Ireland 0 France 1 (Mathieu Durchon)After the heights of Tuesday night, the comedown was fast and sudden as Ireland's second test with France was an uninspiring affair, illuminated only in the 60th minute by Mathieu Durchon's sweet volley.
Understandably, Revington took the chance to shuffle his pack and see what options are available to him with Karl Burns stepping out while Mitch Darling was sick. It meant Conor Harte started, Keith Black was back into the squad while Michael Maguire got a first international call-up - coming on in the 17th minute.
The first period was particularly uneventful. Alan Sothern's reaching volley drew a save while Ronan Gormley's follow-up on the reverse was blocked by Maxime Wilson.
France won the half's only corner a minute before the interval, profiting from Graham Shaw's casual clearance but the corner did not come out straight and the subsequent Fredi Soyez sweep shot was tame.
Other than that, Ireland defended well with Gormley and Joe Brennan keeping Gareth Lennox unemployed. Brennan's overheads to the on-rushing Johnny Jackson provided
decent go-forward ball but little in the way of goal-mouth action.
decent go-forward ball but little in the way of goal-mouth action.Gormley and Brennan were rotated for the second half, with Jackson and Harte taking the central roles. The game opened up marginally with Alan Sothern unlucky not to get more on a David Hobbs crash ball while Nicolas Martin Brisac caused a few problems down the right wing.
Lucas Sevestre hit a post after digging through two weak tackles on the left endline before Brisac out-ran Tim Lewis on the right. Off-balance, his pull back took a deflection off an Irish stick, bouncing up awkwardly for Durchon - recalled after resting on Tuesday - but he judged the bounce perfectly to net high.
Sothern had another goalward deflection blocked by a scrambling Phelie Maguire before Shaw won Ireland's first corner in the 69th minute. Sothern's radar was a couple of inches right of the target and the game was up before some final hooter shenanigans between Harte and Durchon in the technical delegate's booth.
* For a couple more pics from tonight's game, click here
42 comments:
Missed the big win on Tuesday. Went to Belfield. Great if IHA in future put an ad on the blog giving time and venue.
that ucd mumps edipemic hit mitch aswell? lets hope it doesnt go through the whole team
It seems to me that a cap is not what it used to be. I cannot understand how players who have had no progression track suddenly find themselves as international players. What is the point of A squads or interpros or even underage representation if an unannounced unnamed in any squad player can walk on the field and gain a full Irish cap?
Irish rugby went through this about 10 years ago with players on squads not fully sure where they stood and selection based on 1 club match instead of a definite line.
In my opinion unless a player is a complete exception he should have to serve his time in an A squad before gaining international recognition.
Players who are on the team must feel that the caps they have are lessened by a player being able to walk onto the team without having been named in a squad or gone through any of the rigour required previously(going back 4/5 years)
Mike Maguire? - didn't see him in the official squads or Leinster squad?
congrats to Mick Maguire on the cap, was in the leinster squad?
Michael Maguire?Not even in the Leinster squad?
Was at the match last night and thought the standard of hockey from both teams was very poor. The recognised internationals from the Irish side were well below par and didn't look like they wanted to be out on the pitch. I really hope that this was an off night for the team and not the level at which Ireland is now sitting at. The only way is up I guess...
Mick Maguire deserves the cap, he's played very well over the last year or so.
you also have to look at the fact that there's a new coach in charge. Mick has been training in the regional set-ups since dominating at the Club champs last year so to say its completely unannounced is not accurate.
The circumstances were a little odd, especially as Geoff McCabe was down to play too initially but stood in the stands for the game. Probably injured too but Revington looking at a few different players in a meaningless friendly? no harm
mick maguire and gar watkins are both very deserving of their caps. Well done lads. Anyone that has played with or against them or anyone on the Irish Squad i'm sure would testify to that.
March 26, 2009 7:09 AM don't know what you're on about......
A very disappointing performance and not what you would expect with a new coach on board. Quality of play from Ireland was very poor & seemed to even lack enthusiasm. Squad selection definitely needs to be looked at and methods for selection improved.
sounds like sour grapes from poster 'March 26, 2009 7:09 AM', if the manager believes the player is good enough it doesnt matter how many international or inter-pros squads he has previously been involved with. well done on the debut Mick
Apart from some of the players that were unavailable who should have been involved in the squad instead? My opinion is nobody else. Well deserved call up and hopefully Michael will be become a regular in the Irish set up.
well, of those involved in the Leinster regionals tuff, probably no one else.
Guys like jonny bruton or jonny quigley might have been useful ones to call in but the last minute nature of means pikey was prob the best choice
Well done Mick. Could not have happened to a nicer of more deserving guy.
I find it hard to believe that the coach was left with a last minute decision to call up a player. The old adage 'fail to prepare, prepare to fail' come to mind, and was proved right with this defeat.
It is great to see individual players progressing and congrats to them but why was the team performance so poor?
Maguire was with the squad on standby on Tuesday night...
the team had a gruelling 5 days before this game alone,most of them had games on saturday,trained all day on sunday,trained monday in banbridge again,trained on tuesday,played the game tuesday night,trained wednesday,then had the game wednesday night,to say they lacked effort and enthusiasm is extremely harsh,then again,not many people would have much of a clue about what they are typing about on here and instead of getting behind the players they slate them
The training was very relaxed and Monday was not attended by all players.
congrats to mike maguire, deserved to get a break at last. was one of the star players in the country last season and it was about time all his hard work was rewarded. he know has to prove he is an international and pick up his form once more. definitely has the ability to be more than a 'one-cap' international.
