HOCKEY: On the eve of the European Championship qualifying tournament at Belfield, the Irish under-18 boys team gave their seniors an exhilarating boost by winning the Youth Nations Cup in Rotterdam last night, beating Belgium 4-1 in the final match.
It is the first time that an Irish side at any level has won an A Division European title.
There had been a 3-1 defeat by Germany on Saturday; but the Germans were held to a 2-2 draw yesterday which meant that the gold medals went to Ireland.
From the moment Gareth Watkins set up Phelie Maguire for the opening goal against Belgium, Ireland were poised for success.
Tim Cockram, the captain, and Mark Gleghorne were also on the scoresheet and Maguire made it 4-0 before the Belgians replied at a late stage.
As Ireland's Call was being played at the presentation ceremony, John Smith, the Irish Hockey Association president described the occasion as very special. "The boys played tremendously well," he said, "and the win against Holland during the week was a key game."
"It was well deserved after all the work, time and effort," said team manager Douglas Miller.
The Irish under-16s finished up their tournament with two draws, 4-4 against Belgium and 2-2 against Poland.
IRELAND (European under-18 champions): C Daunt, S Chisholm,; S Arbuthnot, A Barrett, C Black, E Butler, T Cockram (capt), M Gleghorne, A Herbert, C Holmes, I Lewers, S McGowan, P Maguire, M Robinson, K Twomey, G Watkins. Coach: S Watt; Manager: D Miller.
