Having been drawn in a pool that resembles a "who's who" of underage hockey, the Irish under-21 team face a task of mountainous proportions when they open their European Championship campaign against defending champions Germany in Belfast tomorrow. To retain their place in the A Division of the championships, Ireland must finish in the top five of the eight-team tournament, to which they play host at Upper Malone.
England and Spain complete the Pool A line-up, while world champions Holland, Ukraine, Belarus and the Czech Republic, who include eight of the senior squad which beat Ireland in the semi-finals of the European Nations Cup qualifier in Finland last month, compete in Pool B.
"There'll be no easy game in this tournament at all, but if you're going to play in the A Division that's how it's going to be," said Irish coach Adele Sloan. "To be honest, going in to the tournament my target is just to keep Ireland in the A Division - anything beyond that would be brilliant, but I think you have to set a realistic target for everyone. Obviously I'd love for the girls to do even better than that, but for Irish hockey it's very important, if we can, to stay in the top division. But that means finishing in the top five and that's not going to be easy at all."
While under no illusions about the quality of the opposition, confidence amongst Sloan's 16-player squad should be on a high after an impressive build-up which saw them beat Germany in Belfast and draw with England at Lilleshall, before drawing with the Germans again (4-4) and the Dutch (1-1) at a three-nation tournament in Hanover last month. UCC's Johanna Hyland captains the squad, from which the only surprise omission was Trinity and South East's stylish midfielder Linda Caulfield. Ballymoney goalkeeper Angela Platt has recovered from a bout of glandular fever to compete with Loreto's Avril Copeland for the number one jersey, while Hermes' Caitriona Carey has put a season plagued by injury behind her to claim her place.
Holland, who beat England 4-0 in a practice game in Belfast on Wednesday, and Germany, both top seeds in their pools, are favourites to meet in Saturday's final, while England, Spain and the Ukraine are expected to be the teams vying for the bronze medal.
Realistically, Ireland will not expect to finish in the top two in their pool, leaving them needing to win Friday's cross-over match to enter a play-off on Saturday, where the winners will retain their Division A status. Meanwhile, Riet Kuper will discuss her future as senior coach with the Irish Ladies Hockey Union when she arrives in Belfast early next week for the championships. Kuper has expressed her desire to lead Ireland in to next summer's European Nations' Cup finals in Germany.
