Ireland 1 Spain 1

Ireland took on Spain today in the first of a five match series taking place in Valencia as they continue to build towards the Electric Ireland FIH Road To London taking place in Dublin from 10th - 18th March.

This match saw Jonny Bell secure his first ever Irish cap against a side that are just back from the finals of the Champions Trophy where they narrowly missed out against Australia.
Ireland opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Eugene Magee crossed from the left picking out Ian Sloan who ably tapped in at the back post. Ireland maintained the lead for 13 minutes until Edi Tabau deflected in to level the sides. Just three minutes later the home side looked likely to take the lead but David Harte in goals pulled off a great save to ensure the half time whistle with the side one a piece.
Spain started stronger in the second half but Ireland defended robustly and gained momentum to dominate the final minutes of the match, including three chances to steal the win in the dying minutes but their efforts failed to yield them the winner. FInal Score Ireland 1-1 Spain
Ireland will have plenty of more opportunities over the next few days with three matches against Belgium lined up and one more against hosts Spain (schedule below)

Ireland Men's Squad
Valencia 4th - 13th February 2012

David Ames Beeston
Chris Cargo Reading
Mitch Darling SCHC
Paul Gleghorne Instonians
David Harte SCHC
John Jackson Braxgata
Stuart Loughrey Loughborough Students
Eugene Magee Dragons
Michael Watt R.S. Tenis
Ian Sloan Cookstown
Conor Harte SCHC
Reserves: Jonny Bell (Lisnagarvey); Peter Caruth (Annadale); Tim Cockram (Lisnagarvey);Jason Lynch(Royal Racing Club Brussels); Bruce McCandless (Banbridge)

Schedule of Matches
8 February Ireland v Belgium 12.00
9 February Ireland v Belgium 12.00
12 February Ireland v Belgium 16.00
13 February Ireland v Spain 12.00
Match schedule may be subject to change

Irish Hockey Association media release