HOCKEY: Ireland hammer Hong Kong

Roisin Upton broke the deadlock in the 18th minute from a PC with a strong drag to the goalkeepers right.

The flood gates opened however in the second half with Nikki Evans’ goal in the 34th minute, created by Mullan’s reverse strike that Evans calmly deflected in at the right post behind the committed goalie Pang.

Three goals in three minutes as the third quarter wound down quickly gave the match a different feel.

Watkins converted from a PC in the 41st minute, before Anna O’Flanagan managed to get on the end of a crash ball to deflect it goal-bound, while Mullan rounded her marker to hit the ball on the run to give her side a 5-0 lead.

O’Flanagan got her second of the match and her seventh of the tournament as she fired home a rebound.;

A minute later Rebecca Barry added her name to the scoresheet as she deflected a pass from Watkins to make it 7-0.

A similar barrage occurred in the 52nd minute when Gillian Pinder’s shot from the top of the D went through the keeper, a just reward on her 100th cap.

Mullan got arguably the goal of the game when claiming the ball from the air in the centre of the circle before dragging the keeper right and finding the net from a near-impossible angle.

Nicci Daly rounded out the scoring two minutes later as she darted along the baseline, forcing the oncoming Pang to commit, before chipping the ball over her and into the goal to finish in style.

A patient performance with plenty of impressive goals from the Green Army leaves them top of Pool B and they are likely to face Singapore in the Quarter Finals tomorrow.

It will be a tough test for the Irish but they will be full of confidence after their 10-0 victory against Hong Kong.