Ireland lose narrowly to Belgium in Pro League bow

Ireland were beaten 2-1 by Belgium on their debut in the FIH Pro League in Dublin.

A pair of goals from the impressive Belgian forward Ambre Ballenghien put the world number three side in control of the game early in the second half.

However, Ireland then produced their best hockey of the match to create a number of chances that, had they been able to convert, could have seen them level the game.

Their hard work was rewarded with a penalty-corner strike from Ellen Curran as the clock hit zero.

It was only a consolation goal but there were still plenty of positives to take for head coach Gareth Grundie as Ireland showed they will be no pushover in their first season in hockey’s top flight.

"I think we were quite hesitant and reserved especially in the first half," said Ireland's Katie Larmour.

"Then in the third quarter Gareth said 'girls, let's just go play'.

"We made it difficult for ourselves going 2-0 down, but I mean it just shows who we are that we stayed in it right until the end and kept pushing and got the goal that we did deserve."

Ireland looked nervous in the opening exchanges, conceding a lot of territory to Belgium but also defending well to limit the number of opportunities.

They could do nothing to stop Ballenghien scoring the opening goal, however, as she trapped the ball, turned, and fired it past Lizzie Murphy.

Just after the interval the same player was on the end of a sweeping move that went the full length of the pitch and, at 2-0, it looked like Belgium were on their way to a comfortable victory.

Ireland, though, had other ideas. Suddenly their transferral of the ball was quicker and more accurate.

Debutant Mia Jennings forced Elena Sotgiu into a sharp save and the Belgian goalkeeper then denied the impressive Jess McMaster.

The Ulster Elks forward had another opportunity later in the game while Christina Hamill and Sarah Hawkshaw also saw efforts saved by Sotgiu.

Another storming run from McMaster forced a late string of penalty corners, the final one a well-worked routine that saw Hannah McLoughlin pick out the out-stretched stick of Curran who turned the ball high into the net.

The game was played in front of an enthusiastic sell-out crowd at the National Sports Campus as Ireland hosted the Pro League for the first time.

"I mean the atmosphere here today with the full crowd, I mean it was it was a tremendous occasion," said Larmour.

"And it’s great looking at all the girls signing the autographs now and all the school kids here supporting.

"Getting to show world-class hockey at this stage in Abbottstown, where we train day in, day out, and actually having it come to fruition is so exciting and makes it all worth it."

Ireland will take on a rebuilding England side on Thursday. They were beaten 3-0 by the Belgians in their opening game so it is one that the home side will believe they can target.

"It’s a local derby," added Larmour.

"It's always good and it's always really competitive against England and I think, showing how well we performed against a top-five team in the world [against Belgium] actually just shows that we can compete against anybody so it's exciting."