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 at the same venue in a pre-Christmas Five Nations tournament, with Belgium winning 5-3.
All five of Belgium’s goals at that time came from penalty corners.
They conceded 12 points in the game, 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.
Ireland defended the circle as if their lives depended on it. 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 Belgium had run out of ideas on how to break Ireland.
Ireland will now turn their attention to their next match against Ukraine on Monday.
Moulin continued, “Yeah, it’s a totally different game. I mean, tournament hockey brings all kinds of different surprises, and today we really stepped up to the mark and performed in high-pressure moments. I was able to demonstrate that, and I have a lot of confidence from that, but that’s true.” All the hard work on the training pitch gets you to that point.
“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.”