Ireland face Germany at World Lacrosse Men's U21 World Championship in UL

AFTER Ireland was beaten by Canada in their World Lacrosse Men's U21 World Championship quarter-final match at UL on Wednesday, Ireland head coach Tom Prior gave his reaction to the defeat.

Ireland face Germany in their latest fixture at the tournament this Thursday afternoon.

Despite their defeat to a highly-rated Canada side, Prior is happy with how the Ireland team is preforming at the prestigious championships. He was also lavish in his praise of tournament host venue, the University of Limerick

“I think the University of Limerick has been an awesome host for us," Prior said.

"I think our team has done a pretty good job and has come to play every day.”

Prior believes the Irish team has improved with each game as they have never played together until this tournament.

“Every game we show up and we've been given a strong effort. I'm proud of the consistency and the way the guys have developed- especially the leadership of our captains and our coaching staff.

"Yesterday, we got beaten by Canada, but I really have a tremendous amount of respect for what the guys are bringing to the playing field and all the games before this.”

Prior also believes that their latest opponents Germany, 3pm today, have also improved through the course of the championships.

“Germany is going to be a better team than we played earlier in the tournament. Having played Germany already, they will be better prepared for this game. And they are a tough, physical and athletic team. They will be ready for today’s test.”

“If we do a nice job today possessing the ball and play with a strong lacrosse IQ on defence, we will be successful. I'm also hoping we do a great job in the ground ball game. I know we've had a solid goalie play with Joe (Walsh) throughout the tournament and our defensive base is strong and with Finn (Daly) playing well in the face off’s.

"We will give it our best shot and we know that Germany will be ready to play us as well. We know we have to come to the test and we know we have got to perform."