Ireland’s Under-21 men and women both earned promotion to the A division of European hockey for 2016 with the former winning gold on Saturday with a last gasp 3-1 win over Scotland.
Needing victory to land top spot, they were locked at 1-1 with two minutes to go after James Lorimer and Ed Greaves had shared penalty corner goals. But Mark Loughrey and Neal Glassey both pounced at the death to swing the tie Ireland’s way and see them overhaul hosts Portugal in the top four playoffs and win the title.
The women, however, missed out on top spot in Vienna in dramatic fashion. They looked well set to beat Italy and land overall gold when they led 3-0 yesterday with 15 minutes to go after a stunning spell of three goals in four minutes around half-time – Chloe Brown scoring twice in a minute with Emily Beatty grabbing the other.
Italy, though, got one back in the 55th minute and strikes from Maria Garraffo and Elisabeta Pacella in the closing six minutes tied the match at 3-3. In combination with a 0-0 draw with Ukraine on Saturday, it left Ireland second overall with Italy claiming the top spot.
Nonetheless, the primary objective was achieved and Ireland will play in the elite division in two years time, a strong return to the age group with back-to-back promotions.
