Netherlands 5 (F Matla 2, Y Jansen, S Plonissen, M Verschoor)

Ireland 1 (R Upton)

IRELAND SUFFERED a disappointing 5-1 loss in their World Cup Pool A opener against Netherlands.

It proved a difficult evening at Wagener Stadium against the tournament co-hosts.

It was always going to be an uphill task for the Irish, playing the side ranked number one in the world as well as being reigning World Cup, Olympic and European champions.

Set pieces proved pivotal, as two corner goals, two from strokes helped the Dutch earn a convincing win.

However, the match was closer than the scoreline suggests — Róisín Upton’s long drag goal made it 2-1 in the third quarter before their rivals made sure of the victory with a late flurry.

Caoimhe Perdue, Charlotte Beggs, Katie McKee and Christina Hamill all made their international debuts for Sean Dancer’s side, while Ayeisha McFerran stood out for her side, making a number of good saves to keep the score down.

Ireland must now quickly recover from Saturday’s setback. On Tuesday, they face a pivotal clash with Chile, who opened their campaign with a 4-1 loss to Germany in the group’s other game earlier today.

Ireland: A McFerran, R Upton, H McLoughlin, E Curran, L Tice, C Perdue, M Carey, S Hawkshaw, K Mullan, S Torrans, D Duke

Subs: S McAuley, Z Malseed, N Carroll, C Beggs, K McKee, C Hamill, L Murphy

Netherlands: A Veenendaal, S Koolen, L Leurink, X de Waard, F Albers, L Welten, F Matla, P Sanders, L Nunnink, M van Geffen, R van Laarhoven

Subs: F Moes, M Keetels, M Verschoor, E de Goede, S Plonissen, Y Jansen, J Koning

Umpires: H Y Kang (KOR), M Giddens (USA)