Victory over fancied Pakistan a must

IRELAND aim to defeat tournament favourites Pakistan in this morning's Hockey World Cup qualifiers, to keep alive their hopes of making the finals in Germany, in September.

Preposterous as it may seem in soccer terms an Irish win tomorrow would be the equivalent of Ireland beating Brazil to qualify for the soccer World Cup but that is the challenge for Dave Passmore's side, who regroup after dreadfully disappointing performances against Belgium and Egypt.

Depending on results, a draw may or may not be enough to get Ireland into the 5th to 8th place cross-over games.

Hence, the Irish enter the game seeking a win to guarantee them a shot at the fifth and last qualifying place.

Passmore is unequivocal about the situation. "We've got to get a win and I believe that suits our mentality. We've got to be aggressive and we've got to treat the game as a cup final. It will do us no harm to be underdogs and I genuinely believe we can come out on top."

Pakistan have shown mediocre form by their own incredible standards and they need a victory to ensure at least a place in that top four.

Jason Black, wining his 100th Irish cap today (the first Munster player to do so), knows how difficult beating Pakistan will be a feat Ireland never achieved.

"It's a big game but it would certainly be a good time to beat them for the first time. The thing is that we've nothing to lose really and psychologically will allow us go for it," he said.

"We are definitely capable of doing it and we just have to have the belief in ourselves individually and collectively if we are to make it happen.

"We have nobody but ourselves to blame for the situation we are in right now and therefore we have to rely on ourselves to put it right. A win will do that."

Passmore, who, along with assistant coach Craig Fulton, has plenty of experience of playing Pakistan in their respective careers, with England and South Africa, admits the players were "devastated" after the loss to Egypt. However, he insists that painful lessons have been learned.

"The most important lesson we've learned is that of being a goal down and trying to get it back.

"Our inexperience in that situation in this type of competition has been clear, but the Pakistan game is slightly different in that we have to go for the win and that's all there is to it. We will be going for it.

"We know now that to qualify for the World Cup we have three cup finals ahead of us and we have to win them all.

"We want to qualify, so that is our aim."

Timmy Cockram is Ireland's only injury concern. The 22-year-old Lisnagarvey player was caught by a stick around the neck in the Egypt game and suffered a swollen larynx. "I got a big fright, especially when I found I couldn't breathe properly, but it seems to be much better today and I was able to have cereal for breakfast. I think I'll be okay," he said.