Historic day as Green Army charge into world quarter-finals
London’s Lee Valley is fast becoming a mecca for Irish hockey as it once again witnessed one of the greatest ever moments in Irish hockey history.
Three years ago, it was the venue for the men’s breakthrough European Championship bronze medal. Yesterday, the London venue witnessed probably Ireland’s biggest moment in the sport’s 125-year history, Anna O’Flanagan’s single goal propelling them to a 1-0 win over India, confirming them as the first side to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
They march on despite being the only non-professional side in Pool B and the second lowest ranked of the 16 entrants.
But Saturday’s win over the US ended the wait for a group stage win that dated back to 1986 and spurred a belief and a confidence and, in a fraught endgame yesterday, they had the steel to get over the line.
Holy moley! What a performance,” coach Graham Shaw said afterwards. “What a group of players. They were absolutely fantastic from start to finish. It was a difficult game with really hard conditions but they gave you that feeling nothing would go in and they deserve absolutely everything they get.
Pitchside, temperatures pushed past 30C and while the same smiles that greeted the anthems on opening night were in place, the start had more nervy elements to it.
India were pressing high and forcing errors from the opening minutes. And yet Ireland plundered their first penalty corner from a rare attack in the 13th minute and executed perfectly, O’Flanagan deflecting Shirley McCay’s power-slap into the roof of the net.
It was something precious to protect and they gripped onto it as hard as possible. Hannah Matthews saved a drag-flick off the line, Ayeisha McFerran was exceptional once again in the pads while O’Flanagan charged straight down the line to block, body and all, a number of set pieces.
They survived to half-time, and then to the three quarter time break, with Ali Meeke, Lena Tice and McCay providing relieving moments amid precious little respite.
Tice did have one slip entering the last four minutes but McFerran stood up to boot clear Vandana Katariya’s shot. Relief and exultation finally arrived with the final hooter and the side could celebrate their piece of history.
With England drawing with USA on Wednesday night, the win assured top spot on the group with a game to go. It assures them of a place in next Thursday’s quarter-finals, avoiding recourse to next Tuesday’s crossover games.
From the front, we defended as hard as we possibly can,” Shaw added. “India played very well, made it very difficult for us and we stuck at it.
“There was times in the past we would have lost these games or let them score near the end and have that bit if disappointment. It’s credit to the players, the workrate they put in. It’s a special group of players and an honour to be part of it.
“There’s a core group of senior players who have been through a lot and they deserve this more than anyone. They have dedicated their lives to this for 10 plus years; to get a quarter-final with just two games played, it is just a dream come true for all of us.”
Next on the agenda is a date with the hosts England on Sunday evening with a sold out crowd of 10,600 already confirmed.
For Ireland, the pressure is off while England, reigning Olympic champions, will need some kind of result to copper-fasten their progress after two low key draws.
Meanwhile, in lower-key circumstances, the Irish men lost their opening Four Nations game in Dusseldorf, falling to Olympic gold winners Argentina 3-0. Lisnagarvey’s Ryan Getty made his debut in the tie.
A McFerran, Z Wilson, H Matthews, R Upton, S McCay, G Pinder. L Colvin, C Watkins, N Evans, K Mullan, A O’Flanagan.
Y O’Byrne, M Frazer, L Tice, N Daly, D Duke, A Meeke, G O’Flanagan
Savita, G Kaur, D Ekka. Monika, Deepika, N Toppo, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, S Lakra, R Rampal, L Minz.
Navjot Kaur, R Khokhar, N Pradhan, V Katariya, Udita, N Goyal, R Etimarpu.
C de la Fuente, S Wilson
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