Meredith plea for business big-hitters

Andrew Meredith has called on Irish businesses to dig deep to support hockey after the senior men narrowly escaped relegation from Europe’s top tier.

Late goals from captain John Jackson and Stuart Loughrey rescued a desperate situation for Ireland, as they salvaged a 3-3 draw with relative minnows Czech Republic on Sunday to avoid the drop.

It was a far cry from their performances against some of the sport’s powerhouses earlier in the tournament.

A late goal broke their hearts in a 2-1 defeat to the Dutch while a flurry of late chances went begging in a 2-2 draw with England that saw them miss out on a first top-four placing on goal difference.

Ireland’s performance graph dipped significantly in the relegation pool — a 4-0 loss to Spain prefaced the Czech scare — but they can now turn their attention towards qualifying for the Olympics in 2016.

The green machine will retain their top 16 status as well as shortening the qualification campaign for Rio, which Meredith described as “vital” for the squad.

“They showed great character and heart,” he said. “You see the guys come in at 18-years-old who show the same character and fire, making interceptions and running things down, as the guys with the most caps. That’s a really great platform to work from.”

He added: “It would certainly assist our growth substantially if elements of the Irish corporate world can also see what positive role models we have representing the country — and what a great product hockey is at this elite level — and look to align themselves with a group of committed, hardworking athletes as we move towards the qualification process for Rio.”

The outlook for Ireland’s women is even more uncertain as they failed to avoid the drop, wasting eight penalty corner chances in a 3-1 reverse to Scotland. Allied to a 1-0 reverse against Spain, it was enough to send them into Europe’s second tier for the 2015 championships and will have ramifications for their hopes of reaching Rio.

It’s a second disappointment for coach Darren Smith and the squad, after faltering during February’s World League 2, and comes on the back of the U18 side suffering a similar fate.

“The girls have been working incredibly hard,” said Smith. “You have a group that are immensely committed and want to play well. So, from my perspective and the girls’, it is hard when we don’t string it together. Tough week but that’s life.”