EuroHockey Championships: Captain Katie Mullan says Ireland are 'in a good place' before Scotland match

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EuroHockey Championship: Netherlands breeze past Ireland - highlights

Ireland captain Katie Mullan said she and her team-mates are "in a good place" before their second EuroHockey Championships match against Scotland.

The Irish women will be looking to respond positively after losing their opening game on Saturday 4-0 to tournament hosts the Netherlands.

Ireland have beaten Scotland twice recently and Mullan is in upbeat mood.

"We know Scotland will be a completely different team from the one we saw in Belfast a few weeks ago," she said.

"They have strong players and we will learn a lot from watching them play Spain. We know we have to control the game and the pace.

"If we take the energy we brought out there against the Dutch, add a few more things to it in terms of our attack then we will be in a good place come Monday."

After the meeting with the Scots, Ireland play Spain in their final Group A game on Wednesday as they aim to secure a top-two finish that would take them through to a European Championship semi-finals for the first time.

Reflecting on their 4-0 defeat by the Netherlands - the world's number-one ranked team - Mullan said there are a lot of positives to take, especially compared with their 6-0 loss against them in 2018.

Image source, Frank Uijlenbroek
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Ireland's defeat against the Netherlands was Ireland's first competitive match since 2019

Attended by 3,000 supporters, it was Ireland's first competitive fixture since the 2019 Olympic qualifiers and afterwards Mullan said they "know the rollercoaster of tournament hockey".

"I think anyone who watched both those games [in 2018 and on Saturday] will see the improvement in us," the Green Army captain said.

"There are a few little things defensively where we got caught out on as a full team, those are the moments where they dominate and score and that's where the Dutch are so clinical.

"But there were times we really did have control, held the ball well and were able to accumulate passes.

"That was an incredible atmosphere. When you have had two years out of international hockey, what a way to come back to tournament hockey, playing the Dutch in Amsterdam in a packed stadium. It was all orange and we really enjoyed it."

UCD pair Hannah McLoughlin and Michelle Carey made their tournament debuts against the Netherlands and Mullan had an extra word of encouragement for them.

"How do you prepare a youngster for that?" she added.

"We tried to build them up for it all week and I'm very proud of them. They did incredibly well and enjoyed it too. That's the most important thing for them, for your first 10 caps you have free reign.

"You just go out and enjoy it, getting up to that pace. I'm almost jealous they got to do it against the Dutch in that atmosphere."

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