Ireland boosted their chances of automatic qualification for the Women’s Hockey World Cup finals by defeating Kazakstan 1-0 today in their penultimate qualifier in Amiens in France.
The Irish ladies had a point to prove after their recent defeat by France. After a match marred by poor umpiring, a senior official from the International Hockey Federation felt obliged to privately apologise to a member of the Irish delegation, so to bounce back with a crucial win today was commendable.
Lynsey McVickar scored the only goal of the game which now means if Ireland beat Ukraine tomorrow it would guarantee them a place in the finals. Even a draw in the last game may be enough if other results go their way.