Ireland captain Sarah Hawkshaw
Sarah Hawkshaw, Ireland women’s captain, has called for her side to be “incredibly clinical” tonight against Germany (7.0pm) to keep their hopes of reaching the EuroHockey Championships semi-finals alive.
Ireland will have to be at their attacking best after failing to score from their opening two pool matches. They have to overcome Germany by two clear goals, while hoping that defending champions Netherlands beat outsiders France.
“We were proud of our Dutch performance and our defensive effort where Lizzy [Murphy] was incredible in goal,” said Hawkshaw. “But we were disappointed with how clinical we were in the France game with not putting it away.
“We hit the post twice and sometimes an inch to the left and the game changes quickly. It will be a game of the two circles against Germany and we have to be incredibly clinical.”
Hawkshaw (29) played for an Ireland side that held Germany to a 1-1 draw at her first EuroHockey in 2019. Since then, World No 6 Germany have won five in a row, Ireland’s last victory coming in 2018.
“The Europeans is one of the most challenging tournaments in hockey and playing the host team in their stadium is what you want,” added Hawkshaw.
“It’s why you commit yourself to the sport. We will go for it and we will bring a lot after our performance against France.”
Ireland will need to outlet quicker against a side adept at ball retention. However, the Green Army will be buoyed by how little possession Germany enjoyed in their 5-1 defeat to the Dutch.
“Our focus is around putting on a performance we can be proud of at the end of 60 minutes,” said Katie Mullan, Ireland’s former captain. “That way we will enjoy our game which is when we are at our best. We are still chasing our first goal and that’s a huge motivator for us.”