Northern Ireland lose against Samoa and will play Gibraltar next on Thursday

It was a quick start for Samoa, who took an early three-goal lead against Northern Ireland.
Out of sorts in this tournament, Northern Ireland struggled to settle down and looked overwhelmed by Samoa’s fast deliveries and power surges. Just three minutes into the match, Northern Ireland had yet to feed their shooters and were already trailing by five goals.

Their first goal eventually came, lifting spirits as the large crowd at the stadium erupted in cheers. The excited screams of schoolchildren made the venue buzz with energy as Northern Ireland added a second, though they failed to convert a third despite five attempts before Samoa struck again to make it 8–2.

Northern Ireland managed to stall Samoa momentarily after the Pacific side’s full-throttle opening. The match, which once again featured Gibraltar umpire Nadine Pardo Zammitt, was a high-tempo affair watched by pupils from St Bernard’s and St Anne’s schools, invited for the final day of group matches before the next stage.

Samoa soon increased their advantage to 12–3, with Northern Ireland still struggling to supply their shooters. By the end of the first quarter, Samoa had stretched the score to 18–5, exposing Northern Ireland’s frailties up front following the early tournament injury to their main shooter.

Samoa extended their lead to 24–5 before a nervy Northern Ireland struck back with their sixth goal. As the match threatened to run away from them, Northern Ireland calmed their play and found some rhythm, reaching nine goals. Samoa, already at 28, were having to work harder for their points.

Northern Ireland’s tenth goal received loud cheers, coming from a slick move that transitioned quickly from defence to attack and split Samoa open. Growing in confidence, they added more, though Samoa still led 32–11 with five minutes to halftime.

Samoa then hit the gas again in the final minutes of the half. Strong, powerful distribution combined with a dominant presence under the post allowed them to rack up goals quickly. They finished the first half with a commanding 39–14 lead.

By the end of the third quarter, Samoa were firmly in control at 55–24. Samoa finishing with a 69-29 scoreline.

With this being the last day of group play, Samoa needed the two points to secure a third-place finish, while also relying on Scotland to produce a positive result against Singapore.

Northern Ireland, having already lost three, were staring at a fourth defeat and would now look toward the newly rescheduled second phase of the competition, in which Gibraltar will also take part.

Under the revised schedule, the fourth-placed team in Group A — Gibraltar — will face the fifth-placed team in Group B — Northern Ireland — at 9 a.m. on Thursday at the Tercentenary Sports Hall. This gives Northern Ireland an early advantage, with Gibraltar playing their final group match against New Zealand this evening and therefore having less recovery time.

Gibraltar are also scheduled to play a second match on Thursday afternoon against the fourth-placed team in Group D, expected to be Trinidad and Tobago. Northern Ireland’s following match will be against the same opponent on Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Samoa, though waiting on other results, were on course to face Wales on Thursday.

Images by NWYC2025