Hockey heroes have world at their feet
They may not have bested the Dutch, but the Irish women’s hockey team will return as heroes after beating massive odds to come home from the World Cup with silver medals. Plans are under way for a homecoming in the capital for the team, who made headlines all around the world.
IT WAS a magnificent journey that pitted an amateur Irish women’s hockey team against the Goliaths of the game, to make history and become World Cup silver medallists.
Sadly, the Irish hope that World Cup gold glory could become more than a dream was mercilessly dashed by a towering Netherlands team, who powered ahead in the blistering heat.
But this is just the start of a voyage – and one the Irish ladies are more than prepared to take on with gusto.
Emily Beatty was at the centre of the Irish journey as the team were defeated 6-0 by the Dutch.
But just as the fans had revelled in every single moment of this hard-fought game, so too did Emily, who was called up at the last minute to play, and was exuberant despite defeat.
“I was on my way to support the team in London,” Emily told the Irish Independent.
“I had glitter in my bag to wear on my face and then I got a phone call this morning and I was asked to play. I could not believe it.
“Megan Fraser had been injured so I took her place and it was everything for me to be here today, in a World Cup final – it’s once in a lifetime. But I felt sorry for Megan too.
“I feel we have done amazingly well. We are silver medallists.
“We went out there and did our best. This was a dream to get here–we were up against a professional side and achieved this.
“This now has to be the time that there is more funding provided to the team because we have proved how far we can go. Imagine how much further we can go with more funding.”
And that was the miracle of this story – the Irish team were classed as the underdogs of this tournament.
But they used a strong work ethic, training from 5.30am before going to the office or university.
This team of brilliant and humble amateurs had nothing to prove up against the giants of hockey, such as the Netherlands.
Yet they played and trained so hard for recognition in the hope that women’s hockey would be recognised now by the State when it is choosing sporting bodies to offer more support to.
“This isn’t just about us,” Emily said. “I want to inspire
young girls to follow us, to take part in sport, to play hockey.
“After today, young girls in Ireland might believe anything is possible and we are here to say it is.”
And it was clear to see the team of 18 young women, who fought heroically in the 28C heat, had become heroines to young girls.
The huge female green army who travelled to Stratford in London to this majestic Olympic venue used every inch of willpower to support the side.
“Come on, you girls in green,” shouted a group of teenage girls who held the tricolour aloft as a middleaged English woman, one of many supporters from other countries who’d swapped sides for the day, smiled.
While ‘Olé, olé, olé’, might normally be a chant for the soccer team and – is usually blasted out by male voices – this was a historic day.
The song belonged to Irish women’s hockey and to the female fans who echoed it across the stadium even in the jaws of defeat.
With Irish pride resounding around the stadium, but with four goals conceded by the end of the first half and two more only minutes into the second half, it was bitterly disappointing that Ireland would sadly need more than the heartwarming cheers of fans to beat this dominant side.
“Come on, Ireland,” a lone man roared seconds after the legend of this tournament, 22-year-old goalkeeper Ayesha McFerran, failed to stop another Dutch shot.
But nothing, not even most of the stadium supporting them, could help the Irish team to turn back the orange tide.
THE heat was oppressive but the Dutch worked the field like a machine, with each cog operating in perfect time. Yet the Irish never gave up, not once, and the fans were remarkable, parading an almost “you can’t touch us, we are already winners” attitude that was truly heartening to behold.
Even as everyone in the stadium realised there was no going back, the fans continued to cry for Ireland and even danced their way into defeat.
“I’ve seen nothing like the Irish fans,” said one volunteer, an older gentleman with a strong London accent, as the crowds boarded a shuttle bus to make their journey home.
“They were the fans of the tournament and the Irish team were the best. I wanted them to win but silver is an amazing achievement.
“They made history today and I hope Ireland knows it,” he added.
It seemed the girls in green have left their mark in the English capital – and one that nobody, Sports Minister Shane Ross included, should forget.