Ireland suffered shootout heartbreak in the final of the FIH Women's Hockey Nations Cup as New Zealand triumphed in Chile on Sunday.
Having trailed 1-0 since the first quarter of the game in Santiago, a tense final quarter saw Ireland pile the pressure on as they attempted to draw level. Mikayala Power was again at the end of an early chance, picking the ball up close to the keeper and flicking at goal on the half-turn, but a last-ditch tackle saw the ball go just wide.
With six minutes remaining, Ireland substituted Ayeisha McFerran in place of an extra attacker. The tactic worked with Katie Mullan firing into the back of the net to draw level with three minutes remaining.
A shootout would be required to separate the sides, but New Zealand would win that 4-2 and earn promotion to the 2025–26 Women's FIH Pro League at Ireland's expense.
Gareth Grundie's side will take heart from their winning run to the final - including an earlier pool win over New Zealand - which saw the Irish team finish with a 100% record from the opening stage with successes against Scotland, the Black Sticks and Korea, before a semi-final victory over USA.
"Unfortunately a little bit disappointing to lose in the shootout," said head coach Gareth Grundie. "I think we played quite well throughout the game and we had a lot more chances that we weren't able to convert. It came down to the lottery of 1v1s , we came off second. We'll learn from it and move on to the next one.
"It was a really positive tournament. We'll take some time out, work towards the Europeans later this summer. I think we've seen really good improvements from this side in a lot if areas.
"We have short-term and long-term ambitions. We have still a way to go in terms of the ultimate goal, but after taking a bit of time out we'll come back stronger. Focus on the things we need to do. We have the Europeans next and there's other targets in the next few months and a World Cup to qualify for."
