Ireland 5-1 Ukraine
The Irish men’s team made the perfect start to their bid for Olympic qualification by defeating Ukraine 5-1 in Dublin tonight.
The hosts took control in the early stages, but they had to wait until the 25th minute to take the lead, with Ben Johnson scoring from a penalty corner. Monkstown’s Lee Cole doubled the lead four minutes later following some excellent approach play from man of the match Dara Walsh.
Ukraine quickly pulled one back, with drag-flicker Viacheslav Paziuk converting a penalty corner. Taking courage, the visitors started the third quarter strongly and were forced into a series of long corners, which Ireland fought off brilliantly.
After a goalless third quarter, the home team rioted in the fourth. Ireland were awarded a penalty corner after a brilliant zigzag move between Johnson and Jeremy Duncan. The Ukrainian side used a letter of introduction to contest the decision, but the video referee upheld the original decision.
The visiting team lost their introduction and were immediately down 3-1, with Cole slotting home his second goal from the resulting penalty corner.
Duncan, who joined the Centurion club on his 100th cap, capped off a memorable night with a 4-1 win with his 20th international goal.
Walsh added more sparkle to the scoreline, capping off a great individual performance to make it 5-1.
Duncan, who said his 100th cap was a “proud day for my family”, quickly turned his attention to the challenge against world No. 2 Belgium on Monday.
“It will be a difficult task, just like the final group game against Japan. Hopefully we can keep a clean sheet against Belgium.” [as our women did] We will be in a very good place. ”
In the early stages of Group A, favorites Belgium defeated Japan 7-0, taking the lead on goal difference.
Ireland: David Hart, Tim Cross, Shane O’Donoghue, Luke Madeley, John Mackie, Matthew Nelson, Peter McKibbin, Sean Murray (C), Jeremy Duncan, Michael Robson, Nicholas Page
Subs used: Ben Johnson, Lee Cole, Kyle Marshall, Jonathan Lynch, Darragh Walsh, Sam Hyland
Ukraine: Roman Burdov, Mykhailo Yashinsky, Viacheslav Pazyuk, Dmytro Luppa (C), Vitaliy Shevchuk, Maksim Onofriuk, Bohdan Kovalenko, Andriy Koshlenko, Olksandr Solomyany, Oleksandr Boyko, Volodymyr Kaplinsky
Subs used: Bohdan Tovstritkin (GK), Dmytro Hrubi, Iurii Moros, Oleksiy Popov, Volodymyr Zmeleniuk, Volodymyr Kostechko, Oleksandr Yashinsky