World League Round 3

Ireland's women were left devastated as they fell to China following a shoot-out in their World League Round 3 after normal time ended 1-1 in Valencia.

Darren Smith's side made most of the running throughout, running up 15 penalty corners, while there was also a 55th Megan Frazer effort disallowed after initially being awarded.

But China hung tough, defended bravely and charged down every corner chance to deny Ireland in normal time before Liang Meiyu slotted the all-important shoot-out goal.

Smith said it was a heartbreaking situation to come so close to victory against the world number seven side with Olympic qualification on the line.

"It's devastating to lose in a shoot-out. All you want is that ticket to Rio and we put our heart and soul into that match. We could have been more clinical from our penalty corners. They defended them pretty well but it was a tight and tough match."

Earlier on, China got off to a flying start when Zhang Xiaoxue latched on to a long overhead pass and found a narrow gap at the left post to flick in the first goal after five minutes.

From there, the Asian side sat deep and soaked up pressure before counter-attacking at speed. Ireland won plenty of corners - eight in the first half - while Katie Mullan was also denied by Li Dongxiao.

The second half followed a similar pattern with Ireland running up seven more corners but they did not create enough danger from those set plays. They did eventually get their equaliser in the 42nd minute via Chloe Watkins.

She slapped home powerfully from close range after Kate Dillon powered through two tackles from a quick free before slipping a pass under her arm to Watkins.

It was no less than they deserved and they looked the more likely to push on from there. The main talking point came when Megan Frazer shot home a corner. It was initially awarded before the umpire Elena Eskina called a referral on her own decision and, after video footage, the goal was chalked off.

Smith admitted that he thought the "umpire got it right" and while the manner in which it was called for was slightly unsavoury - the Chinese surrounded the umpire to call for a second opinion - he said the decision was correct.

"In the end, they got it right so you can't get too disappointed. It looks like a Chinese referral when they had lost theirs already but that's the way it goes."

It meant the tie went to a shoot-out and the first series of five ended 3-3. The next three were all saved before Liang raced left and slid in the winning shoot-out for a 4-3 success.

Ireland still have a chance to qualify for the Olympics via this tournament. The target is now a top five finish. This can be done by winning both of their classification matches over the weekend.

"From our perspective, we need to make sure we are determined and focused, defend well and tackle well and get into that fifth/sixth place playoff and give ourselves a chance of going to Rio. It might be a little bit of hurt for the next while but we hope that clears and we get the girls back into it."

Ireland's next match will be on Saturday, time and opponents yet to be determined.