Pinder drives Irish towards final

A four-goal burst in nine first-half minutes saw Ireland U21s cruise to a 7-0 victory and assure themselves of a EuroHockey Junior Championships III final berth in Lisbon, barring a goal difference miracle.

An 18th-minute corner rebound started the run before Hannah Matthews cracked home for 2-0. Hayley Mulcahy’s hit from the top and Naomi Carroll’s reverse built further on the score for a strong half-time lead.

Nicola Gray smashed home her third of the tournament and Gillian Pinder finished off a counter after good work from Emily Beatty, before scoring her second 11 minutes from time.

Turkey beat Azerbaijan 1-0 in the day’s other game. It means Ireland need a draw against Azerbaijan to confirm top spot in the group while it would require a 14-goal swing to deny them a final place.

The U21 men, competing in Bratislava, face hosts Slovakia in their final pool match today in what is essentially a preamble given both sides have already qualified for tomorrow’s final.