Women’s Olympic qualification: Ireland needs just one win to qualify

Ireland defeated South Korea 3-1 in Valencia to advance to the Olympic qualifying semi-finals.

After a scoreless and at times shaky first half, Ireland took the lead in the third quarter with goals from Sarah Hawkshaw and Deirdre Duke.

Ireland conceded their first goal of the tournament in the final quarter with Cho Hye-jin’s goal.

Roisin Upton scored a penalty stroke to ease the nerves and in the end Ireland deserved to win.

Shawn Dancer’s team has two chances to qualify for the Olympics. A win against Spain on Thursday would be enough, but a loss would mean they would face either England or Belgium in the third-place match, with the winner securing a final spot in Paris.

“We have two more matches and if we do well in the next matches, it’s clear that we will be ready for Paris,” said Dancer.

“Let’s remember what we talked about about four weeks before we left Ireland. We said we were here to win medals, and maybe I was the one saying that. We are in a position to compete for a medal to finish in the top three because I truly believe this is the first time we have won a medal.

“That’s the focus, finishing in the top three and obviously if you finish in the top three you qualify.”

Up until now, Irish teams may have played their hands off trying to get a draw to advance to the tournament, but this Irish team attacked from the whistle and dominated the early stages, but as the first quarter elapsed. As time went on, South Korea took the lead. As the match started, Aisha McFerran had to make a sharp save from a Korean corner kick.

The match remained goalless until the end of the first half, making it difficult to convert any chances.

Ireland started the second half with a similar aggressive approach, winning a penalty corner and producing another great routine with Hawkshaw diving to deflect a pass from Hannah McLoughlin.

The Irish forwards, led by Katie Mullan and the standout Niamh Carey, wreaked havoc, doubling the advantage with just 3.7 seconds left in the third quarter.

Chloe Watkins found Naomi Carroll and set up Duke with a nice reverse stick finish.

South Korea had to force the issue, with Hyejin Cho scoring a well-worked goal with 12 minutes left in the game.

Ireland’s tempo never slowed and they continued to dominate, Hawkshaw being fouled in the circle and Upton stepping up to hammer home a penalty stroke.

Thursday’s match against Spain will be a tense and captivating match-up with Olympic qualification at stake, with Irish fans in Valencia to support them at home.

Dancer added: “Obviously the Irish supporters travel a lot, so it might be a 50-50 split in favor of the home crowd.We know it’s going to be a tough game, but we’re nervous because we’re at home.” Probably,” he added.

“But once we get back, we will focus again on preparing for Spain. We know them and they certainly have good skills and a good attack, so we will take advantage of that. It needs to end.”

“We are very confident in our progress at the moment and are confident we can match them.”