Ireland 0-7 Germany
Germany, who made 6 changes from their opening game in the London stage against India, are the current World Cup holders, and were up against World ranked number 11 Ireland, currently in bottom place in the FIH Pro League table.
Elian Mazkour gave Germany the lead in the 17th minute. Germany then went on to score two goals in quick succession. Malte Hellwig increased their lead by two in the 28th minute with Captain Marco Miltkau making it 3-0 a minute later. The Germans led 3-0 at half-time.
Miltkau got his second field goal of the game to put Germany4-0 in the 42nd minute. Hellwig converted a 52nd minute penalty corner to make it 6-0 and Thies Prinz with a field goal in the 54th minute made it 7-0.
Both these teams came into this game on the back of heavy defeats. India thumped Germany 3-0 yesterday and Ireland had been on the wrong end of a 1-5 score line against Great Britain.
The first quarter was close and scoreless. With no penalty corners and very few opportunities for either team it gave little or no indication of what was to come. In the second quarter Ireland had an arguably better showing but ended up conceding three goals without reply.
Mazkour capitalized on a rebound from a Jamie Carr save. While the Irish keeper was trying to find out where the ball was Mazkour pounced to give the World Cupholders the lead. Ireland enjoyed a purple patch thereafter forcing a long corner in the 18th minute and generally holding their own. But the errors continued, and Germany were not ones to look gift horses in the mouth.
In the 28th minute Hellwig increased their lead. Prinz capitalized on a turnover of possession and sent a through pass into the Irish semi-circle and Hellwig rifled into the top corner of Carr's net.
The lead was further increased in the 29th minute when Miltkau scored. After yet another turnover of possession, Mazkour's pass was finished to the net by Miltkau to make it 3-0. Germany goalkeeper Jean-Paul Danneberg denied Ireland a possible goal in the closing seconds of the half. Ireland went in at half-time having played marginally better in quarter two but three goals worse off.
Things went from bad to worse in the third quarter for Ireland. Miltkau was left unmarked in the 42nd minute and had the easiest of tasks to make it 4-0.
A pass by Shane O'Donoghue across the face of his own goal was capitalized on by Timm Herzbruch who pounced and rifled the ball high into the net past Carr. Germany then had a goal ruled out when Hellwig hit a penalty corner high into the net but without the ball hitting the backboard first.
Ireland finished the third quarter with a pair of penalty corners but neither of O'Donoghue's drag flicks found the goal. In the 48th minute Carr saved another German penalty corner, but they finally scored one in the 52nd minute through Hellwig.
Ben Walker found himself inside the German semi-circle soon afterwards and his shot forced Jean-Paul Danneberg to dive to his right for only his second real save of the day. This proved to be Ireland's best chance of the game.
Sean Murray was dispossessed by Constantin Staib and the ball ran into the path of Prinz who scored from open play in the 54th minute to make it 7-0 to Germany.
Matthew Nelson broke into the German semi-circle and shot to force another save from Danneberg in the German goal.
In the dying seconds of the game Ireland were once more on the attack inside the semi-circle but the final hooter went before they could fire a shot in anger. The game ended Germany 7 Ireland 0.
After the match Head Coach Mark Tumilty said:
"I was very pleased with how we played in Quarter 2 in the first 12 minutes. And then again today individual errors set in. We shot ourselves in the foot. We didn't do ourselves any favours with that performance today. They were exceptional in the circle today. These teams just capitalize on errors, same as GB did yesterday."
"There have been phases of play, in both games over the past few days, that have been pleasing but we need to have more of those phases. And we need to recognise what's stopping us having more phases of good play.
"We tend to go from one extreme to another. The challenge is to learn from it and finish this block (of games) and finish on a high." Added Tumilty.
"It's a tough lesson but sometimes I think that you always learn more from defeats than you do from winning."
GERMANY: Jean-Paul Danneberg (GK); Benedikt Schwarzhaupt; Constantin Staib; Timm Hertzbruch; Paul-Philipp Kaufmann; Niklas Bosserhoff; Michel Struthoff; Marco Miltkau (C); HannesMuller; Antheus Barry; Moritz Ludwig
Subs: Elian Mazkour [4mins]; Thies Prinz [4 mins]; Hugo Von Montgelas [4 mins]; Malte Hellwig [4 mins]; Lucas Wolff [4 mins]; Mario Schachner [6 mins]
IRELAND: Jamie Carr (GK); Tim Cross; KyleMarshall; Nicholas Page; Shane O'Donoghue; Jonathan Lynch; Peter Brown, SeanMurray (C); John McKee; Jeremy Duncan; Alistair Empey
Subs: Daragh Walsh [3 mins]; Ben Johnson [3 mins]; Matthew Nelson [5 mins]; Mark McNellis [5 mins]; BenWalker [6 mins] ; Michael Robson [7 mins]
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