Irish fight gallantly to hold Aussies

10/10/2001

THE sun shone brightly on the Irish lads at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre
yesterday as the Junior World Cup got underway, but dark clouds loomed
over the heads of Australians, players and fans alike, as the final
whistle blew.
After a gala opening ceremony where teams stood on the artificial pitch
holding placards with the name of their countries written on it and
speeches were the order of the day, the Aussies took to the pitch full of
confidence by virtue of being the defending champions in Milton Keynes
four years ago and having the solid backing of the home crowd in their
quest for a second consecutive title.
But hardly five minutes into play, they found that the Irish lads were
made of much sterner stuff than their rankings indicated and Australia
were pushed deep into their own semicircle with disbelief clearly written
on their faces.
Even the crowd could not believe what they saw and most were sceptical
on how long Ireland could hold on to their act and bets flew around
predicting that they will crumble when Australia score the first goal.
Only a small section in the 800-odd crowd had faith in the Irish boys
and waved and cheered them on. The rest of the crowd were solidly behind
Australia.
And those who bet that Australia will score inside of 15 minutes were
rewarded when Australia went 1-up in the 13th minute off a weak penalty
corner attempt by Nathan Eglington.
The goal should have opened the floodgates but Ireland had different
plans. They defended like champions for the next 15 minutes and denied
Australia a bigger margin in the first half.
In the second half, Ireland came back stronger and again pinned
Australia in their own half most of the time.
They were not to be denied when Michael Harte scored off a well executed
penalty corner in the 46th minute to silence their critics as the crowd
around the stadium started sharpening their knives for the defending
champions.
"What kind of hockey were they (Australia) playing? They look like a
bunch of novices playing for the first time," lamented a fan.
In the other match England beat Chile 5-2, but will be aware of the
threat that Ireland is capable of when they meet today.
(END)