In a meeting of the two undefeated teams in Pool A, host nation Ireland pleased the home fans with a 2-1 victory over Canada Sunday at Women’s World League Round 2 in Dublin, Ireland.
Both teams were coming off 5-0 victories to open the tournament on Saturday and were looking for a second consecutive victory, which would put the winner in a good position to finish first in Pool A.
With the boisterous Irish crowd behind them, Ireland picked up the match’s first good scoring opportunity as, on a quick counter, Canada found itself outnumbered in the circle. A point-black shot from the baseline was stopped calmly by Kaitlyn Williams, and the game was still scoreless.
Ireland’s attack continued just moments later, with the first penalty corner of the game going the way of the Irish the second minute.
Cliodhna Sargent lined up for the shot and found Anna O’Flanagan’s stick for the deflection, which sent the ball just over the bar.
Canada weathered the early pressure from Ireland and looked like a better team throughout the remainder of the quarter.
In the ninth minute, Holly Stewart picked up a loose ball in the Irish circle, tried to outwait the keeper and sneak it under the pads but keeper Emma Gray was able to come up with the sliding pad save.
Canada received another golden opportunity just minutes later when Sara McManus was given a penalty stroke.
McManus was looking to make it two matches in a row with a penalty stroke goal but Gray made a miraculous diving save to her left to keep the game at nil-nil.
Ireland was much improved in the second quarter. Constant time spent in the Canadian end resulted in a penalty corner in the twenty-third minute.
The powerful hit from Sargent was this time deflected past Canadian goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams into the top corner. Aine Connery’s goal gave Ireland the 1-0 advantage.
Late second half, on another Irish penalty corner, Williams made a quick reaction save to turn the ball away and keep the Irish lead at one at half-time.
In the second half, Canada had a chance to level the match in the thirty-sixth minute. An interception in midfield made its way to Brienne Stairs, who scored twice in Canada’s 5-0 victory over Turkey on Saturday, but Stairs’ reverse shot was sent just wide of the Irish goal.
Canada did a job staying on its front foot trying to win the ball away from the Irish and a put it into the area. But despite the attempts, Ireland’s defensive shape was too strong as it was able to maintain the 1-0 lead through the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Ireland continued to defend well but also pressed for an insurance marker.
In the fifty-sixth minute they were rewarded. After the first shot on a penalty corner was stopped by Williams, Kate Dillon found herself on the goalmouth with the ball at her feet. Dillon knocked in the rebound to make it 2-0 Ireland.
Canada did not go down without a fight, however, as in the fifty-eighth minute on a penalty corner, veteran Thea Culley slid to her knees to deflect a ball past Gray and give Canada its first goal of the game.
Down one goal with only minutes remaining, Canada pulled its keeper for the extra attacker but couldn’t force the ball into a scoring area and Ireland went on to the victory.
With the win, Ireland takes over sole possession of first place in Pool A with six points. Canada sits in second with three points, with Ukraine and Turkey rounding out the bottom two.
All teams move on to quarterfinal round, the top team in each pool earning the right to play the bottom team from the other.
Canada will face Ukraine in its final pool-stage match on March 17 at 10am PST / 1pm EST.
The top two finishers at World League 2 gain an entry into World League Round 3 in Spain in June, where the top teams will earn a spot at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
