Ireland men secure Olympic quaifying berth after reaching EuroHockey Championship II final

At the Men's EuroHockey Championship II at the Sport Ireland Campus, Ireland defeated Scotland 4-1 to reach the final, an outcome that also saw the Irish gain one of the two spots at next January's Olympic tournament.

Scotland began the game very well and created numerous opportunities and they could have counted themselves unlucky not to be ahead at half-time.

The second half was a completely different story, however. Jeremy Duncan opened the scoring for the hosts in the 31st minute. Ben Johnson increased the lead on 40 before Lee Cole converted two penalty corners on 50 and 53 minutes respectovely respectively.

Scotland finally got the goal their first half play deserved when Alan Forsyth converted a penalty corner in the 58th minute.

Ukraine, who are also through to the Olympic qualifying groups, defeated Italy 4-3 in a shootout after their semi-final finished 3-3.

Ireland v Ukraine in the final is scheduled for 4pm on Saturday in Abbotstown.