Harte says new-look Ireland in exciting place

World goalkeeper of the year David Harte believes new-look Ireland are in an “exciting” place after they survived some tough tests to win World League 2 in Belfast yesterday.

Having gone a goal behind, Ireland spent the second-half trying to break down a stubborn French half-court defence in yesterday’s final, eventually doing so with six minutes to go through Shane O’Donoghue’s short corner effort. That 1-1 stalemate sent it to a shootout, with Harte making two quality saves while his twin brother Conor, Eugene Magee, Lee Cole and Jonny McKee - named the junior player of the tournament - all scored to hand the Green Machine a 4-2 success.

Ireland also came from behind to defeat Wales 3-1 in Saturday’s semi-final - guaranteeing a place at World League 3 where 2018 World Cup spots will be up for grabs - and Harte feels things are looking up.