Latest news with #HannahMcLoughlin
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
After a below-par EuroHockey campaign Ireland have a lot 'on the table' facing into first Pro League
Hannah McLoughlin says there is 'an awful lot on the table' for Ireland women over the next 12 months, as they look to pick themselves up from a below-par EuroHockey campaign and qualify for a first World Cup since 2018. Ireland finished eighth following a 2-1 defeat against England yesterday, but avoided relegation with more teams set to be included in a revamped 2027 EuroHockey Championship in London. Tess Howard opened the scoring when she passed across the circle only for Sarah McAuley to turn into her own net. Ireland missed a gilt-edged chance to equalise when Sarah Torrans and a sliding Katie Mullan couldn't combine with a circle overload and a gaping goal. Mullan again went to ground midway through the second quarter, but this time her finish was world-class with a superb goalbound chip. Ireland went behind again at the start of the third quarter when Darcy Bourne swept home at the top of the circle after Holly Micklem, who replaced Lizzie Murphy in goal for this final match, raced out of goal to try and clear. Time then ran down on Ireland as Caoimhe Perdue set herself for a shot with the last move of the match. 'You come away with a loss and you can feel down but 2-1 is close, we executed our game plan and played a lot more hockey,' said McLoughlin. 'We need to create more attacking and efficiency in our final third. 'It's been an up and down tournament but we have a lot to take away with a young group and that's an exciting thing to come away from.' Ireland's first foray into the women's FIH Pro League will mean a packed schedule over the next year. It is not yet known if they will play their first block of matches in December, but they will compete in February ahead of a qualification tournament for the 2026 World Cup. 'There is an awful lot on the table,' added McLoughlin. 'One of my messages at the end of the match was that we are going to be bitterly disappointed with this campaign but we need to turn that into hunger to get better and be the team we know we can be.' McLoughlin works part-time for a financial consultancy in Dublin and can work remotely from Ghent. She will be one of nine players competing in the competitive Belgian league this season, but the Dubliner says there will be no club v country issue for half the Irish side. 'If anything it's a great conundrum to be sitting down with and international duty will always take preference,' she added. 'It's about becoming a better hockey player technically and tactically, to play under a different system and have a breath of fresh air. It's telling that more players are doing that after they've seen what we've learned abroad.' Overall here, Ireland showed glimpses of being a competitive side ahead of the Pro League. They leaked just two goals against world No.1 Netherlands and held finalists Germany to a 0-0 draw. In between, the poor defeat to France ultimately saw Gareth Grundie's side fail to reach the semi-finals for the first time. 'We have shown throughout the tournament that we can match teams who are in the Pro League,' said Grundie. Mullan and Roisin Upton account for over a third of Ireland's squad caps, while four players had 18 combined matches before heading to Germany. 'We are inexperienced and it's about learning what works for us and putting that on the table every single time,' added Grundie.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ireland fail to make Euro semis with Germany draw
Ireland produced their best performance of EuroHockey 2025, but a 0-0 draw against Germany wasn't nearly enough to claim a semi-final place. Gareth Grundie's squad were markedly better than in defeat by France on Monday, but that is where the damage was done and needing to beat Germany by two goals to make the knockout stages was always going to be a tough task. They had an early opportunity to take the lead but Hannah McLoughlin saw her penalty stroke saved and although they created other chances in an evenly fought contest, they never looked like gaining the two-goal deficit they required. "Certainly pleased with tonight's performance," said Irish coach Grundie. "I think we went toe-to-toe with Germany in front of their home crowd but for us really the damage was done on Monday. "We didn't take our opportunity against France. "If we'd gone into today's game with equal points and maybe even a superior goal difference, then I think we certainly would have put them under a bit of pressure." Murphy keeps Germans at bay early Germany started the game brightly but Irish goalkeeper Lizzie Murphy and her penalty corner defence kept them at bay. As the opening quarter wore on, Ireland gradually began to control possession and they were gifted an opportunity to take the lead when Emily Kealy was fouled in the process of shooting. However, Hannah McLoughlin saw her penalty stroke effort comfortably saved by Julia Sonntag. It was a pivotal moment so early in the game. Ireland were playing much better than at any stage against France but once again struggled in the attacking third to create clear cut chances as the game remained scoreless at the interval. Sarah McAuley's intervention set up Katie Mullan for a shot early in the second half as Ireland continued to push forward but the former captain's effort went wide. As they pushed harder, so their discipline slipped and Ireland ended the third quarter down to nine players with Roisin Upton and Niamh Carey serving two-minute suspensions. Mikayla Power's strong shot was well saved as Ireland threw the kitchen sink at Germany in the final 15 minutes. However, their penalty corner routine would fail to fire again. In the three Pool matches they didn't score from 22 short corners and you simply have to be better at this level. They also failed to score from open play despite only conceding three goals. "That's what we keep preaching every day in training," Grundie said of their inability to convert. "It is about small margins at this level. We have to be able to execute so it's obviously disappointing. "If one of the early ones goes in against France then it can be a different story. "One of the early ones goes in tonight, then they're certainly under pressure and we can have a real go. "It wasn't to be, but we'll build from this performance because it was certainly positive." Ireland will now face Scotland and England in the competition for 5-8 places.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Ireland fail to make Euro semis with Germany draw
Ireland produced their best performance of EuroHockey 2025, but a scoreless draw against Germany wasn't nearly enough to claim a semi-final Grundie's squad were markedly better than in defeat by France on Monday, but that is where the damage was done and needing to beat Germany by two goals to make the knockout stages was always going to be a tough had an early opportunity to take the lead but Hannah McLoughlin saw her penalty stroke saved and although they created other chances in an evenly fought contest, they never looked like gaining the two-goal deficit they required. Germany started the game brightly but Irish goalkeeper Lizzie Murphy and her penalty corner defence kept them at the opening quarter wore on, Ireland gradually began to control possession and they were gifted an opportunity to take the lead when Emily Kealy was fouled in the process of Hannah McLoughlin saw her penalty stroke effort comfortably saved by Julia was a pivotal moment so early in the were playing much better than at any stage against France but once again struggled in the attacking third to create clear cut chances as the game remained scoreless at the McAuley's intervention set up Katie Mullan for a shot early in the second half as Ireland continued to push forward but the former captain's effort went they pushed harder, so their discipline slipped and Ireland ended the third quarter down to nine players with Roisin Upton and Niamh Carey serving two-minute suspensions. Mikayla Power's strong shot was well saved as Ireland threw the kitchen sink at Germany in the final 15 their penalty corner routine would fail to fire again. In the three Pool matches they didn't score from 22 short corners and you simply have to be better at this also failed to score from open play despite only conceding three will now face Scotland and England in the competition for 5-8 places.
