Ireland women off to winning start against France in Olympic qualifiers

Alex Speers scored one of Ireland's goals

Ireland's women got their Olympic qualifying campaign off to a winning start by beating France 5-2 in Belgium.

The French girls took a surprise lead but Ireland led 2-1 at half-time after Aine Connery and Audrey O'Flynn scored.

Michelle Harvey, Alex Speers and Lisa Jacob found the net in the second half to ensure a comfortable victory.

"We were a little tentative at the start, but we played ourselves into the match and grew in confidence," said Irish coach Gene Muller after the game.

"We are now focusing on our next game against Russia on Sunday, when we need to perform well."