Carlow and Kilkenny will have representation at this weekend’s EuroHockey Under 21 junior championship in Ghent.
Ellie McLoughlin (Carlow) and Rachel Kelly (Kilkenny) are among the travelling team who departed Dublin for Belgium yesterday with goalkeeper McLoughlin named as vice-captain.
The EuroHockey Junior Championships run from this Sunday 24 July through Saturday 30 July with the top five teams all earning their place at the Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup in Chile in 2023.
The group stages
Ireland’s initial group is a tough one, featuring the World Cup silver and bronze medalists. Nonetheless, they will take confidence into their opening tie against England from their performance against the same opposition in Potchefstroom when they meet on Sunday.
A day later, they face Scotland before closing out the preliminary phase against Germany, second-placed in April, in the third fixture.
“Having the Junior World Cup silver and bronze medallists highlights how tough our group is and emphasised by a recent series lost against Scotland who make up the pool,” says Ireland head coach David Passmore.
“The team has worked hard in recent weeks, spurred on by the World Cup in Amsterdam and with the memories of the recent JWC 9th placed finish. Many of that Junior World Cup group have moved on but some of the younger additions have really stepped up.”
“The Uniphar 5 Nations provided a great opportunity for further development and coupled with a hard physical period we will be ready to go against England who we narrowly lost to in South Africa.”
“It was disappointing for Lisa Mulcahy to miss out due to a leg injury as she contributes so much on and off the field but this highlights the importance of having depth in terms of numbers and positional flexibility.”
“It will be key for us to get our set pieces right and take our chances in front of goal while defending smartly in our own circle.”
Ireland team for EuroHockey Junior Championships 24-30 July
- Ellie McLoughlin (VC, UCD)
- Holly Micklem (Old Alex)
- Caoimhe Byrne (UCD)
- Lucy Crowe (Railway Union)
- KJ Marshall (UCD)
- Emma Paul (Co-Capt, UCD)
- Ellen Reid (Loughborough Students)
- Siofra Murdoch (Harvard University, USA)
- Sophia Cole (UCD)
- Amy Elliott (UCD)
- Anna Horan (Co-Capt, Catholic Institute)
- Alison Griffin (Pembroke)
- Leah O’Shea (Cork Harlequins)
- Aoife Taaffe (Loreto)
- Niamh McIvor (Pegasus)
- Laura Noble (Trinity)
- Rachel Kelly (UCD)
- Mikayla Power (Old Alex)
