Spain defeated Ireland 2-0 to lift the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup Spain 2023/24 in Terrassa to earn a ticket to next season’s FIH Pro League.

It was a far closer encounter than their initial group stage match-up when the Spaniards prevailed 5-1 but they always had the box seat once they struck twice just before half-time.

Laia Vidosa and Patricia Alvarez combined well to open the scoring in the 25th minute. The first half finished with a penalty corner from Lola Riera, which ensured she finished as the top scorer of the tournament. 

Ireland created chances from open play and also won two penalty corners in the third and fourth quarter but none of them made it past Clara Perez, who kept the clean sheet.

Riera said of the success: “We are very happy with the result, the result of the work we have been doing for a long time, with which we have achieved a great tournament and we have shown that we can compete against anyone.

“Personally, I am very grateful for the trust of this coaching staff and that they give me the option of taking strokes and penalties. Success is also the result of day-to-day work and happiness with the results.”

It completed a perfect tournament for the Spanish with five wins out of five while Ireland also had some big moments, winning against New Zealand for the first time in 16 years in their semi-final to reach the decider.

“I’m incredibly proud of the Green Army, of the fight we put in, not just this week but over the past couple of months,” said captain Katie Mullan after her side bounced back from the pain of just missing out on Olympic qualification.

“It’s been an incredibly tough couple of months, both on and off the pitch. And what the girls have done, the resilience they’ve shown, is just an incredible story for sport really.

“I hope that we’ve inspired young people so that if they maybe don’t achieve their dream, that they get back up and go again. We’ll be back again!”.