U-18 Boys pick up solid draw while girls struggle

Ireland's Under-18 girl's lost 6-1 to England, falling behind in the 16th minute after a lively start. England double their lead in the 25th minute from open play before adding two in two minutes before the break.

A dominant English side made it five soon after the break. Ireland responded within sixty seconds when Dora Gorman picked out Olivia Roycroft who deflected onto the left post for Naomi Carroll to tap in. Brief respite, England added a sixth to complete the scoring.

Coach Mary Logue said of the game: “England were a very strong team who have been together for a long time, but I am pleased by our improved performance on yesterday and spirited play displayed by our squad, despite the pressure we were under we still managed to create chances.”

The boys, meanwhile, stay in contention for their title with a 2-2 draw against England leaving both teams in pole position for a final place on Friday.

Ireland opened brightly with early deflection attempts narrowly missing the post but were stunned when Jackson's short corner made it 1-0, England, holding the lead to half-time.

The game ebbed and flowed for the remainder of the half and with both goalkeepers in top form and good short corner defence; the score-line remained 1-0 until half time.

Ireland search for an equaliser was rewarded in the 57th minute when Mark Crooks scored from second phase short corner play but were caught on the break in the 66th minute when Brooke deflected home to restore the lead.

But the Irish continued to pressurise and deservedly equalised when Ryan McCrea deflected in a Dan Hobbs drag flick.

Speaking after the match, manager Peter Jackson said “This was a good performance on the back of yesterday’s victory over Scotland . Our players stepped up to the mark and to come from behind twice shows their grit and determination to get a result”.