Germany 3 Ireland 0
There’ll be no repeat of the dizzying heights Ireland reached at the World Cup four years ago after a 3-0 defeat by Germany in Amsterdam on Wednesday left them bottom of their pool, having lost all three of their games, resulting in them dropping in to the play-offs for the tournament’s lower placings.
Only a victory over the world’s fifth-ranked side would have given them a chance of once again joining the big guns in the business end of the tournament, but despite a valiant effort, during which they created more chances from play than in their first two pool games combined, the Germans just proved too strong.
They all but sealed the points through goals from Nike Lorenz (23rd minute) and Charlotte Stapenhorst (36), before a final quarter penalty stroke from Sonja Zimmerman ended Ireland’s resistance.
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Germany had put four goals past Ireland in each of the nations’ last three meetings, and they would have matched that tally but for a brilliant Ayeisha McFerran save from a Lorenz stroke in the final minute.
While the Germans helped themselves to 65 per cent of possession in the first half, Ireland, having no option but to throw caution to the wind, caused them plenty of problems, Katie Mullan, Katie McKee and Michelle Carey all coming close to scoring their team’s first goal from play in the tournament.
But Germany kept McFerran and the Irish defence even busier, finally getting their reward when Lorenz smacked home a penalty corner in the second quarter. And Stapenhorst made it 2-0 in the third after a scramble in the circle that resulted from Cecile Pieper’s cross after her surging run down the right.
Ireland kept on creating chances, though, Zara Malseed coming closest when she was denied by an outstanding Nathalie Kubalsk save, and they earned three penalty corners in that third quarter. But they failed to convert any of them, Lena Tice’s strike from the third, which was deflected just wide of the left post, their best effort. In all, they have scored from just one of their 14 corners in the tournament, Roisin Upton used surprisingly sparingly, a ratio that has cost them dearly.
They gambled in the final quarter by withdrawing McFerran and playing with 11 outfield players, but ended up having to defend three German penalty corners, runner Sarah Torrans’ typically brave blocking earning her a crashing ball to the knee which saw her limp out of the game.
The game, at least, ended on a positive note with the returning McFerran’s penalty stroke save, but there was no hiding a hugely disappointing pool campaign, Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Chile proving the most damaging.
They won’t know their opponents for the first of their ninth to 16th classification matches on Sunday for a couple of days yet, but it’s likely to be losers of the game between Germany - again - and Japan or South Africa.
IRELAND: A McFerran, E Curran, R Upton, L Tice, H McLoughlin, M Carey, C Perdue, S Hawkshaw, D Duke, K Mullan (capt), N Carroll.
Subs: E Murphy, S McAuley, S Torrans, Z Malseed, C Beggs, K McKee, C Hamill.
GERMANY: N Kubalski, K Horn, S Zimmermann (capt), V Huse, C Pieper, A Schröder, N Lorenz, A Wortmann, H Granitzki, L Micheel, C Stapenhorst.
Subs: J Sonntag, E Gräve, L Weidemann, S Oruz, P Heinz, P Maertens, B Wenzel.
Umpires: M Giddens (United States), A Rostron (South Africa).
