Beale was deflected by Kai Willott, who slotted past Milliken to take a 3-0 lead by the half-time break.
Australia took control in the third quarter, with Nathan Ephraims capitalizing on the pressure to make it 4-0.
Ireland almost scored when Sean Murray’s shot from a penalty corner was saved, but Willott made it 5-0 in the 56th minute.
Head coach Tumilty said after the game, “It was a good learning experience for us.” “Our fundamentals let us down at times. We looked dangerous in the final third, but we needed to be more flexible in attack and more switched on at the back end.
“At this level, even the slightest mistake is punishable. When you get an opportunity, you have to be clinical and take it.”
Ireland’s next game is against Spain on Thursday, pushed back to 12pm Irish time, before a match against hosts and world number three India at Lurukla the following day.
Ireland: Jamie Kerr (GK), Luke Madeley, Tim Cross, John Mackie, Matthew Nelson, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (C), Michael Robson, Ben Walker, Sam Hyland, Nicholas Page .
sub: Dara Walsh (6 minutes), Jonathan Lynch (7 minutes), Luke Witherow (5 minutes), Charlie Rowe (7 minutes), Conor Empey (6 minutes), Peter McKibbin (7 minutes), James Milliken (GK) (6 minutes)
Australia: Andrew Charters (GK), Jake Harvey, Matt Dawson, Nathan Efraums, Tim Howard, Alan Zalewski, Kai Willott, Flynn Ogilvie, Daniel Beale (C), Tim Brand, Jeremy Hayward
sub: Tom Wickham (3 minutes), Tom Craig (5 minutes), Corey Webber (5 minutes), Joshua Beltz (5 minutes), Jack Welch (5 minutes), Jaden Atkinson (6 minutes).