Ireland 2 Korea 1
Ireland's women claimed another big scalp as goals from Shirley McCay and Katie Mullan saw them triumph over Korea at the Four Nations Tournament in Berlin.
Having already seen off Germany, Ireland ended the tournament with a second impressive victory over a top-ten ranked side, coming out on top in a tight affair.
After a scoreless opening quarter that saw very few real chances in the first quarter Zoe Wilson and Elena Tice began to take control of the game and launch Irish attacks from the middle of the park.
Ireland had three penalty quarters in the second period but failed to find a way past Korean keeper Jang.
Emily Beatty rounded out the half with a crisp reverse strike but again a good save denied the Irish to leave it 0-0 at the half.
The Green Army continued to press in the second half as their circle entries and penalty corner count continued to rise, and they took the lead in the 35th minute as McCay was quickest to a bobbling ball.
Anna O’Flanagan had the chance to double the lead but she uncharacteristically shot wide with the goal at her mercy.
Ireland paid for that miss moments later as Seul Ki Cheon scored a superb drag flick from a penalty corner, but Ireland kept pushing forward and the winning goal was worth the wait.
Deirdre Duke burst out of her own half towards the circle before slipping a pin-point pass to captain Mullan, who fired in a superb shot on her reverse.
Further chances fell to Beatty, Anna O’Flanagan and Nicci Daly but Ireland couldn;t add to their maring of victory..
"We controlled the phases a lot better today than we did against China," said head coach Graham Shaw.
"It’s very pleasing to see the areas we discussed being implemented and we’re very happy with the performance and result.
"This Four Nations has been invaluable for us in our preparation for World League in Johannesburg and we’d like to thank German Hockey for the invitation."
