Hockey: Young Irish Squad Draw With Argentina

Ireland earned a draw against the world number 6 in a close match that saw the Green Machine hand debuts to Murray and McKee. The young Irish squad, ably marshaled by Jackon, Gleghorne and Cockram, got off to the ideal start with a goal inside the opening few minutes. Jackson earned the men in green a PC and Cockram drove the ball low into the bottom left. However it was an Irish error that handed the Argentinians the equalizer. A loose aerial ball was snatched from the night's sky by Vila who fired past Fitzgerald.

The Argentinians enjoyed periods of controlled possession and showed their experience with 3 of their players having over 200 caps. The trio of Glassey, Bell and Robson were a constant threat when they had the ball in their possession and forced Santiago from his goal to make several saves but the score remained 1-1 going into half time.

Peillat made it 2-1 with a hard drag into the right corner and Carr, coming on for the final quarter, was called into action to make 2 terrific saves to keep the Green Machine within a goal. The equalizer came courtesy of Kyle Good who showed great reactions to tip home Cockrams deflection, after intuitive link up play by Robson and Glassey. The game ended in a barrage of cards, 2 yellow for Argentina and a green for Robson but there were to be no more goals and the young Irish team finished the series with a 2-2 draw against the world cup bronze medalists.