Ireland stun England to claim hockey bronze but must wait to discover Olympic fate

The waiting game begins for Ireland after they concluded their best ever year in international hockey with a remarkable Unibet EuroHockey Championship bronze medal on Saturday.

The backs-to-the-wall 4-2 win over world number five England stunned a packed house at the Lee Valley facility in London but this was just the latest in a series of high-profile scalps for Craig Fulton’s men.

The Green Machine defeated higher-ranked Pakistan and Malaysia en route to fifth place at World League 3, a result which gives them a great shot at a first Olympic qualification since 1908.