Ireland 'have to put right' scoring woes - Mullan

Ireland's EuroHockey hopes were ended by their goalless draw with Germany

Goals win matches and the stark reality for Ireland at the EuroHockey championships is that they drew a blank in their three pool games.

They received plaudits for a battling performance against the Netherlands, losing only 0-2 against the world number one side who went on to put five past Germany and six against France.

While under different circumstances a scoreless draw against Germany would have been a phenomenal result. Had they beaten the lower ranked French in their second game, Ireland would now be preparing for a semi-final against Belgium.

However they let France off the hook in a shock 1-0 defeat.

Yes, they hit three posts but their failure in front of goal allowed the French to remain in the game and take one opportunity that confined Ireland to a defeat they should never have suffered, one that meant they needed a two-goal victory over Germany to progress.

It does speak to their resilience that they outplayed the Germans and created more chances, but again they failed to take any.

Again, plaudits for the effort and for the performance, but almost always in sport it's the result that counts and Ireland finished bottom of the pool with only a point to show for their efforts.

They just conceded three goals across three games, but scored none and they'll compete with England and Scotland for 5th-8th place instead of chasing medals.

'The France game, really we needed to win that one'

"I mean, it's definitely the closest we've got to beating Germany in competition over the last number of times that we've played them," said Ireland’s Katie Mullan.

"Really, really proud of the fight we put up. To come back from a really disappointing performance against France and go out there and fight as hard as we did. We had some really, really good chances.

"You know, the reality is that the France game, really, we needed to win that one.

"That would have made life a lot easier but that being said, we had our opportunities and we fought really hard against a good German side."

There are usually small margins at this level between success and failure.

In the opening quarter against France, Mullan was one of three Irish players to hit a post. Had one or more of those crept a few inches to the right or left then perhaps Ireland go on to win.

Against Germany there was a penalty stroke saved early in the game that was a pivotal moment.

"We just had to wipe that slate clean from the French game and go out there and chase two goals, and that's what we did," added Mullan.

"I mean, yeah, there's a stroke, but there's also a number of penalty corners again.

"We didn't get the rebounds on off the keeper and there's a number of ways we could have scored those two goals today.

"We just have to go back to the drawing board on looking to get that ball in the back of the net because to have scored no goals this far into the tournament, you know, it's something we have to put right."

Katie Mullan and Katie Larmour console each other after the Germany game

'It’s a test of character'

Ireland also mis-fired on 22 short corners in the three games, a horrible statistic and one that means you simply won’t win games at this level.

"We put a huge emphasis on penalty corner attack. We put the time in, we put the effort in, we put the analysis in. It's all there.

"Sometimes you need a couple to click, and then you just build confidence after confidence and they all start going in.

"It's not an ability thing, for sure. We have the ability. It's not a technical thing, we have the technical side and we have the corner calls there.

"So yeah, we just need to find the back of the net on a couple and I believe then they'll start, they'll start on a roll."

The tournament isn’t over for Ireland and their remaining games in the 5th-8th bracket are an opportunity to put those scoring issues to bed, especially as they look forward to making their debut in the FIH Pro League later this year.

There, Ireland will take on the best in the world and goals will surely be at a premium.

"We've got to step up to that level," added Mullan.

"We have to split the tournament in two - part one's done, start part two now and if we have two solid performances and two good results, we'll get on the plane happy.

"It’s a test of character for this group."