Women's Hockey: England v Northern Ireland

The sun seemed to strengthen the best hockey players from Northern Ireland’s universities, most of whom play for Queen’s Belfast or Ulster University, familiar with each other’s tricks and treats. Together the players united to put four goals past a less harmonious English team whose defenders could not cope with their opponents’ prowess.

NI were three goals up within the half-hour, two of those in the space of four minutes, as early pressure buckled the English defence. Philippine Berly, excellent all afternoon and at one stage refusing to give way to a substitute, gave them the lead after a solo dribble and reverse-hit shot after ten minutes. An immediate attack had to be thwarted by England and Scarlett Holdsworth was upended (within the laws) by the advancing keeper Becky Batsford. This tumble served to strengthen Holdsworth, who won a short corner which Batsford had to stop again, but she then converted her own chance when Berly played her in with a needlepoint pass.

England were loose in their passing across the back line all game, and seldom found white shirts when in the NI half, thanks in part to the expert cutting-out by NI’s defenders, led by number three Suman Bala whose blistering passes upfield always threatened. On the half-hour, with a short corner clumsily conceded off their own player’s arm, England conceded a third through Bala’s confident sweep along the ground. This move was copied a minute later but there was no fourth goal yet. If there had been ropes on the turf, England would certainly have been pinned right onto them, pummelled by an NI midfield led by the pusillanimous Emma Stewart, who had a shot well saved by Batsford who double-handedly kept England in the first half.

Emerging onto the pitch a good five minutes before the NI team, England were energised as if the trainer had dabbed blood and sweat from their faces at the bell, and had the better of the opening exchanges of the half. Pressure told as they managed to squeeze in a goal five minutes in, Heather Batten acting quickest as the ball spun past helpless defenders to please their animated coach whose patience was tested by the eagle-eyed officials who seemed to blow for everything. Berly was able to test Batsford again with a confident revse shot, and the keeper was at full stretch to smother another NI chance. Yet she could do nothing about NI’s fourth goal: a training ground move from a short corner saw Bala dummy a shot, and the ball was stroked instead into the path of a waiting Stewart for a sweet five-yard finish. NI seemed to lapse in concentration when Berly was withdrawn, but somehow didn’t concede from the constant English pressure. Bala made two quick errors and conceded a short corner off her feet, proving that she was human, but the ensuing move involving eight English players did not contrive to find its way into the net.

Carrying the wooden spoon from 2008, NI got off to a flying start in 2010, and the whistle was met by three dejected cheers from an English side which, though drawing the second half 1-1, could not reverse the goals which came from NI’s early pressure, and the result was fair. One hopes England will close the goal difference in the following matches.