Five uncapped players are set to make their official debuts in the competition as the post-Olympic evolution of the Green Army continues.

Irish Under-21 captain Caoimhe Perdue, Christina Hamill and Síofra O’Brien all starred in the Junior World Cup in April and impressed – alongside Katie McKee and Charlotte Beggs – in recent challenge matches against Scotland and in Japan to claim their place in the line-up.

The side also features five players from the groundbreaking 2018 run to the World Cup final with Katie Mullan reprising her role as captain.

Ayeisha McFerran was named goalkeeper of the tournament in London and they are among the leaders in the group along with Lena Tice, Róisín Upton and Deirdre Duke.

“The team are excited about our progress and the opportunities that lie ahead over the next month, and know that anything is possible at a World Cup,” Dancer said of the selection.

Ireland to play hosts in opening match

Ireland start off on July 2nd against the hosts and current world number one side, the Netherlands, with the 9,500-strong venue already sold out.

Next on the schedule is a July 5th game against tournament debutantes Chile (world rank: 17) before concluding the group stage on July 6th against Germany (world rank: 5).

Top spot in the group advances direct to the quarter-final stage with the second and third place nations, facing an extra game to reach that stage in the crossover playoffs. Fourth in the group will go into the 9th to 16th place playoffs.

Ireland’s initial run of fixtures takes place in Amsterdam and if they can emulate their 2018 run, the semi-final and final will be played in Terrassa, Spain.

4 games this week

The side conclude their preparations for the World Cup at Belfield this week with the SoftCo Series with Ireland taking on Japan four times. The first game is on Saturday, June 18th (4pm) with the subsequent games on Sunday, June 19th (4pm), Wednesday, June 22nd (5pm) and Thursday, June 23rd (7pm).

Ireland Women’s squad

Ireland senior women’s team for the World Cup; July 1st to 17th in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Terrassa, Spain (club, caps):

Ayeisha McFerran (goalkeeper, SV Kampong (NED), 113)

Elizabeth Murphy (goalkeeper, Loreto, 13)

Caoimhe Perdue (UCC, 0)

Charlotte Beggs (Ulster Elks, 0)

Christina Hamill (Loreto, 0)

Deirdre Duke (Old Alex, 154 )

Ellen Curran (Pembroke, 27)

Érin Getty (Queen’s, 11)

Hannah McLoughlin (UCD, 26)

Katie McKee (Pegasus, 0)

Katie Mullan (captain, Ballymoney, 206)

Lena Tice (Old Alex, 122)

Michelle Carey (UCD, 10)

Naomi Carroll (Catholic Institute, 121)

Róisín Upton (vice-captain, Catholic Institute, 89)

Sarah Hawkshaw (Railway Union, 46)

Sarah McAuley (UCD, 9)

Sarah Torrans (Loreto, 33)

Síofra O’Brien (Loreto, 0)

Zara Malseed (Ards, 7)

Group A schedule (all at Wagener Stadium, Amsterdam; times IRISH)

July 2nd: Ireland v Netherlands, 6.30pm

July 5th: Ireland v Chile, 1pm

July 6th: Ireland v Germany, 3.30pm

The post Five Uncapped Players in Ireland Women’s Hockey Side for World Cup appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Hockey Ireland senior women’s coach Sean Dancer has named a training panel of 25 players ahead of a busy 2022 which includes July’s World Cup in the Netherlands and August’s EuroHockey Championship qualifiers in Dublin.

This latest squad announcement was confirmed in the week the World Cup schedule and ticket details went on sale. Ireland will open their campaign against the world number one Dutch side in Amsterdam’s Wagener Stadium on Saturday, July 2nd before facing Chile on Tuesday, July 5th and Germany on Wednesday, July 6th. Irish fans are encouraged to buy their tickets in the South Stand (High – Section F) to form a strong supporter’s block.

As for the Irish panel, it will feature 13 Olympians and 17 players who helped Ireland qualify for the World Cup last October in Pisa with Katie Mullan continuing her role as captain of the Green Army.

At the other end of the spectrum, uncapped players Holly Micklem, Caoimhe Perdue, Charlotte Beggs, Síofra O’Brien, Ellie McLoughlin, Katherine Egan and Katie-Jane Marshall all have their chance to shine in the coming months.

