England 3 (A Jackson 2, H Martin) Ireland 0

Craig Fulton's tenure as Irish senior men's hockey coach began with a 3-0 defeat to world number four side England in Reading.

The hosts corner routine served them well as Ashley Jackson’s double - one in each half - along with a rebound from Harry Martin at the set piece powered them to a controlled win in the 100th meeting between the two sides.

South African native Fulton only arrived in Ireland earlier this week and his first job is to assess the panel with a view to the Champions Challenge I in Malaysia later this month.

To that end, just five of last August’s European championship line-up were used while England – with the World Cup on the horizon – used 15 of the panel that drew with Ireland 2-2 at the Euros, reflecting the diverging current interests of the two sides.

Ireland play England again on Friday at 12pm in Bisham Abbey.
IRELAND: D Fitzgerald, S West, J Bell, M Bell, P Brown, P Brown, N Burns, C Cargo, D Carlisle, D Carson, S Dowds, J Duncan, S Loughrey, J Jackson, J Lynch, M Robson, H Spain, A Sothern.