Irish Women to play Canada in Hockey Olympic Qualifiers!

To be held in Energia Park, Donnybrook. If they beat the Canadians on an aggregate score over two matches, the girls in green will be on their way to a place in the history books as the first Irish women’s team in any sport to qualify for an Olympics.

The rugby venue is being transformed into a hockey stadium with a full water based pitch rolled out over the bank holiday weekend. ‘Wes’ will be transformed into an Officials and Players pavilion while Bective hosts the corporate supporters in the AerCap Leinster Hockey Pavilion.

Playing a match of this magnitude, in the heart of Dublin, with a home base behind them is a golden opportunity for the team. They were buoyed up by the crowds in London in 2018 when they won a silver medal at the world cup.. but that was last year – The pinnacle for any athlete’s career is an Olympic games!

There's no doubt the Irish Women are 110% focused on that goal.

Although ranked higher than Canada, the women will take nothing for granted and will be keen to avenge the defeat suffered by the Irish men at last weekend’s qualifier event in Vancouver. Where a shock video umpire decision 'gifted' the Canadian team with a penalty stroke – providing them with an opportunity to tie up the competition and force a penalty shoot-out with Ireland, which they won in the sudden death phase.

This weekend provides the girls in green the best possible opportunity to qualify in front of a home crowd. The event is being covered by RTE 2 from 6:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. The match officials and video umpires are all experienced - the Video Umpire, will have a bank of camera angles available to make the best possible decision and provide the appropriate guidance to the on-field umpires in the event of a referral. All that is left now is for the Irish public to support the team and the girls in green to play as brilliantly and passionately as they did in London that glorious summer in 2018.

Come on you Girls in Green!