This selection follows a highly productive training camp in Antibes where Ireland won 3-0 and 4-0 against the French hosts in uncapped fixtures which gave coach Dancer plenty of food for thought.

“Our recent trip to France provided an excellent opportunity to see how our wider squad performed,” he said of this latest selection. “Some stand-out performances from Charlotte, Caoimhe, Holly and Síofra has allowed them to gain inclusion into the national group for our next period of training and competition.

“This is a really exciting year ahead with lots of different challenges. The talent coming through is really strong and the program we have in place with the support of Sport Ireland and Sport NI, along with our sponsors SoftCo, Park Developments and Saba, puts us in a great place to flourish.”

The squad also includes Barr twins Bethany and Serena who are both on the recovery trail having both sustained ACL knee injuries in 2021. Their return to full involvement will be monitored over the coming months.

This selection round, unfortunately, has come too soon for Zoe Wilson who continues to work her way back from a knee injury. Chloe Watkins and Anna O’Flanagan are also unavailable for the summer’s activities.

From this panel of 25, a squad will next be selected for a series at Lilleshall against Great Britain which runs from Sunday, March 13 to Friday, March 18. A further camp will be held in the Netherlands from Sunday, March 27 to Friday, April 1.

Ireland’s World Cup opposition were confirmed last Thursday with the Green Army set to face the world number one side the Netherlands, Germany and Chile in Amsterdam.

Reflecting on that line-up, Dancer added: “Holland and Germany are two of the strongest teams in world hockey, what a great chance to test ourselves at a major event! Chile performed well at the recent Pan Am’s and deserved their place. They will have nothing to lose, and we will certainly not be taking them lightly.”

Ireland senior women’s panel for spring/summer 2022 (club/caps)
Ayeisha McFerran (GK, SV Kampong, 113)
Róisín Upton (Catholic Institute, 89)
Lena Tice (Old Alex, 122)
Katie Mullan (Captain, Ballymoney, 206)
Sarah Hawkshaw (Railway Union, 46)
Deirdre Duke (Old Alex, 154)
Naomi Carroll (Catholic Institute, 121)
Elizabeth Murphy (GK, Loreto, 13)
Hannah McLoughlin (UCD, 26)
Sarah McAuley (UCD, 9)
Michelle Carey (UCD, 10)
Sarah Torrans (Loreto, 33)
Zara Malseed (Ards, 7)
Holly Micklem (GK, Old Alex, 0)
Caoimhe Perdue (UCC, 0)
Charlotte Beggs (Ulster Elks, 0)
Síofra O’Brien (Loreto, 0)
Ellie McLoughlin (GK, UCD, 0)
Erin Getty (Queen’s, 11)
Jane Kilpatrick (Belfast Harlequins, 1)
Katherine Egan (UCD, 0)
Beth Barr (Belfast Harlequins, 20)
Serena Barr (Belfast Harlequins, 10)
Katie-Jane Marshall (UCD, 0)
Niamh Carey (UCD, 3)

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The men’s qualifier will be held in Calais, France and both qualifiers are new on the international hockey calendar.

The European Hockey Federation confirmed the breakdown of events on Thursday morning with both events running between August 21st and 27th, 2022.

The 12th ranked Irish women will be the top seed for a Dublin-based event that also features Poland (27th), the Czech Republic (24th), Turkey (33rd) and Finland (unranked).

The Irish women won the last qualifier they took part in, earning themselves the right to play in the 2022 FIH World Cup.

The 14th ranked men are placed in Qualifier B alongside host side France – 13th in the world – as well as Ukraine (28th), Turkey (44th), Lithuania (62nd) and Slovenia (71st).

Previously, the level of European championship competition countries took part in was on a promotion and relegation basis.

This new format sees four men’s and four women’s qualifier tournaments with one ticket to the top tier championships in 2023 on offer from each event – each qualifier tournament will be held in a different location.

The second and third-placed finishers in each tournament will play in the 2023 EuroHockey Trophy; fourth and fifth-placed sides go to the third tier while the remaining teams will go into the fourth tier.

