Head coach Gareth Grundie's praise for Katie Mullan and Roisin Upton as Ireland women reach FIH Hockey Nations Cup final
Head coach Gareth Grundie praised the performance of Katie Mullan and Roisin Upton after Ireland women beat USA to reach Sunday’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup final in Santiago.
Ireland trailed by a goal on Saturday until the halfway mark of the second quarter, when Niamh Carey won a penalty stroke that Upton calmly converted to restore parity.
Mullan then produced the decisive strike with a little over a minute remaining in the third quarter to give Ireland the advantage.
The USA, who had taken the lead after only four minutes, piled on the pressure in the closing stages as they searched for an equaliser, but Ireland held on to book their spot in the final against New Zealand.
Grundie said: “Roisín Upton is very calm under pressure, very reliable and it was a very well taken stroke at that.
“Katie Mullan was a menace the whole match. Aggressive in the press and tenacious going forward.
"It was a great ball from Elena [Neill] and a very nice finish from Katie.”
Captain Sarah Hawkshaw received a yellow card while Mullan picked up a green, leaving Ireland at a significant player disadvantage in a tense final quarter.
However, Ireland weathered the storm and Grundie said the team’s work around tactics when losing a player had paid dividends.
“We've practiced being down a player quite a bit. Even down a player we felt secure,” he added.
“We did a good job in those 10-12 minutes despite not being able to play the way we would have liked.
"Overall a very pleasing performance.”