Ireland give glimpse of a golden future

Ireland completed their 10-day training camp in San Diego, where they have been preparing for next month's Olympic Qualifier, …

Ireland completed their 10-day training camp in San Diego, where they have been preparing for next month's Olympic Qualifier, with a superb 3-0 victory over the United States in yesterday's full international. The result, added to a win and two draws in their four earlier build-up games against the Americans, should give them a psychological edge when the teams meet again on March 26th in their pool match in Milton Keynes.

After weathering a 10 minute spell of intense American pressure at the start of the game Ireland took control and apart from two fine Tara Browne saves in the second half were rarely troubled by their hosts. Kim Mills opened the scoring for Ireland midway through the first-half following fine work down the right by Claire McMahon and Mary Logue - McMahon crossed to her Pegasus team-mate in the circle and she slotted the ball past USA goalkeeper Jana Withrow.

Two more goals in the final 15 minutes sealed the win, with Caitriona Carey creating the first and scoring the second. The Hermes midfielder picked out McMahon, who was in front of goal, with a perfect pass that the winger put away with ease and, with just seven minutes to go, Carey collected the ball in midfield, broke through to the circle and fired past Withrow to complete the scoring. "It's lovely to see it all coming together - everyone played superbly well and the camp, right now, is a very happy one," said a delighted Riet Kuper after the match.

The coach, who gave first caps to Angela Platt and Shauna Parkhill, praised her players for their work-rate during the week and the consistency of their performances against the Americans, the eighth-ranked team in the world.

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Ireland: A Platt, L Caulfield, D Sixsmith, A Thompson, S Parkhill, M Logue, L Brown, R Kohler, C McMahon, J Burke, L McVicker. Subs: T Browne, K Mills, K O'Brien, K Humphreys, C Carey.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times