Kyle Marshall feels Ireland 'didn’t get the rub of the green' in FIH Pro League defeat to Spain
Ireland captain Kyle Marshall felt his side “didn’t get the rub of the green” at crucial times of their 4-2 FIH Pro League defeat to Spain in Antwerp on Saturday.
Marshall’s men led on two separate occasions with Johnny McKee opening the scoring after just three minutes while Lee Cole restored their lead from the spot in the second quarter.
However, a trio of strikes in the final quarter – a brace from Nicolas Alvarez and Pepe Cunill’s penalty corner – helped Spain secure the win with a late comeback.
There was a controversial moment when Ben Nelson rounded Rafael Revilla and drew contact from the Spanish keeper – Ireland used their referral believing the incident was enough to warrant a second penalty stroke, but the video umpire didn’t agree.
“Ben Nelson isn’t a diver,” said Marshall. “He was disadvantaged by the contact.
"I don’t know why that decision can’t just be given on the pitch straight away. Even before that there was a penalty corner.”
Ireland will again play Spain in their final FIH Pro League game on Sunday (9:30am) and Marshall hopes to bring the positives from Saturday’s contest into the encounter.
“We started well and came out of the blocks nice and aggressive,” he said. “We didn’t get the rub of the green with decisions at pivotal times in the game, and that maybe took the wind out of our sales a bit.
“We were definitely in the game for large parts, we will try and bring that energy into tomorrow.”