THE INCREDIBLES!
Buoyant Ireland set their sights on Olympics
CAPTAIN Katie Mullan hailed an ‘incredible’ fortnight as Ireland’s heroic Women’s World Cup campaign ended at the final hurdle yesterday. The team return home to a civic reception in Dublin this afternoon with silver medals after they were beaten 6-0 by the world No 1 side Holland. Part-timers Ireland, ranked 15 of 16 competing nations in London, will now enter the world’ top 10 for the first time. And Mullan, 24, is aiming for further riches in 2020 after experiencing world success. ‘We’ve never played in an Olympic Games, now that’s our next goal,’ she said. ‘It’s been incredible. Hopefully young girls will look at this story and say that they want to be sporty, be in a team and go for it.’ It was a sentiment backed up by Graham Shaw, Ireland’s coach. He said: ‘There is going to be expectation now. We’re going to grab this opportunity. We want to qualify for Tokyo.’
‘We are used to the emotions of the lows, rather than the highs’ ‘We will have time to reflect and realise just what we have done here’
COACH Graham Shaw will urge Shirley McCay, his most experienced player, to reconsider retirement as Ireland set their sights Olympic qualification for Tokyo 2020 after this World Cup adrenaline shot.
McCay, 30, played in her most important tournament after over a decade of service to Ireland, mixed with the disappointment of missing out on three Olympic Games. With over 250 international caps, McCay was believed to be set on retiring after the World Cup to become a development coach with Ulster Hockey.
Setting his sights on Tokyo 2020, Shaw said: ‘First of all she’ll have to talk to me before she retires.
‘She has been a true star, a real model for all young female players in Ireland, but her journey can’t end here and I’ll tell her that.
‘We’re 12 months away from an Olympic qualifier — that’s 12 months of your career to achieve your ultimate dream.
‘You’ve achieved one of them in winning a silver medal, so we’ll sit down and talk.
‘She has done a lot for our sport and I’m hoping she’ll do a lot more in the next two years and then I’ll allow her to step away.’
McCay said last October that she was thinking of retiring after the World Cup, but said last night: ‘I never thought this would happen so I need to reflect and see. Maybe not, I can’t say.
‘I can’t say right now; this isn’t about me, it’s about the team and I am just so proud. I never thought this would happen so I need to go away and reflect and see.’
Ireland met a ruthless Netherlands outfit in yesterday’s World Cup final. Losing 4-0 at half-time, the Green Army did brilliantly to stem the tide in the second half as the Dutch won their eighth title in 14 editions.
Ireland’s gutsy performances will now see them enter the world’s top 10 for the first time in next month’s rankings.
And Shaw, a former Irish international player, admitted that Ireland need to propel themselves even further forward to keep up with the world order.
‘Hopefully the people who came over to support, the people at home watching on TV now can really truly see which way this sport needs to be played,’ he said.
‘This is what we need to aim for now in how we coach our young kids, how we coach our schools, how we coach our clubs.
‘This is hockey at the very, very highest level and hopefully now people can see that.’
An emotional Shaw admitted to being ‘overwhelmed’ at the sea of green in the 10,000 sell-out crowd in London yeterday as his ‘incredible journey’ ended.
He added: ‘I mean, it felt like a home game. It felt like we were in Dublin, Belfast or Cork playing. Just an incredible atmosphere and we are so grateful to the people who travelled over to support the team.’
Meanwhile, midfielder Ali Meeke was left in no doubt as to Ireland’s new-found confidence on the world stage.
Last summer, Ireland just staved off relegation from the European elite division — despite suffering a 7-2 hammering by Spain. Twelve months on, haven beaten Spain the semi-finals, Meeke said that Ireland were ‘going places’.
‘It’s in our locker but it’s about reaching those higher places and working on that,’ said Meeke.
‘We have to also hit the younger ages and schools hockey.
‘And in the years to come, when the wheels start turning, you are going to see even more special things from us.’
With four Irish women playing at elite clubs in Europe, including top scorer Anna O’Flanagan, some of Shaw’s players could now be lured to the continent to further their careers. And Meeke said this can only serve to benefit the Ireland national side in the future. ‘It is growing in the women’s game. And you can see it from the players who can come back from their clubs in Europe and they are bringing that mentality and intensity and it’s feeding into our game. ‘The more of that the better,’ said Meeke.
The last word was left for McCay (left) after those missed Olympic opportunities were overturned dramatically here.
‘We are not in the fortunate position where we can just showcase our ability,’ she said.
‘What we have done is so important to promote the game for sponsorship and funding. We are aware of the hype and we are just going to enjoy it.
‘We are used to the emotions of the lows rather than the highs.
‘We are in the bubble; going home, we will have time to reflect and realise just what we have done for the sport and for the people in Ireland,’ added the Ireland veteran.