John Moore’s side had been losing 1-0 to the Danes but equalised in the last minute through Thomas Donogher. But with the game seemingly heading to penalties, Donogher scored his second of the match in the final seconds of extra-time to win it 2-1 for Ireland.
The Irish side had earlier suffered a 6-0 defeat against France in the semi-final and were left to fight it out for third place. On Saturday, they secured their spot in the last-four with a 5-0 victory over hosts Finland and with it, qualified for the World Cup in Australia in 2021.
Speaking after the game Head Coach John Moore said: “I’m absolutely delighted for the players and the staff to finish in third place. We had played Denmark earlier in the tournament and lost but I always felt we were capable of winning. I’ve only been in charge for five months and I have worked with my assistant coach Robert De Courcy on our set pieces and we scored both goals from set plays so we’re really happy everyone’s hard work has paid off.”
Attention will turn to Australia where the team can showcase their talents on the world stage, Moore added: “It is an amazing opportunity for this team to go out to Australia for a World cup and show even more people what they can do. We had drilled into them that they must show self-belief and they have done everything we’ve asked of them. The spirit in the squad has been excellent all week and even though we lost in the Semi-Final they always remained positive.”
Ireland Powerchair squad: Sean Donogher (GK), Thomas Donogher, Emer O'Sullivan (C), Naglis Montvillas, Aoife McNicholl, Conor Troy, Thomas Winters, Patrick Flanagan.
EPFA Nations Cup Results
23/5: Ireland 0-2 Denmark
23/5: Austria 0-8 Ireland
24/5: Ireland 0 -10 France
24/5: Northern Ireland 0 -5 Ireland
25/5: Ireland 5-0 Finland
25/5: England 5-0 Ireland
Semi-Final
26/5: France 6-0 Ireland
Third-Place Play-Off
26/5: Denmark 1-2 Ireland