Ireland's men not playing for draw in crunch qualifier

Ireland coach Paul Revington insists playing for a draw against Malaysia in their crunch final pool clash at the Electric Ireland FIH Road to London Olympic qualifiers in UCD tomorrow (3pm) is not an option.

As Ireland go into the game a point better off than the Malaysians after four games, a tie will suffice to send them through to Sunday's final, with tournament favourites Korea the likely opponents.

But Revington won't countenance the notion of taking on a defensive approach should Ireland get a go-ahead goal.

Revington said: "I don't think this group of players trains and plays for draws; to end up where we want to be we've got to win games. Saturday is about playing properly, and hoping that secures a result for us."

With Cork-born centre-back Conor Harte ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after taking a ball to the head during Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Korea, Revington dropped midfielder Andy McConnell into the defensive rotation in yesterday's 3-0 win over Chile while Paul Glgehorne and John Jackson spent time at centre-back alongside skipper Ronan Gormley.

The coach insists his side have enough ability to combat Harte's loss while adding that the Holland-based player is recovering well.

“Conor is stable. Obviously he is ruled out of the event but everyone is very pleased he doesn’t have any massive damage after a pretty serious blow to the head," Revington said.

“In the last 18 months, we have built a fairly sizeable panel of players. The number of players who can play at the back and the midfield is okay and we can absorb it.”

Meanwhile, Ireland's women get their Olympic qualification campaign underway in Beerschot, Belgium this weekend, looking to pick up six points from clashes from lower-ranked France and Russia ahead of tougher tests later in the week against Spain and Belgium.

Coach Gene Muller reckons Ireland hae learned lessons from last summer's European championships in Germany - where they struggled amid a relegation battle to a sixth-placed finish - not least on leaving no stone unturned in terms of preparation.

“One of the mistakes of the Europeans is we didn’t have time at the venue. We made sure we trained and played matches in Beerschot, stayed at the same hotel, booked the same meeting rooms. There’s no unknowns for us going into it and you can’t understate the value of that.

“I certainly have a much better feeling going into (this tournament). The Europeans was a cliff-hanging, nail-biting thing for an extended period of time. We were under pressure, playing to survive for six days, only knowing on Saturday whether we were up or down. We are physically fresher going into this. You’re able to access better performances when you’re fresh and I feel that is the big difference from the Euros."

IRELAND senior women's squad for Athlon FIH Road to London, Beerschot, Belgium: E Gray (GK, Hermes, 45 caps); P Smithwick (Old Alex, 12); M Harvey (Pegasus, 81); M Crowley (Hermes, 34); C Sargent (Cork Harlequins, 109); E Smyth (Railway Union, 60); E Clarke (St Albans, 120); N Evans (Railway Union, 23); A Speers (Railway Union, capt, 115); S McCay (Old Alex, 134); L Jacob (Hermes, 101); S McCarthy (Hermes, 45); A Connery (Hermes, 48); N Symmons (Loreto, 169); A O’Flynn (Hermes, 58); C Watkins (UCD, 42); L Colvin (Loreto, 76); N Daly (Loreto, 33).

Weekend fixtures

Men: Electric Ireland FIH Road to London Olympic qualifier, UCD: Korea v Russia, 10am; Chile v Ukraine, 12.30pm; Ireland v Malaysia, 3pm.

Women: Athlon FIH Road to London, Beerschot, Belgium (all times Irish): Spain v Mexico, 10am; Ireland v France, 12.30pm; Belgium v Russia, 3pm.