WEEKEND HOCKEY:IRELAND COACH Gene Muller was left ruing missed chances as his national side fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Canada yesterday at Belfield.
It was the first loss in five matches against the visiting Canucks this week - including two run outs for the Ireland A selection - yielding two wins, two draws and this loss.
In the aftermath, though, Muller did not mince his words when assessing the poor result.
"We simply made too many errors and did not complete our good phases and movement.
"We only conceded a handful of chances, but were let down by a lack of focus and concentration," he said.
The Irish dominated possession throughout, forcing two early penalty corners, with Megan Frazer going closest with a flashing drive before Cathy McKean scored an opportunist goal in the 27th minute.
Within a minute, though, Cailie O'Hara had the Canadians back on terms, profiting from sloppy Ireland defending before Abigail Raye struck the winner with 12 minutes to go from Canada's second penalty corner.
Ireland continued to create chances, with Nikki Symmons seeing the best of them.
She fired wide, however, and the Irish were frustrated not to capitalise on other chances and nick a draw.
It completed what had been, overall, a positive week for the Irish as Muller gathered together his squad for the first time since November against a Canadian-side well into their preparations for the Pan-American Cup, which begins in a month's time.
Muller used the five games to test his up-and-coming players as he begins the assessment process ahead of this summer's European Championships.
As such, 14 of his central panel of 20 this week were under 23. Teenagers Frazer, Michelle Harvey, Lizzie Colvin and Rachel Mulligan were given opportunities to solidify their claims for greater role in the squad.
In Leinster league division one action Hermes were denied what looked a nailed on victory at Milltown on Saturday against Old Alex as a result of the elements.
High winds and hailstones had already seen the players have to take a break in the first half as the umpires waited for the conditions to improve.
After the players returned the pitch, a three-goal blitz early in the second half saw Hermes build up a 5-1 lead.
It came thanks mainly to Nikki Evans hat-trick adding to her double for Ireland A earlier in the week.
However, conditions deteriorated once more, meaning the game was abandoned.
As per Leinster branch rules, the game must now be restarted from scratch and be played within the next 22 days.
Leaders Railway only got as far as the warm-up in their game before the goals were blown off their moorings at Park Avenue, leading to a postponement.
It gave Loreto a chance to reduce the gap in the table to four points as they nicked a very late 2-1 win over Trinity - Eilis Smith popping up two minutes from time to defeat the bottom-placed side.
Pembroke hammered Corinthian 5-1 in the only other game to withstand the elements.
IRELAND: Louisa Healy (GK), Emma Clarke, Bridget McKeever, Shirley McCay, Cathy McKean, Alex Speers, Ciara O'Brien, Nikki Symmons, Jenny McDonough, Megan Frazer, Michelle Harvey. Rolling Subs: Cliodhna Sargent, Róisín Flinn, Lisa Jacob, Niamh Small, Mary Goode (GK)
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