Ireland beat Olympic champions Belgium to open Pro League account
Ireland opened their account in hockey’s Pro League by beating the Olympics champions Belgium 2-1 in Antwerp.
Mark Tumilty’s side had lost all eight games in their first ‘mini’ tournament of the competition in India in February, despite a few promising performances.
They couldn’t have started the second round of games any better by shocking the gold medal winners from 2021 in Tokyo in front of their home crowd.
Ireland will face Argentina on Thursday before fixtures against the same two nations at the weekend.
It was certainly no fluke as Ireland produced a first half in which they created and took their chances.
Matthew Nelson gave them the lead in the first quarter as he was on hand at the back post to deflect a long ball into the circle past the Belgium goalkeeper and into the net.
Irish captain Sean Murray was at the centre of all the good work his side were doing both defensively and in attack.
It was a stick tackle in the circle on Murray that led to a penalty stroke for Ireland that was converted by Lee Cole.
It was a lead Ireland would never relinquish. They created further chances before half-time and after the break were relentless in their defensive work to keep the current number two side in the world at bay.
Eventually they conceded with five minutes remaining when Guillermo Hainaut scored but despite a flurry of penalty corners for Belgium, Ireland held on for a famous victory and three massive points.
After they play again this weekend their next encounter will be on the opening day of the Olympics in Paris in July.
Speaking after the game, Ireland head coach Mark Tumilty said, “We were a bit unfortunate to go in only 2-0 up at half-time. Although they dominated possession in the first half we created more clear-cut chances.
“We weren't as creative in the second half. We are reaping the rewards of the squad depth that has been built up in recent years. Some very talented players missed out on this for various reasons and were back home.”
He continued: “With Paris coming up in a few weeks we could be in a similar situation. We need to build on this it can't be just a one off.
“Argentina will present a different challenge which we need to meet. We are moving in the right direction with the team at the moment.”
