Ireland beaten again in FIH Pro League by Germans

Ireland 2-4 Germany

Ireland were beaten again by world champions Germany in their final FIH Pro League match of the India stage.

The Green Machine twice led in Bhubaneswar, first when Matthew Nelson opened the scoring in the opening quarter, and then in Q2 when his brother Ben fired home.

Germany responded on both occasions, with the sides level at half-time.

Two goals in the final quarter, a controversial penalty corner and a penalty stroke, saw the Germans edge the tie and secure the points.

Having lost 8-2 on Monday, Ireland had a chance at redemption in the Kalinga Stadium.

After some early chances for both sides, Matthew Nelson finished off a well-worked move to give Ireland the lead at the end of the first quarter. Germany found the back of the net almost immediately, but the goal was chalked off upon review.

They did get their equaliser in the second quarter, Erik Kleinlein firing a reverse shot into the roof of the net. Ben Nelson grabbed Ireland’s second from close range to restore Ireland’s lead, but Germany hit back again when they won a short corner with two minutes remaining in the first half. They opted for a variation executed well by Thies Prinz.

Germany eventually seized control of the game in the final quarter, when a fortunate penalty corner resulted in a controversial goal after 49 minutes. The favourites then won a late penalty stroke when Michel Struthoff was brought down inside the penalty circle by Ben Ryder, with Germany’s Malte Hellwig converting.

"A disappointing result but a lot better than yesterday," said head coach Mark Tumilty afterwards.

"That performance is a nice way to end this block and gives us something to build on ahead of the blocks in Antwerp and Amsterdam in June."

Ireland: Jamie Carr