Luck of the Irish arrives just in time

Ireland 2 Pakistan 2

They displayed, guts, passion and determination to draw 2-2 with Pakistan, and can feel aggrieved that an umpiring decision robbed them of victory. But Canada’s 2-1 win over Egypt ensured a draw was enough to propel Ireland into the next phase of the tournament, where the final World Cup place will be decided.

They face Japan in the first game of the cross-over series tomorrow and will enter the tie in a confident mood after this incredible final Pool A game against a team who have competed in all 12 World Cups.

The Irish started brightly, and Mark Irwin was nearly in for a goal after three minutes. However, his side were behind seven minutes later after Dilawar Hussain collected the ball wide on the left, snuck into the Irish circle and lashed the ball past Charlie Henderson.

Shortly after, Shakeel Abbasi collected a through ball, found himself one-on-one with Henderson, but shot wide.

If anything, that galvanised Dave Passmore’s side and with Paddy Brown imperious in defence and Graham Shaw running the show in midfield, they endeavoured to get back into the game. Despite giving away a penalty corner - Imran Warsi’s shot being blocked by 100th cap recipient Jason Black - the Irish were pressing and on 21 minutes were rewarded. David Hobbs snaffled a ball in midfield, fed Phelie Maguire, and his pass into the circle was latched onto by Stephen Butler for the equaliser.

Better was to come, and although Henderson was forced into a brilliant save from Abbasi in the 31st minute, Ireland pushed forward and a minute later won a short corner. From Shaw’s feed, Butler struck again with a beautifully placed shot low to the goalie’s right.

A 2-1 half-time scoreline was more than they could have hoped for.

But just seven minutes after the break, Ireland were outraged when Mussadar Khan crossed an obviously dangerous ball into the Irish circle which hit Brown’s upper leg before falling to Rehan Butt, who slotted home.

German umpire Christian Blasch allowed the goal to the dismay of the Irish who, along with the entire Pakistani front line - except Butt - had stopped in expectation of a free out.

Both sides had chances thereafter, most notably when Pakistan superstar Muhammad Saqlain shot wide with 15 minutes to go.

Ireland then had to wait to see how Canada fared, but there was the sense after the Canadians beat Egypt that while the luck of the Irish had been a long time coming, it arrived just in the nick of time.

IRELAND: C. Henderson, P. Brown (Capt.), J. Black, K. Burns, I. Lewers, J. Jermyn, G. Shaw, M. Black, J. Sherriff, M. Irwin, M. Gleghorne.

Rolling subs: S. Butler, P. Maguire, D. Hobbs, M. Ruddle, R. Gormley.

PAKISTAN: S. Akbar, I. Warsi, A. Sajjad, M. Saqlain (Capt.), D. Hussein, A. Maqsood, R. Butt, M. Shabbir, M. Khan, S. Abbasi, M. Imran.

Rolling subs: N. Ahmed, A. Waqas, A. Zakir, Z. Ashraf, M. Waqas.