Ireland sealed their place at the EuroHockey Championships in Germany next year on Sunday.
Limerick’s Roisin Upton was the star of the show as Ireland guaranteed their progression to next year’s European Championships with a big win over Turkey on Sunday.
After a brace against Poland to kick start their qualifiers, Upton was once more on the scoresheet in the 7-0 dismantling of Turkey.
Wins against Poland and Czech Republic meant Ireland only needed a draw to secure their qualification to Möchengladbach, but Sean Dancer’s side were imperious on Sunday to make it three successive wins.
In Dublin, Michelle Carey, Naomi Carroll, Katie McKee, Niamh Carey, Deirdre Duke, Upton and Sarah Hakwshaw hit the target as Ireland finished the qualifiers with a 100% record without conceding a goal.
In the aftermath of the game, Upton was deservedly named as Player of the Tournament as she finished as top scorer also.
Reflecting on the result that sealed Euro’s qualification, speaking to Hockey Ireland, Upton said,
“Delighted; it’s really important we are competing against the best teams in Europe next summer. It is a stepping stone for Paris 2024 and that’s what the past three games are all about.
“This is a new structure in the Europeans and it opens things right up. You are playing different teams you don’t normally get to meet. We dealt with it well, got a good opening win against Poland. We had a tougher game against the Czech Republic who sat very deep and today, we are delighted to put seven on the scoreboard.
After a disappointing Olympics with a relatively new squad, Upton was delighted to see the progress within the group that saw them keep their opponents scoreless in three successive outings.
“The tournament clean sheet is probably the most pleasing thing. We put a real emphasis this tournament on our defensive effort, shutting out the amount of opportunities we gave at the World Cup.”
“It’s a relatively new group that only came together last April. Getting to play here in Ireland with our family and friends here was amazing for our first time having a tournament here [at the Sport Ireland Campus. Secondly, it has given us a huge opportunity to continue building. We talked a lot about holding the ball, controlling games. We had the opportunity to do that.”
The 2023 Women’s EuroHockey Championship will be the sixteenth edition of the Women’s EuroHockey Championship.
The tournament will be held alongside the men’s tournament in August 2023 at the Warsteiner HockeyPark, in Mönchengladbach, Germany.
Eight teams will compete for the title where the winner will qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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