Ireland seal semi-final spot in Valencia to keep Olympic qualification quest on track

Ireland 3-1 South Korea

Ireland kept their hopes of reaching back-to-back Olympics on track after a hard-fought 3-1 win over South Korea sealed a semi-final spot at the women's qualification tournament in Valencia.

To get to this summer's Paris 2024 Games, the Green Army either need to either reach the final at the mini-tournament in Spain or finish third. This victory ensured that they are within a step of achieving that target.

They will meet Pool B winners Spain on Thursday at 3.30pm (2.30pm Irish time) for a place in the final, while Belgium and Great Britain will meet in the other last-four match.

Ireland went into the fixture against the Koreans second in Pool A and knowing that a draw would be enough to join pool-toppers Belgium in the semi-finals.

The first half proved closely-fought and finished scoreless but Sean Dancer's team found the breakthrough early in the third quarter through Sarah Hawkshaw.

She won the initial penalty corner, which was taken by Hannah McLoughlin, and Hawkshaw added the finishing touch to make it 1-0.

Ireland then weathered a period of South Korean pressure before Deirdre Duke doubled the lead just before the end of the third quarter.

However, Ireland's opponents pulled a goal back in the final quarter to set up a nervy finish.

But those worries eased as Hawkshaw earned a penalty which was converted by Róisín Upton to restore the two-goal advantage.