Women’s hockey tour of South Africa ends with loss to Germany

Ireland 1

Germany 4

Ireland's tour to Stellenbosch in South Africa ended with a 4-1 loss to world number four side Germany, their second defeat of the week at the hands of the world number four side.

On a day when Ayeisha McFerran earned her 100th Irish cap, Sean Dancer tried an aggressive press for much of the tie, but the razor-sharp Germans were able to cut through to add to their 4-0 win last Saturday.

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They hit the front in the 14th minute when Nike Lorenz dragged in a low corner flick, and Lena Micheel thundered in a reverse-stick shot after a long ball bounced over the Irish defence.

The third owed everything to Pauline Heinz’s tenacity as she powered her way through from the left wing, and laid off a pass for a simple Ann Schröder tip-in.

Ellen Curran got one back with seven minutes to go, gambling at the back post to slide on to Katie Mullan's fantastic ball from the right after a top move involving Anna O'Flanagan and Emily Beatty,

Germany, though, finished off the tie with a fourth goal from Kira Horn to close out the result.

It gives Dancer plenty of food for thought after three wins over South Africa and one against the Dutch under-21s as the Olympic Games preparations continue to ramp up.

IRELAND: A McFerran, R Upton, S Barr, N Evans, K Mullan, S McCay, C Watkins, L Colvin, H Matthews, S Hawkshaw, A O'Flanagan. Subs: L Tice, E Beatty, G Pinder, S Torrans, D Duke, E Curran, E Buckley.