Ireland’s first Women’s World Cup field hockey final ended in defeat as the Netherlands retained the title with an emphatic 6-0 victory on Sunday.
Ireland, the second-lowest ranked country in the tournament, was unable to produce a fairy-tale ending at Lee Valley Hockey Centre in London.
Goals from Lidewij Welten, Kelly Jonker, Kitty van Male, Malou Pheninckx, Marloes Keetels and Caia van Maasakker capped a dominant performance from the Dutch as they won the competition for a record eighth time.
Photo: AFP
The Netherlands team has not lost since the Olympic final two years ago.
This was Ireland’s first World Cup since 2002 and its previous best result was 11th in 1994.
Ranked 16th, Ireland topped a group including Olympic champion England, and was first into the quarter-finals.
Graham Shaw’s Ireland began brightly, but did not manage a shot at goal until the final quarter and the Netherlands, which lifted the trophy on home soil four years ago, soon showed its superiority.
Welten put Ireland ahead in the seventh minute, turning to hit a powerful shot through a crowded circle and past Irish goalkeeper Ayeisha McFerran at the near post.
Jonker found the bottom-left corner to double the lead in the 19th, while superb blocks from Irish pair Shirley McCay and Roisin Upton following penalty corners prevented additional goals.
The free-scoring Dutch, who registered 29 goals in five matches to reach the final, put the result beyond doubt with two quick goals in the final stages of the second period.
Tournament top scorer Van Male smashed in her eighth of the competition from close range and, moments later, Pheninckx was allowed too much space and fired the ball high into the net.
Shaw called for his players to “be proud” at halftime, but they were outclassed by the world’s top-ranked team, and powerless to stop Keetels from tapping home a fifth and Van Maasakker from adding another from a penalty corner.
The consolation for the Irish is that their ranking will improve considerably which could be crucial when it comes to the Olympic qualifiers for Tokyo 2020.
The youth of their squad also bodes well with just two of the 18-strong squad older than 27.
Earlier on Sunday, Spain beat Australia 3-1 in the bronze-medal match.
Spain went 2-0 ahead in 14 minutes with goals from Maria Lopez and Berta Bonastre.
Kathryn Slattery pulled one back for Australia in the 40th before Alicia Magaz extended Spain’s lead in the 51st.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
RSS