Ireland 3-0 Malaysia
A flawless third quarter brought Ireland to within 60 minutes of a maiden FIH Pro League berth as they beat Malaysia 3-0 in the semi-final of the Nations Cup on Saturday.
A moment of magic in the 41st minute from Ben Walker was the catalyst for an incredible final third from the boys in green with team captain and player of the match Sean Murray leading the way during that period as they set up a final clash with hosts South Africa.
Walker made a chance from nothing, dinking the ball over his defender's stick before he spun and blasted an unsavable snapshot into the top right corner. Jeremy Duncan backed that goal up with two superb finishes as Ireland looked ice-cold in front of goal in a must-win match.
The first half was littered with classy skills going forward for both teams as well as last-ditch tackles that were punished with regular cards.
The teams had clearly done their homework as the two penalty corner attacks looked somewhat toothless and plenty of opportunities were shot wide, although Lee Cole did save well on the line for the second Malaysia penalty corner – making the most of his cricketing background to help the ball around the corner and out of play.
The game opened up for Ireland as the first quarter wore on, with a clear game plan to suck Malaysia into the pockets in midfield, before making use of the space on the, paying dividends.
Malaysia altered tactics at the break and had their most commanding period of the game in the second quarter, drawing plenty of unforced errors from Ireland. Malaysia had chances but will be left to rue errors in the circle as they mis-trapped the ball in front of the goal as well as running the ball over the end line with almost criminal regularity.
The game remained scoreless at half-time with the commentators noting that it was a match-up of Malaysia’s skills versus the organisation of Ireland; but it was the skills of Walker that brought out the creativity in his team as Ireland bossed the game from that point on.
It was an entertaining match to watch if you were an Irish supporter and no skills were more impressive than the first finish from Duncan just two minutes after Ireland had scored their first.
Ireland had a three-on-four in the circle, but incredibly Duncan found himself free in front of the goal with the ball on the end of his stick. His quick release with a flick of the wrists was too fast for the 'keeper as he found the right inside post to double the lead.
Duncan's second, eight minutes from time, all but assured his side of their spot in the final.
Conor Empey broke down the right and beat his defender on the inside before fluffing a pass going into the circle. He managed to win it back and keep his composure to get his eyes up and find Duncan who controlled and shot home off the left post.
Malaysia had a good period with five minutes to go, but it was too little, too late, as their penalty corners again came to nothing and Ireland kept a sheet clean.
Murray was elated at the final whistle. "Fantastic, it’s just fantastic," he said. "It’s nice to be player of the match but to be fair to the guys up front, they were awesome today; they took their chances. It’s just a fantastic feeling to go into tomorrow with a great opportunity to qualify for the Pro League."
Head Coach Mark Tumilty was full of praise for his team’s complete performance. "I am delighted with the result today and the performance. It was excellent to see us score three goals from open play. Our corners have been a key part earlier in the tournament but today in the semi-final, I’m thrilled with our finishing from open play," he said.
The final against South Africa will take place on Sunday at 1.15pm.
