ENGLAND 3 (0) Hannah Macleod 41 (F) Helen Richardson 44 (F) Anne Panter 54 (PC)
England's final pool match in Germany was a true game of two halves with England looking frustrated throughout the first 35 minutes and going into the break a goal down to their opponents Ireland. However England came out rejuvenated and normal practice was resumed in the second half with three goals coming from Hannah Macleod, Helen Richardson and Anne Panter.
Speaking after the game England's Head Coach Danny Kerry said, 'I am disappointed that we did not execute the penalty corners in the first ten minutes and it was clear at half-time that we had some changes to make. But we did not panic and going into the second half we were able to turn the game around. Helen Richardson was fantastic today and her decision making helped us significantly.'
Susannah Townsend made her first senior international debut at a major tournament after recovering from a stomach bug. With England guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals Maddie Hinch started her second game of the tournament in goal, whilst Beth Storry and Nicola White were the players that watched from the sideline.
The match started at full tempo with an early attack from England bringing a penalty corner within the first minute. Ireland's keeper Pamela Smithwick saved well and a quick counter attack earned them a penalty corner down the other end almost immediately after. In end to end action England earned their second penalty corner after just 5 minutes and England's Captain Kate Walsh narrowly missed the goal after a very well executed move.
The middle section of the game slowed in tempo and England looked slightly frustrated as Ireland defended well against a dominant period of play. Another Penalty Corner and a another save from Smithwick, but against the run of play Ireland attacked and Niamh Small scored with a rebound shot after Maddie Hinch had saved the initial attempt. With only 2 minutes to go to half time England looked unsettled and Ireland could have gone two up just moments later.
England applied pressure early in the second half and were rewarded for their efforts with a goal from Hannah Macleod who scored through Smithwick's legs off a long ball from Crista Cullen. England looked like a different team and it took just three more minutes for them to take the lead through some great stick work from Helen Richardson to make it 2-1.
Ireland lost their right to appeal on 53 minutes when they incorrectly questioned a Penalty Corner decision and England Captain Kate Walsh flicked the ball just wide. One minute later Walsh was back at the top of the circle for England's sixth Penalty Corner of the match and this time they converted. Walsh drove the ball low towards the left hand corner and Anne Panter was in a great position to finish the shot and England extended their lead to 3-1.
The last quarter of the game saw England in control and they applied plenty of pressure to Ireland who coped well in defence. Despite a number of chances for both teams the game finished 3-1 to England with the tempo dropping slightly in the last 10 minutes.
The result means that England top Pool B with the maximum nine points and will face either Spain or the Netherlands in their next match on Thursday at 17:30. Speaking after the match Head Coach Danny Kerry was a bit frustrated with the way his team had performed, saying 'after playing so well against Germany we must learn to perform better against the lower ranked sides because often those are the matches that make the difference.' Kerry's aim had been to enter the semi-finals with maximum points and zero goals conceded, which his team very nearly succeeded in doing, letting just one goal in against Ireland. Kerry also added 'I am really pleased that Susie (Townsend) has recovered in time to play in her first major tournament and I thought she put in a very solid performance.'
The next game is England (men) vs France at 12:00 BST Wednesday 24 August. This will be shown live on the BBC Red Button and online.
Women's EuroHockey Nations Championships Standings* *Full Tables on attached sheet
Pool A Spain (6 pts) Played 2/3 Netherlands (3 pts) Played 2/3 Azerbaijan (3 pts) Played 2/3 Italy (0 pts) Played 2/3
Pool B England (9 pts) Played 3/3 Germany (3 pts) Played 2/3 Belgium (3 pts) Played 2/3 Ireland (0 pts) Played 3/3
England squad v Ireland * *caps and goals updated on the attached sheet Name (Club) [Position] Started Crista Cullen (Leicester) [Defender] Alex Danson (Reading) [Forward] Madeleine Hinch (Leicester) [Goalkeeper] Helen Richardson (Reading) [Midfielder] Chloe Rogers (Leicester) [Midfielder] Natalie Seymour (Canterbury) [Defender] Susannah Townsend (Canterbury) [Midfielder] Georgie Twigg (Clifton) [Midfielder] Laura Unsworth (Leicester) [Defender] Kate Walsh (c) (Reading) [Defender] Sally Walton (Bowdon Hightown) [Defender]
Substitutes used Ashleigh Ball (Slough) [Midfielder] Rebecca Herbert (Leicester) [Forward] Anne Panter (Leicester) [Midfielder] Kerry Williams (Leicester) [Forward] Hannah Macleod (Leicester) [Forward]
Did not play Beth Storry (Reading) [Goalkeeper] Nicola White (Slough) [Forward]
