BHUBANESWAR: Australia’s quest for a record hat-trick of titles started with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ireland in the opening Pool ‘B’ match of the Hockey World Cup here on Friday.

Having won the back-to-back World Cups in 2010 and 2014, world no.1 Australia came into the ongoing tournament as a firm favourite but they were far from impressive and were made to toil hard by Ireland in their opener.

Blake Govers and Tim Brand scored for the winners, while Ireland’s lone goal came from the sticks of Shane O’Donoghue.

Govers put Australia ahead in the 11th minute at the Kalinga Stadium when he fired a drag flick past the goalie. But the joy was short-lived as O’Donogue equalised just two minutes later after he was set up by Sean Murray.

Australia restored their lead four minutes after the breather through Brand. Corey Weyer’s workmanship in the midfield finally helped Australia when his inch-perfect through ball found Brand unmarked inside the box and the striker scored from his second attempt.

Towards the end, Ireland tried to equalise but failed and Australia clinched the issue.

The other pool match saw China claim a stunning 2-2 draw against England.China took a shock lead when Guo Xiaoping showed superb skills along the backline before flicking above the right arm of the onrushing George Pinner in the fifth minute.

England responded well, with Mark Gleghorne’s 14th-minute penalty corner drag-flick levelling the scores before taking the lead when in the 48th when Liam Ansell stole possession from a China defender before unleashing a stunning backhand strike into bottom corner.

However, there was to be one final twist in the tale. With less than two minutes remaining, China scored a dramatic equaliser thanks to a powerful penalty corner drag-flick from Du Talake, whose effort found a way into the England goal to give the competition’s second lowest ranked team a terrific point in their first ever World Cup match.

PAKISTAN FACE GERMAN TEST

On Saturday, Pakistan begin their campaign in Pool ‘D’ against Germany while the Netherlands face Malaysia.

“Germany is a tough team and we haven’t played them for a long time,” Pakistan coach Tauqeer Dar said. “We had a few hiccups before the tournament but we never lost focus.

“The boys have put in a lot of effort. There may be many drawbacks in our hockey structure but this team is united and aiming for a common goal. They have overcome many hurdles and are ready to take on more in the near future.”

The four-time champions have witnessed a steady decline over the last few decades and are the lowest-ranked team in the group. Dar said their aim would be to win one match and ensure a spot in the cross-overs.

“Despite the uncertainty we kept on preparing to the best of our abilities. We just need to win one match to survive in the pool,” he said after the team made it to the World Cup after sponsors stepped in the eleventh hour to ensure their participation.

Pakistan and two-time champions Germany have met eight times at the World Cup with the former prevailing on five occasions while the latter winning thrice.

Germany too have been going through a lean period. They finished fourth at last year’s European Championships — their first out of podium finish at the biennial event since 2007.

“It’s great to play against a team with such a great history again,” Germany captain Martin Häner said. “I haven’t played against Pakistan for quite a while and it is always a challenge to play against such skillful players. We’ve had a good preparation and we’re confident that we are ready for a great opener against Pakistan.”

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2018