Great start by Belgium who kickstarted their Group B campaign over Ireland 2-0 at Yves-Du-Manoir Stadium (Pitch 2) off the back of an excellent 2nd and 3rd quarter play with one goal each coming from open play as well as a penalty corner. Ireland now will take on the Kookaburras (whose campaign will begin shortly v Argentina) on Monday night at 6.15 pm AEST while Belgium will be straight back for their 2nd game tomorrow in the early hours of Monday AM at 1.30 our time v New Zealand.
For Ireland, you gotta hail David Harte as the keeper having saved so many attempts towards goal from the dominant Belgium side including penalty corners. He’d be great for any top-quality Field Hockey team any day as sure he won’t be short of suitors thanks to his sharp-stopping performances today. It’s just a shame that the rest couldn’t capitalise on the counter-attack on top of their basic defensive structure where things eventually fall into pieces every time Belgium added a lot of ball as the game goes on before it was too late, even a late goal wouldn’t be enough to remedy the start they wanted to keep them quiet. That next game won’t be easy as always when going up against one of the Top 3 sides in the world but all Ireland needs to do is push, push, push & goals may be there, even if some small improvements would mean a big difference.
And congratulations to defending Olympic champions Belgium with the 2-0 win who has been unstoppable all along, especially when they had so much possession all over the pitch before the goals were there to bring it home. It’s no easy contest as always at the highest of levels with the Ireland goal keeper giving them a tough time for the most part until Belgium finally made a breakthrough off the back of many winning penalties and attacking opportunities via open play. Plus, their defense wasn’t bad either where Belgium were able to get away from a series of missed Ireland opportunities up front that gave them the chance to get the job done at the other end and yet they’ve showed them how it’s done. Now Belgium will not want to down their tools with New Zealand next up before an all-important contest v Kookaburras mid-week Wednesday.
