Egypt 3 beat Ireland 2
Goals: Egypt – Mohamed Mohamed PC 35m PC 69m, Hassan Mohamed FG 63m, Ireland – John Jermyn FG 22m, Karl Burns PC 38m
The first match of day 6 at the World Cup Qualifier in Changzhou saw Ireland take on Egypt. Egypt were still without a point while Ireland were looking to secure a place in the 5-8 playoff with a win against their African opponents. The first surprise of the match was in the team composition, with Irish coach Dave Passmore opting to leave star player Justin Sherriff, who admittedly has not been at his best in this tournament, in the stands.
Ireland took charge from the start, and controlled ball possession and field position for the biggest part of the first half. They had severe trouble penetrating the circle though, and hardly managed shots on goals. In the 22nd minute however, John Jermyn, who put in another great performance today, was able to take advantage of a good pass from David Hobbs to hammer home for 1-0 from a narrow angle.
Both teams started to show nerves now, discussing amongst themselves, protesting umpires’ decisions, and playing more and more roughly. Soon enough, Egyptian captain Amrou Metwalli had to leave the field after a yellow card, but instead of Ireland making use of their advantage, it was Egypt who scored the much awaited equalizer with less than a minute on the clock before halftime when Mohamed Mohamed converted a penalty corner with a low flick to the left.
Egypt started into the second half much in the same fashion they had ended the first, continually arguing and complaining. Thus distracted, they gave away a short corner shortly after the break, and Ireland used their opportunity wisely. Stephen Butler’s flick was repelled by Mohamed Omran, but Karl Burns was there to hit in a rebound for his first ever international goal.
A minute later, Egypt had to take another sendoff with a yellow card for Ahmed Mandour, and were now two men down, but eventually only for a few seconds, as Metwalli was called back onto the field immediately after.
Ireland in this phase had many opportunities but failed to capitalize on them to secure their lead. They were punished in the 62nd minute when Egypt used their very first chance in the second half for the equalizer, scored by Hassan Mohamed with a brilliant reverse stick shot that went through in between Charlie Henderson’s legs.
Egypt were now on a roll, winning a string of penalty corners, and converting one of them as Mohamed Mohamed sunk his second of the day on a short corner rebound. There were less than two minutes on the clock, and despite Egypt having another player yellow-carded in that time, Ireland could not get their World Cup ambitions back on course.
After the hooter, the Egyptians enthusiastically celebrated their win, which keeps them in the running for Monchengladbach - with a win over Canada in their last pool match, they would likely make the 5-8 playoff.
Belgium 1 beat Canada 0
Goals: Belgium – Jerome Truyens FG 2m
Belgium went into the match looking to solidify their current good position in the battle for the berths in the World Cup later this year, while Canada’s ambitions were simply to win their first points and possibly get away from the last place in the table.
The European team had the better start in their endeavours, with a goal scored by Jerome Truyens barely two minutes into the game. After that, spectators were in for a dull match, a lot of back and forth but few goalscoring chances, a lot of cards and skirmishes. The most interesting part of the match was probably a fight that almost broke out in the Belgian circle after a clash between Mike Lee and Jean-Philippe Brule but was ended before it really started.
The match eventually ended 1-0, Truyens’ 2nd minute goal a little unexpectedly proving to be the decider. Both teams’ performances today are nothing to be content with, but Belgium certainly got the better end, bagging three points from the encounter.
Belgium are now in an excellent position to finish in the top two of their pool, while Canada are in dire straits. Still without a point after four matches, it looks like this tournament will not be the longed for redress for the dismal 9th place finish in the recent Commonwealth Games.
Pakistan 3 beat England 2
Goals: Pakistan – Mudassar Ali Khan FG 24m, Rehan Butt PC 26m, Muhammad Saqlain FG 60m, England – Richard Mantell PC 20m, Simon Mantell FG 50m
The last match of day 6 in Changzhou brought together England and Pakistan to do battle over the table lead. England had the chance to prematurely secure qualification for the World Cup with a win, while Pakistan was keen to make points and improve their standing in the race for the berths in the semifinals.
As expected, both teams showed skillful, fast-paced action from the beginning of what was to become one of the best matches in the event. England was the one to get on the scoreboard first, with Richard Mantell converting a penalty corner with his trademark dragflick.
In the 24th minute however, Pakistan drew the score level with what easily was one of the best goals in this tournament so far. A solo run got Ghanzafar Ali into the far right corner of the field, from where he launched a brilliant, precise pass into the circle for Mudassar Khan who stopped and whacked the ball home in one fluid motion, leaving England goalkeeper James Fair without a chance to react.
No two minutes later, Pakistan found the net again, with Rehan Butt deflecting a penalty corner hit near the right post for Pakistan to go 2-1 up. The teams went into halftime at this score, both having played very well, but especially Pakistan who today appeared in their usual form, in stark contrast to the mediocre performances in their earlier games.
When action resumed for the second half, England were determined to get theirs back and played offensively, creating some good chances. Pakistan were also able to get some opportunities, but the scales tipped slightly in favor of the English, who were rewarded in the 50th minute with a Simon Mantell goal with a great run into the circle, outplaying goalkeeper Akbar and finishing off with a shot along the ground on an open goal.
But ten minutes later, Pakistan were able to take the lead again, when team captain Muhammad Saqlain scored after a pass back from the back line. Little later, Saqlain went down in an incident in midfield and subsequently had to be stretchered off, which prompted numerous players to run together for heated arguments and a fair amount of pushing and shoving. Two yellow cards were the result, given to James Tindall for the original challenge on Saqlain and Muhammad Shabbir for charging in.
Nerves were now fraying and tempers flaring, and another yellow card soon followed for Mudassar Khan, but no more goals could be scored by either side. Pakistan hung on to the 3-2, and are now in an excellent position to put themselves in the top two of the group: they need no more than a draw to make it without depending on the result of the encounter between England and Belgium.
Tomorrow Tuesday, pool B will play and pool A will rest, before pool action finishes on Wednesday with all teams in action.
