The Ireland Women’s national hockey team will play Belarus on Saturday, October 23 in the semi-final of the European qualifier for the 2022 Women’s FIH World Cup.
Ireland moved onto the semi-finals after a 4-1 win over France yesterday in their first game of the tournament.
Roisin Upton, Anna O’Flanagan, Zara Malseed and debutant Niamh Carey got the goals for the Green Army as they marched onto the last four.
Upton said after the game that it was crucial to follow the plan despite the first half frustrations and it paid dividends.
“It’s something we talked about, sticking to the process no matter how long the game went on at 0-0, or even if we concede,” the Limerick woman said.
“We were really pleased we stuck to the plan and broke through. We knew we needed to win corners; the execution in the first half wasn’t so good so we had to pick it up and nail it. Getting on the scoresheet early in the second half settled everyone.”
Belarus put seven past Russia to earn a date with the World Cup silver medalists and move one game closer to reaching the competition for the first time in their history.
Darya Belavusava netted a hattrick in the rout and will be on the search for more as she and the rest of the team aim for new heights.
Ireland needs to win against the Belarusians and then also succeed in Sunday’s final to assure passage to next summer’s competition.
Teams
Ireland: McFerran (GK), M. Carey, Upton, Mullan (C), Tice, McLoughlin, Watkins, Torrans, Hawkshaw, O’Flanagan, N. Carey.
Subs: Murphy (GK), Getty, Malseed, Carroll, Duke, Curran, McAuley.
Belarus: Navitskaya (GK), Siamionava, Zhylevich, Kasabutskaya, Belavusava, Batura (C), Yubko, Bahushevich, Papkova, Nikitsina, Lapitskaya.
Subs: Liavonava (GK), Shtsin, Mihunova, Kutai, Hanets, Sys, Zuk.
Where To Watch
The match will begin at 11 am and will be available to watch live on EuroHockeyTV.
