Spain 2 Ireland 0
Spain has proven to be a thorn in Irish hockey’s side. A day after defeating the Irish women on penalties in the semi-finals of the Olympic qualifying tournament, Ireland held off a challenge from the men and won 2-0, securing the hosts a spot in Paris this summer. Advance to Sunday’s final.
However, while the women will have one more chance to compete against Great Britain in Saturday’s third-place match (2.30 Irish time), the men will also qualify if they win against Belgium or South Korea in Sunday’s bronze medal match (2.30). Obtainable.
It was a semi-final between two teams with starkly contrasting Olympic histories: Spain had not qualified since 1956, while Ireland had only appeared in the Olympics once since independence, in Rio eight years ago. . Ranked 8th in the world and Ireland 12th, the home team entered the tournament as solid favorites to win the tournament.
However, in the rain and wind in Valencia, Ireland held out until the third quarter, with Spain scoring both goals. Until then, they had defended solidly and used the full width of the pitch to quickly pass the ball and stretch out their opponents.
However, after a quiet start to the game, Gerard Clapes gave Spain an opening with two sharp passes from deep, but Álvaro Iglesias and Jose Bastella were unable to capitalize on the passes, leading to the finale. Klapes himself forced a fine save from David Hart.
Ireland’s first big chance came early in the second quarter when Dara Walsh won the opening penalty corner. Lee Cole’s shot was easily saved by Luis Calzado.
Just like the women’s game, the game was scoreless at halftime. Spain had more chances and threatened to counterattack, but Ireland played well, although they were not good enough in the final third.
However, Spain took control in the third quarter, scoring twice from penalty corners. Before that, Marc Rein couldn’t control a cross from the right in front of the goal and missed a sitter. However, Cole took the lead in the 35th minute when Bastella’s corner kick hit the left post, but Rafael Villalonga pushed the rebound past Harte.
Four minutes later, it was 2-0, as Marc Miralles’ sweep shot hit Cole’s stick and went into the net. Johnny McKee came closest to scoring after being set up by Jeremy Duncan, but Calzado made a save from the Banbridge forward.
Spain were forced into two more corners early in the final quarter but were content to withstand Ireland’s pressure and Calzado’s double save from Shane O’Donoghue sealed the contest three minutes from time. .
Current Olympic champion Belgium and world No. 10 South Korea will face off in today’s second semi-final. Both sides will be formidable opponents for Ireland, who lost 4-2 to Belgium in the same pool. Their hope is South Korea, but either way they will need a big performance on Sunday to head to Paris.
Ireland: D. Hart, L. Madeley, T. Cross, S. O’Donoghue, L. Cole, S. Murray (captain), M. Robson, N. Page, J. McKee, D. Walsh, J. Duncan. sub: K. Marshall, M. Nelson, P. McKibbin, J. Lynch, S. Hyland, B. Johnson.
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