Ireland hit for seven by Germany in Pro League loss
Ireland struggled to keep Germany out at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre
- Published
Ireland were thrashed 7-0 by Germany as they slumped to a second heavy Pro League defeat in the space of 24 hours.
Mark Tumilty's side were looking to bounce back after being beaten 5-1 by Great Britain on Saturday, but found the Germans in imperious form.
Ireland will complete their first Pro League campaign with another game against Germany on Wednesday, followed by their final match with Great Britain on Thursday.
"We need to stick to our own process and our own way of playing, while at the same time adapting to the way our opponents are playing - that's the challenge we face at this moment," explained Tumilty.
"And if you don't get your performance up to the highest level, against this calibre of opposition, you get punished and we deserved to be punished for some of the mistakes we made out there on the pitch.”
'Exceptional' Germany punish Irish errors
After a scoreless first quarter, Germany seized control with three goals before half-time.
Their high press created Irish turnovers and some lapses in concentration allowed them to capitalise on their opportunities.
Elian Mazkour, Malte Hellvig and Marco Miltkau put the game beyond Ireland before the interval.
Miltkau scored again just after half-time and Timm Herzbruch added a fifth goal before the end of the third quarter.
Hellwig's penalty corner goal was his second of the game and came with eight minutes remaining, but there was still time for Thies PrInz to make it seven.
Tumilty, whose side are bottom of the standings after two wins in 14 matches, added: "We didn't do ourselves any favours with that performance and they were exceptional in the circle. These teams just capitalise on errors. 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.
"The challenge is to learn from it. It's a tough lesson but sometimes I think you always learn more from defeats than you do from winning."