Jeremy Duncan and Irish Hockey team chase first Olympic victory

It’s been a trying few days for the Irish Hockey team at the Paris Olympics after they fell to defeats against Belgium, Australia and India.

The Irish side includes Kilkenny’s Jeremy Duncan, and while it is only their second appearance at the games, they will still be slightly disappointed to remain pointless after three games.

Being outranked by all three sides that have defeated them to date as well as future group opponents in Argentina (Thursday) and New Zealand (Friday), the task was a tall one to begin with, but the boys in green will still be hopeful of causing an upset over the next few days as they aim to seek qualification to the knockout stages.

The hockey team were one of the first Irish sides into action in Paris when they faced Belgium last Saturday morning and while they were competitive, Mark Tumilty’s outfit were eventually outclassed when going down to a 2-0 defeat in the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.

While Duncan started as a sub, the quick interchanging of replacements meant he got plenty of time on the field and was involved in one or two half chances.

Ireland had to quickly switch their attention after the Belgium defeat as they had to play twice in just over 24 hours on Monday and Tuesday.

First up was Australia and this early morning start proved to be the closest Ireland would get to a result in the competition thus far.

The Irish team produced an impressive defensive display but it still wasn’enough to deny the Aussies who claimed a 2-1 win after a tough battle.

Ireland’s only goal of the tournament came on the back of a well worked short corner where the ball went to Lee Cole whose well directed shot was on target and to the left of goalkeeper Andrew Charter.

That levelled the game for a period but the third ranked Australian team showed their experience when finding a winning goal.

The India game was another tough day at the office for the Green Machine and it was also a difficult afternoon for Jeremy Duncan who hobbled off on two different occasions.

His luck was matched in the result as India like Belgium scored twice in a 2-0 success.

It all means Ireland are in must win territory as they seek to get in the top four of the group.