Goalkeeper David Harte the hero for Ireland

Ireland beat France yesterday in the quarter-finals of the Champions Challenge 1 in Malaysia. But the win came with some

some nervous moments and goalkeeper David Harte again played a huge role in the victory, which Ireland won in a shootout.

The sides finished level at 2-2 after Pembroke’s Alan Sothern put Ireland ahead from a penalty corner after just two minutes. France came back shortly after the break through Guillaume Deront and then took the lead nine minutes later when captain Martin Genestet made it 2-1.

But Ireland levelled, again from a set piece, six minutes from the end through Stephen Dowds to send the game into a shootout. It was a tetchy enough match there were eight cards shown, five yellow and three green, Ireland’s John Jackson, Chris Cargo and Michael Robinson all spending five minutes in the bin.

In the shootout Harte came to the fore by saving three of the French efforts, while Eugene Magee, Peter Brown and finally Sothern were on target.

Ireland now meet Korea in the semi-finals.

“We are pleased with the resilience shown by the team against a strong French side, who performed in the opening matches,” said new Irish coach Craig Fulton. “We stuck to the task and with David Harte in top form we grew in confidence as the game progressed. We still have a lot of preparation before Saturday and we will analyse our performances.”

Korea defeated Japan 5-1 in the other quarter-final.