If the mens senior team is short players (injury exams etc)surely the coach should bring up players from the Irl A squad first otherwise what is the point of having an A squad? In Mike Maguire's case he wasnt on the A squad and didnt make the Leinster squad so what message is this giving to all the young aspiring players on Irl A?
Typical Irish hockey supporters,not a thing said when the boys produce a top performance on tues and thump the French but when theres a tight game and the guys come off on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline we immediately jump on their backs.Two games into a new era and already people are questioning it,ever heard the saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" fellas?
Ireland win 8-2 = 6 comments
Ireland lose 1-0 = 21 comments (At time of typing)
Can we not get behind the lads instead of nit picking on whether a player should be playing or not.
Rev picked Maguire because he believes he is good enough, who cares what squads he has been in before, the majority of people on here would do anything for a cap.
Well done lads on a 8-3 aggregate victory without some major players.
The score the first night was helped by a shocking display of French goalkeeping so please get real. Last nights Irish performance was no where close to good enough. While Michael Maguire might be playing well, he didn't make the Leinster Senior squad which does raise a lot of questions.
Last nights game was pretty dull. It was seriously low risk sort of stuff. I was bored.
Did the new coach select the Irish A panel?
If he selected it then he was stupid not to use the boys that he had faith in before.
If he didn't, then surely its up to him who he thinks is good enough?
Fair play to yourman anyway. It wasn't like he chose to be picked, so to rant about him not being good enough is unfair. Well done to him. I look forward to seeing him pay again. Hopefully due to his call up a fire may be lit under a few of the guys. But then again, maybe the low risk stuff we witnessed last night is a recation to it?
Good luck to any player who gets an Irish cap but to be fair,players on Irl A deserve a chance too.
to all those who think they can do a better job then rev put ur name in the hat next time the job is available, also is it not true that none of the rovers lads are up for selection for the IRELAND A squad due to EHL. therefore mick may have been on this squad if available. as for leinster we all know what a shambles that has been.
Durchon played on tuesday night too Steve
Mike Maguire did not deserve his cap. he is however a good young player. if he deserved his place he would have been on the 'A' squad at the very least. it's just not fair on the other lads who missed out. fair enough it might well have been a last minute decision but i'd imagine that any of the leinster based 'a' panel would have made themselves available at very, very short notice. it makes a mockery of what it must mean to win a cap. i know this seems like everyone is jumping on his back but i'd be pretty sure he was shocked and wondered why he was getting in ahead of a few players.
The real question lads is why is an Irish Standard player like Mick not in the Leinster Squad?
Also Micks selection shows all aspiring internationals that if you work hard and preform you will be considered for selection, how is this a bad thing?
Have to feel sorry for the lads on Irl A ,they must be wondering what is going on!
its good to see a player coming out of the blue, shows its not a closed shop affair and anyone playing well enough at domestic level gets a nod.
what about neil lyons?
Well done to Mick on being capped but you have to question the selection policy. There must be a form of progression from Ireland "A" to senior, otherwise what is the point in having an Ireland "A" squad? In my opinion it reflects poorly on how these squads are selected.
Lads who cares about if the guy plays 4 the A team or not. The coach can pick who he likes! The bit that I would be concerned about was the standard of both teams. The french were very poor and this is not the type of opposition the Irish should be playing against. They need a higher standard to play against if they are to improve. Plus, the irish were very poor, the top players on the team looked uninterested & lacked the drive to control the game. All we can hope was that it was a genuine off night for those playing and when they next get on the pitch they show the drive to bring Ireland into the top ranking nations of european hockey.
'The coach can pick who he likes'
Your're quite right. What is the point in having Ireland'A' and development squads if the coach completly ignores them. Must be very disheartening for 'A' and development players. Probably should scrap them and run on a 'wing and a prayer'!
This is quite incredible stuff. The front of the Irish Times ran a piece this week which said research says we are a nation of 'brooding pessimists'. Never is this more clear than here.
Revs is already getting questioned after two games in charge, one in which the side smashed France 8-2, the other a not so impressive performance.
The man has displayed a lot of class so far, his interviews and quotes show a lot of knowledge and ability while he has been seen at many matches around Ireland - something his predecessor was accused of not doing in Ulster and Leinster.
At this point, the only A panel he would have had any impact on was the one for next weekend in which Three Rock players are not included. Mick Maguire has been involved with the Irish panel for 10 months. Other players may well be upset at not getting the nod but its a fact of selection policies. People will not always be happy.
The IHA have got a good man, maybe this selection raises a few eyebrows but it doesn't mean the collapse of the whole system. The A squad identfies talent, Mick had been included before and 'identified'.
Stop the petty squabbling and lets get behind what could be quite an exciting time for Irish hockey.
I don't think 'Bango' gets it. This is not 'petty squabbling'. This is a policy issue. Irish hockey either has a structure for bring players forward or it doesn't. In this case it doesn't, so scrap Irl'A' and development.
Maguire may well have been in the A panel, having trained with these boys for the last while, but was not available for the latest panel - the only one Revington had a part in selecting. I don't see this as a gross stepping out of line with the Ireland A policy at all.
Why not scrap the 'A' team and bring in an U21 team which atleast has an U21 World Cup to try and qualify for and compete in rather than send an 'A' team to protugal for 3 matches.
I agree..the decision to scrap the U21s was Passmores idea so more of the budget would be allocated.
Has Ireland improved since? in tournament we're back exactly where we started in european B division with Czech Rep, Austria etc.
Having once been part of this A Squad and playing only one match in one and a half years it can seem worthless and soul destroying. Every other team sport has a natural transition from U18 to U21 to senior - (Soccer, Rugby, GAA)
There is also a european cup and world cup at U21 and Irelands habit of not performing when it matters most, would these tournaments not provide better players than once off matches every so often?
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