Lizzie Tighe plays against her brother at the European Championship: "We are used to it"
At the European Championship in the Czech Republic, Lizzie Tighe plays for Ireland and her brother Marcus for England. On Sunday they faced each other: England won 17‑5 and both of them scored once.
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Automatically translated from Dutch. Read the Dutch original.
Tighe is thirty and plays for Bristol Thunder in England. She has been in the Irish team for ten years. "Many people in my family play korfball", she says.
Her cousin Daisy also plays for Ireland. Daisy's sister Gemma is team manager and her father John is the new national coach of Ireland. Her fiancé Sam is also in the squad. "Other family members have become involved in korfball over the past five years."
Ireland has more brothers and sisters in the team: Alf and Flora Timney, and Stephen and Martin McDonagh.
Read more: EC day 3: Germany and England into the top eight
Against each other
It is the second major tournament at which Lizzie and Marcus face each other. At the World Championship in Taipei they both played as well. "It is annoying when our teams play each other, but otherwise it is nice that we can support each other's teams. In the United Kingdom we also play against each other in the National League, so we are used to it."
In the pool, Ireland lost all three matches: to the Czech Republic (32‑8), Wales (10‑18) and England (17‑5). Against Wales, Lizzie and Daisy scored twice each.
Five debutants
"Our goal at this tournament is to finish as high as possible in the rankings and ultimately qualify for the World Championship", says Tighe. "But in the more difficult matches too, we want to develop as a squad. Five players are playing their first major tournament."
Korfball in Ireland
In Ireland itself, korfball still has to grow. "There are some players spread across different regions, but there is no structure yet, because all our current players live in the United Kingdom", says Tighe. Ireland wants to organise the three-nations tournament with Scotland and Wales in Ireland next year. "That will be a big step in the development of korfball in Ireland."
Ireland plays Poland on Tuesday 20 October and Switzerland on Wednesday 21 October. Marcus plays with England against the Netherlands on Tuesday evening.