Ireland Boys’ Captain John Carroll says the future is bright as his players were resolute in defeat to England on the second day of the R&A Boys’ & Girls’ Home Internationals in Cork.
A youthful looking Irish outfit battled hard against their more experienced opponents with Isaac Oliver (5&4), William O’Riordan (3&1) and Caelan Coleman (3&2) grabbing three precious victories in the afternoon singles.
It was a tough day for the combined Irish side, with England claiming a 14.5-6.5 win and while they turn their attentions to Scotland and a winner-takes-all clash tomorrow, Ireland will face Wales looking for more positives.
“It was always going to be tough. We came here knowing that England are probably the strongest of the four home nations but we gave it a good go,” said Carroll.
“We have picked a very young team with a view to giving them experience for next year, we had a disappointing European Championships in Czech Republic where we got relegated to Division 2.
“Hopefully these 16-year-olds, and in one case a 15-year-old, will get the experience to get us back up next year to Division 1. We have got one more chance against Wales so hopefully we will get a positive result tomorrow.
“They are a great bunch of lads, I took over as Captain last November and I have had the best time. Fantastic group, there is never an issue with them, travelling around France, Scotland, England, Spain, all over Europe.
“A great crew, they have built up a great bond and they are a young team. This year wasn’t their year but hopefully next year and the year after will see a big improvement.
“Our girls will go out first (against Wales), our girls have been flying, they came third in the European Championships getting a bronze medal, doing the country proud.
“We have got some fantastic girl golfers, they will be leading us out first thing in the morning and then the boys will be out afterwards.
“Hopefully we can reverse the result from today and get a win tomorrow.”
Ireland had two victories in the morning foursomes today with Hannah Lee-McNamara and Zoe McLean-Tattan, and Caelan Coleman and Harry O’Hara winning their matches. However, they fell 4.5-2.5 behind and England took control early in the afternoon singles.
Scotland also secured their second straight win on Wednesday after a comprehensive 15-6 defeat of Wales. The Scots were 5.5-1.5 ahead following the morning foursomes and won nine of the singles matches to keep their campaign on track.
“Delighted with that, I thought today would be a really tough game and it was but the troops have come through again. Some great golf out there from both teams and very happy to win,” said Scotland Captain Stuart Johnston.
“That (England) will be tough obviously, they are a good team. They have got a lot of great players so we will just go out and do our best, take it match by match.
“If we prevail then that is fantastic, if we don’t then we will give it our best shot.”
