May 16, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 28, 1428

LAHORE, May 15: Pakistan football captain Zahid Hameed on Tuesday said his team was not threatened by the superior ranking of Bahrain in international soccer and will try their best to score a victory in the Olympic Games second round qualifying match here on Wednesday at the Punjab stadium.

“The win at Jalan Besar (Singapore) and Lahore against Singapore infused lot of fighting spirit among our players but the subsequent four losses at the hands of Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar has put us on the back foot,” stated Zahid candidly. “But the boys have now shrugged off the nightmarish run and are ready for the upcoming challenge,” he told newsmen on the eve of the match here on Tuesday.

He said it was good to see his team competing in the qualifiers alongwith Asian powerhouse sides such as Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, South Korean and Japan.

“We have faced some top teams including Asian champion Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain and we have given our best in the matches to produce good results,” said a confident-looking Zahid. “This time too we are prepared to do our best for a win.”

Pakistan manager Irfan Niazi said that the players played like a unit during the home and away ties against Singapore but they were unlucky to loose against their Arab opponents this year.

“Now we have called-up new players including the London-born Kashif Siddiqi as re-enforcement. Pakistani team is poised to give a better display on Wednesday,” he added.

Talking about his strategy on Bahrain clash, Irfan who is a gold medallist from Colombo's South Asian Games last year, said that the hosts would be looking to beef up the defence and will try and play attacking game from the outset. “Bahrain is very strong opposition they rate among 100 in FIFA Ranking as opposed to our 184th spot.”— APP