Clarke strikes as draw sends Irish top

IRELAND’S upward mobility continued apace as they drew 1-1 with Spain to top their group at the women’s Champions Challenge I at UCD last night.

Gene Muller has seen his side show encouraging early signs from the controversial centralisation of players implemented last October, with Ireland turning on the style to beat India 2-1 before grinding out victory by the same scoreline against Azerbaijan 24 hours later, their first wins against higher-ranked sides since 2009.

And they got another good result against the world number 10 Spain, ensuring they finished the group stages with seven points — more than any of the other seven nations, and a rousing statistic for a side ranked second lowest of the sides ahead of the tournament.