Bad blood between friends turned foes
CONOR HARTE says Ireland can make all the right moves in today’s crucial men’s World Cup clash against England. A draw would be enough for Ireland to progress, while both sides could go through to the crossover phase if it ends a stalemate and Australia beat China by four goals in the earlier Pool B game. But Harte admitted that playing for anything other than victory would spell disaster for Alex Cox’s side.
‘We are just trying to win every game and make our country proud,’ said Harte. ‘That’s why we are here, it’s our World Cup final and we can’t wait to play it. Ireland could play England in a chess game in a World Cup and there would be huge interest. ‘The coaching staff have an easy job – they don’t have to get the players up for it.’
As forward Shane O’Donoghue said on the eve of their final round robin match, it would be ‘no easy ride’ in a tournament of upsets, the latest of which saw lowest-ranked France topple Olympic champions Argentina 5-3. To add further subplots, England feature three former Irish players - Ian Sloan, Mark Gleghorne and David Ames - who have switched allegiances in recent years.
At last summer’s EuroHockey Championships, England beat Ireland to reach the semi-finals after O’Donoghue received a costly 10-minute yellow card for appearing to lash out at Ames.
The 26-year-old said: ‘Those situations are always difficult as there is history between the two teams. It’s important to stay in the moment and not let the emotion catch you and play the occasion. ‘I have my views and I wasn’t too fond of what Amesy did. But it’s water under the bridge and for the crowd it will be a competitive game.’ Ireland ‘put to bed’ their 1-1 draw with China almost immediately to focus on a game in which O’Donoghue has another chance to break the Green Machine’s goals record. He said: ‘It’s about the team and being clinical and the magnitude of these games is why we play hockey. It’s going to be a cracker.’
The match will also feature Paul Gleghorne playing against his brother, Mark. Defeat or a draw would leave England, the bestfunded team in the world, without a win for the first time in World Cup history.