Gritty performance by Irish

Ireland 4, Spain 6

John Clarke's side may have been regarded as whipping boys by many of the fancied outfits in these championships, but this result will have shocked many perhaps even a few of the Irish fans who travelled here in hope rather than expectation.

Some had predicted that Ireland would be taken apart by the Spanish and for long periods it looked like they would, but the Irish never wilted and, despite being 6-2 down at one stage, they rallied well and eventually only lost by two goals. Clarke said afterwards that Spain were always going to be a measure of how good this Irish team are and, as one of the top five in the world right now, they were always going to present the youthful Irish with myriad problems. "We played really well in the second half and I think that was because so many of our players are inexperienced, it took them time to find the pace Spain play at. The defence definitely had more of an examination than any of the other players, but they did well in the second period," said Clarke.