2022 EuroHockey Championship qualifiers (all August 2022)
Men
Qualifier A (Ourense, Spain): Spain, Poland, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia
Qualifier B (Calais, France): France, IRELAND, Ukraine, Turkey, Slovenia
Qualifier C (Vienna, Austria): Austria, Russia, Belarus, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary
Qualifier D (TBC, Scotland): Scotland, Wales, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Gibraltar, Finland

Women
Qualifier A (Durham, England): England, Wales, Russia, Croatia, Slovakia
Qualifier B (Dublin, Ireland): IRELAND, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey, Finland
Qualifier C (TBC): Belarus, Italy, Ukraine, Lithuania, Gibraltar
Qualifier D (Dunkirk, France): France, Scotland, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia

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Sean Dancer’s 18-women side beat France, Belarus and Wales to secure their place in next year’s competition that will be held in Spain and the Netherlands in July.

It will be the second World Cup appearance in a row for the Irish Women’s team after earning the silver medal in 2018’s instalment.

Anna O’Flanagan’s brace helped Ireland to edge the Welsh in the final and finish the qualifier in first, taking the sole World Cup spot on offer.

O’Flanagan fired home the winner with 11 minutes to go in Pisa and Sean Dancer’s ladies held out to progress, as they had done in the semi-final against Belarus.

Their defensive efforts proved the difference as the national side conceded only four goals in the qualifier, with high-scoring Belarus the only side to put two past goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran.

O’Flanagan finished joint-top of the pile on the scoring charts with four goals while rookie Niamh Carey scored two in Ireland’s first two games on their way to World Cup qualification.

“This was a defining moment for us,” captain Katie Mullan said after the match. “To make sure that it wasn’t just a one era team and to make sure that it was the future of hockey in Ireland, the future of the Green Army, and we’ve really backed that up by ensuring that we go to a World Cup next summer.

“The margins are so fine, but I’m just so proud of this group. It’s such an incredible group to be a part of, and yeah, we’re gonna go now and prepare and do as best [as] we can and work incredibly hard over the next year.”

The post Ireland Women qualify for FIH Hockey World Cup in 2022 appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The two teams will meet each other in the semi-final of the European qualifier – both finalists will go to India in two years time.

France and Austria will go head-to-head in the other semi-final for the second spot in the next World Cup.

Ireland reached the semi-final after a two-goal win over Russia, with both goals coming from Benjamin Walker, who is currently one of the joint-top scorers in the qualifier.

Wales’ Gareth Furlong had the same effect on his side as his brace brought them past Italy and they are now one game away from a competition they have never reached – a game they play in the Welsh capital of Cardiff.

Ireland, on the other hand, are on a quest to reach their fourth World Cup and their second in a row after appearing at the 2018 instalment, also held in India.

Mark Tumilty’s side are 60 minutes away from achieving the goal of qualification but face a Wales team on the rise.

They recently moved up seven places in the World rankings to 18th, five behind the Irish, and have taken part in the top tier of the EuroHockey Championship for the past two tournaments.

The winner will play in India next year but the losers will not get another chance to qualify – it all comes down to this for Ireland and Wales.

Teams

Ireland: Carr (GK), Cross, McKee, Marshall, O’Donoghue, Murray (C), Duncan, Robson, Walker, Harte, Cole.

Subs: Ingram (GK), Madeley, Walsh, Glassey, McKibbin, Empey, Hyland.

Wales: Reynolds-Cotterill (GK), Daniel Kyriakides, Ioan Wall, Alf Dinnie, Jacob Draper, Prosser, Shipperley (C), Bradshaw, G. Furlong, Morgan, Hawker.

Subs: Tranter (GK), Naughalty, R. Furlong, Carson, Hutchinson, Dolan-Gray, Pritchard.

The post Ireland v Wales – Preview, Teams, Where To Watch appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Ireland moved onto the semi-finals after a 4-1 win over France yesterday in their first game of the tournament.

Roisin Upton, Anna O’Flanagan, Zara Malseed and debutant Niamh Carey got the goals for the Green Army as they marched onto the last four.

Upton said after the game that it was crucial to follow the plan despite the first half frustrations and it paid dividends. 

