Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE GIRLS SHAW ARE BRILLIANT
Coach hails Irish team as they make the World take notice
HEAD coach Graham Shaw hailed the “character and belief” of his Ireland side after upsetting Spain to reach the final of the Hockey World Cup.
After a 1-1 draw at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Ireland won the shootout 3-2.
The girls in green have been the surprise package of the tournament after going into it as the second lowest-ranked team and then topping a group containing hosts England and India.
“This performance was testament to the character and belief in our team,” Shaw told www.hockey. ie. “It was warm out there and I thought we looked the stronger side in the final minutes. That’s down to the fitness of this team and how hard they work.
“This is just amazing and hopefully this will be a changing moment in our sport. I could not be more proud of this team, they deserve every bit of this.”
Ireland made a dream start with Anna O’Flanagan touching in a penalty corner after only three minutes.
But Spain began to exert some concerted pressure and Alicia Magaz equalised nine minutes into the third quarter.
That was the way it stayed until full-time, meaning a second shootout for Ireland following their quarter-final victory over India. Shaw’s side made the perfect start as Gillian Pinder tucked her effort away but Georgina Oliva levelled with Spain’s third attempt.
With the goalkeepers in the ascendancy, Claudia Watkins looked like she might have won it for Ireland only for Lola Riera to immediately cancel that out.
After five attempts each, the sequence began again, this time with Spain going first, and, after Oliva’s shot was saved by Ayeisha McFerran, Pinder confidently converted the winning shot.
Shaw added: “It just shows what can happen when the right people come together.”
Now the Netherlands await in today’s 4.30pm final.