HOCKEY

A REDUCED Irish squad limped over the finish line in last place at the Sultan Shah Izlan tournament in Ipoh beaten 4-1 on the closing day by India.

Craig Fulton’s squad was hamstrung in the high heat by the absence of Eugene Magee and Sean Murray with sickness while Stephen Cole’s contribution was severely limited.

But they extracted some consolation from a strong finish, with Julian Dale knocking in his second score of the tournament which yielded five losses and just the one win.