“It’s something we talked about, sticking to the process no matter how long the game went on at 0-0, or even if we concede,” the Limerick woman said.  

“We were really pleased we stuck to the plan and broke through. We knew we needed to win corners; the execution in the first half wasn’t so good so we had to pick it up and nail it. Getting on the scoresheet early in the second half settled everyone.”

Belarus put seven past Russia to earn a date with the World Cup silver medalists and move one game closer to reaching the competition for the first time in their history.

Darya Belavusava netted a hattrick in the rout and will be on the search for more as she and the rest of the team aim for new heights.

Ireland needs to win against the Belarusians and then also succeed in Sunday’s final to assure passage to next summer’s competition.

Teams

Ireland: McFerran (GK), M. Carey, Upton, Mullan (C), Tice, McLoughlin, Watkins, Torrans, Hawkshaw, O’Flanagan, N. Carey.

Subs: Murphy (GK), Getty, Malseed, Carroll, Duke, Curran, McAuley.

Belarus: Navitskaya (GK), Siamionava, Zhylevich, Kasabutskaya, Belavusava, Batura (C), Yubko, Bahushevich, Papkova, Nikitsina, Lapitskaya.

Subs: Liavonava (GK), Shtsin, Mihunova, Kutai, Hanets, Sys, Zuk.

Where To Watch

The match will begin at 11 am and will be available to watch live on EuroHockeyTV.

The post Ireland v Belarus – Preview, Teams, Where To Watch appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The qualification tournament is being played at the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff and features eight teams looking for the final European spot at the 2023 World Cup.

The national team need to win their first two games to land a place at the 2023 showpiece event to be played in India.

Ireland will be looking to reach a second successive World Cup and their fourth overall after appearing at their first in 28 years in 2018.

They come into the competition as the second-highest ranked side, one place behind France in 14th.

Their opponents, Russia, are yet to qualify for the World Cup, with this qualification tournament acting as a golden ticket for the second-lowest ranked team out of the eight competing.

If Ireland beat Russia, they will face either Wales or Italy on Saturday, October 23 for a place at the World Cup.

Mark Tumilty’s side qualified for the eight-team tournament after finishing third at the 2021 Men’s EuroHockey Championship II in Poland back in August.

Since then, Olympian Conor Harte has returned to the side while Luke Madeley, Jamie Carr and Lee Cole are also available having missed out on playing time at the Euros when they were deemed close contacts in the lead-up to the event.

11 of the team that saw game time in Poland have been called up for the qualifiers at the end of the month.

Russia earned their spot after qualifying for the 2021 Men’s EuroHockey Championship, at which they finished last after conceding 33 goals in six games.

Ireland will head into the qualifiers after sharing a series on short notice with Malaysia in Lisnagarvey at the start of October.

Team News

Ireland men’s squad for World Cup qualifiers (club/caps)
Jamie Carr (GK, KHC Leuven, 34)
Mark Ingram (GK, Pembroke, 27)
Tom Cross (Annadale, 22)
Luke Madeley (KHC Leuven, 23)
Lee Cole (Monkstown, 90)
Conor Harte (KHC Dragons, 254)
Peter McKibbin (Lisnagarvey, 8)
Kyle Marshall (Old Georgians, 7)
Shane O’Donoghue (Glenanne, 197)
Sean Murray (captain, KHC Leuven, 85)
Neal Glassey (Crefelder HTC, 67)
Daragh Walsh (KHC Leuven, 58)
Michael Robson (Annadale, 120)
Johnny McKee (Banbridge, 49)
Conor Empey (SCHC, 2)
Sam Hyland (YMCA, 2)
Ben Walker (Braxgata, 42)
Jeremy Duncan (Monkstown, 63)

Travelling reserves
Matthew Nelson (Lisnagarvey, 69)
Kevin O’Dea (UCD, 7)

Where To Watch

The match will begin at 4 pm and will be shown live on EuroHockeyTV.

The post Ireland v Russia – Preview, Team News, Where To Watch appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The eight-team competition will be played in a knock-out format with only one side earning a place at next summer’s World Cup which will be played at venues in Spain and the Netherlands.

The qualification tournament is being held in Pisa, Italy and Ireland will face France in the first match of their campaign at 10:30 am.

