World Cup qualifier: Ireland 5 Malaysia 0
Ireland got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start in Chile on Monday as three goals in six third-quarter minutes sent them on their way to an emphatic victory over Malaysia.
It took them 20 minutes to turn their superiority into a lead against a nation eight places below them in the world rankings, but once they did they were rampant. A beautiful opening goal it was too, Katie Mullan deftly deflecting Hannah McLoughlin’s long ball into the circle past the Malaysian goalkeeper.
Three minutes later it was 2-0 when Caoimhe Perdue converted Ireland’s fifth penalty corner of the game, and Sarah McAuley extended the lead further early in the third quarter with a sublime piece of skill. After expertly controlling an aerial ball, she turned and made her way past two defenders before firing a thunderous reverse strike into the bottom right corner from the edge of the circle.
Michelle Carey made it 4-0 soon after when she was set up by her twin Niamh, before Róisín Upton got Ireland’s fifth when she swept home from a corner. Upton later hit the crossbar from a penalty stroke.
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Next up for Ireland are Japan (6.45pm Irish time on Tuesday) who beat Canada 4-0 in the same pool on Monday. The top three teams in the eight-nation tournament qualify for the World Cup, which will be hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands in August.
IRELAND: E Murphy, S McAuley, R Upton, H McLoughlin, L Mulcahy, E Curran, C Beggs, M Carey, N Carey, S Torrans, K Mullan. Subs: H Micklem, S Hawkshaw, C Perdue, C Hamill, A Handcock, J McMaster, E Kealy.