Ireland are the highest-ranked side in the tournament, sitting at number 12 in the world, with Italy being the closest side to them in the rankings also vying for the final European spot in 17th – France are ranked 27th in the world.

A win in this fixture will earn Sean Dancer’s side the right to face either Russia or Belarus in the semi-final.

The Irish side are hoping to improve upon their fortunes after disappointing in their first-ever Olympic campaign at Tokyo 2020 earlier this year.

Dancer’s team failed to get out of the group stage, winning only once in their first match against South Africa and losing an important game to India, whom they beat in the 2018 World Cup.

The girls in green will be aiming to return to the World Cup stage after finishing second in London four years ago as the second-lowest seed in the competition.

France, on the other hand, are looking to bridge a 41-year gap and make their fourth-ever appearance in the competition.

Gael Foulard’s team won the EuroHockey Championship III in 2019 and followed it up with a silver medal in EuroHockey Championship II earlier this year has put Les Bleues within a chance of doing so.

Teams

Ireland: McFerran (GK), M. Carey, Upton, Mullan (C), Tice, Carroll, McLoughlin, Watkins, Hawkshaw, O’Flanagan, N. Carey.

Subs: Murphy (GK), Getty, Malseed, Torrans, Duke, Curran, McAuley.

France: Petriaux (GK), Ponthieu (C), Brachet, Simon, Lesgourgues, van Bolhuis, Verzura, Lardeur, Garot, Gaspari, Schubert.

Subs: Ehrmann (GK), Lahlah, Lhopital, Verrier, van der Zanden, Arnaud, Roque.

Where To Watch

The match will be available to watch live on EuroHockeyTV.

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The post Irish Senior Cup 2021: Round two preview appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

World number 14 ranked Ireland need to win their first two games – starting off against Russia on Thursday, October 21st in the quarter-final – to land a place at the 2023 showpiece event to be played in India.

Should Ireland win that tie, they will face either Wales or Italy on Saturday, October 23 for a place at the World Cup.

France are the only side rated higher than Ireland that will be competing for a spot at the World Cup but they are on the other side of the draw.

Ireland earned a spot in the qualifier after coming third in August’s EuroHockey Championship II in Poland.

Since then, Olympian Conor Harte has returned to the side while Luke Madeley, Jamie Carr and Lee Cole are also available having missed out on playing time at the Euros when they were deemed close contacts in the lead-up to the event.

11 of the team that saw game time in Poland have been called up for the qualifiers at the end of the month.

The side will head into the qualifiers after sharing a series on short notice with Malaysia in Lisnagarvey last week.

To see the women’s squad for their World Cup qualifiers, click here.

Ireland men’s squad for World Cup qualifiers (club/caps)
Jamie Carr (GK, KHC Leuven, 34)
Mark Ingram (GK, Pembroke, 27)
Tom Cross (Annadale, 22)
Luke Madeley (KHC Leuven, 23)
Lee Cole (Monkstown, 90)
Conor Harte (KHC Dragons, 254)
Peter McKibbin (Lisnagarvey, 8)
Kyle Marshall (Old Georgians, 7)
Shane O’Donoghue (Glenanne, 197)
Sean Murray (captain, KHC Leuven, 85)
Neal Glassey (Crefelder HTC, 67)
Daragh Walsh (KHC Leuven, 58)
Michael Robson (Annadale, 120)
Johnny McKee (Banbridge, 49)
Conor Empey (SCHC, 2)
Sam Hyland (YMCA, 2)
Ben Walker (Braxgata, 42)
Jeremy Duncan (Monkstown, 63)

Travelling reserves
Matthew Nelson (Lisnagarvey, 69)
Kevin O’Dea (UCD, 7)

Head Coach: Mark Tumilty
Assistant coach: Jason Klinkradt
Manager: Neil Irwin
Physical trainer: Eoin Cunniffe
Physio: Cameron Steele
Video technician: Ross Willis

 
FIH Men’s World Cup 2023 – European qualifier (Cardiff, October 21-24, 2021)
Thursday, October 21: Ireland v Russia, 4pm
Saturday, October 23: semi-final
Sunday, October 24: final/classification matches

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