Pakistan have managed to join England as two teams from Pool A secured their berth in the 2006 BDO World Cup in Germany. From Pool B New Zealand became the third team to gain automatic qualification.
ON DAY EIGHT at the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Changzhou (China) on Wednesday Pakistan were held to a two-all draw by minnows Ireland in day's second match.
At the outset, Pakistan were well aware that all they required was a draw against Ireland and by succeeding in getting that result it made the latter's task pretty difficult. The Irish needed the three points to ensure they would be playing off for places 5-8 and with it still have a chance to qualify.
As it turned out to be, the Pakistani's from the push-off set about trying to build a lead, which they did in the 10th minute when defender Dilawar Hussain pushed forward and netted a field goal.
But then, the introduction of Stephen Butler came up trumps for the Irish with him scoring via a quick flicked shot from the right of the circle, which narrowly brushed into the citadel after a deflection from goalkeeper Salman Akbar's pads.
The overjoyed Butler pumped his fist towards the bench in celebration of scoring, but he wasn't finished there, netting his second in the 32nd minute courtesy of a penalty corner drag flick, giving Ireland the halftime lead.
Nonetheless, Pakistan were determined not to let their place in Germany slip though, and were able to restore parity shortly after the breather with Rehan Butt netting from a goalmouth melee. There was some doubt as to whether the cross was raised into the circle, but the Irish protests drew a blank as the goal was allowed to stand.
Then smartly and uncharacteristically, Pakistan held possession for much of the last 15 minutes with patient defensive work knowing that the draw was enough and enough was as good as a feast.
ENGLAND WIN: The last day of pool action with England taking on fellow Europeans Belgium. While Belgium could be content with a draw to secure direct qualification, England needed to win to make the top two of pool A.
With less than four minutes on the clock, Barry Middleton made a run through the middle, passing the ball to Matt Daly on the left, who blasted a shot into the side netting from a 45 degree angle.
CANADA TRIUMPH: Canada recorded their first points of the tournament, beating a defiant Egypt 2-1, ending both sides' dreams of qualifying for Germany later this year.
KIWIS GAIN BERTH: New Zealand became the third team to book a trip to Germany after recording a 4-2 win over Malaysia, but they have the Japanese to thank for the chance to do it.
New Zealand celebrated their place in Monchengladbach by doing the Haka, a New Zealand tribal dance, in front of the crowd.
COLLATED RESULTS:
Pakistan 2 drew with Ireland 2
Goals: Pakistan - Dilawar Hussain FG 7m, Rehan Butt FG 42m. Ireland - Stephen Butler FG 21m PC 32m.
England 1 beat Belgium 0
Goals: England - Matt Daly FG 4m
Canada 2 beat Egypt 1
Goals: Canada - Connor Grimes FG 14m, Rob Short PC 28m, Egypt - Hassan Mohamed FG 46m
New Zealand 4 beat Malaysia 2
Goals: New Zealand - Lloyd Stephenson FG 17m, Simon Child FG 35m, Hayden Shaw PC 39m, Bevan Hari FG 65m, Malaysia - Ahmad Tenghu FG 13m, Kuhan Shanmuganathan PC 48m
Japan 5 beat France 3
Goals: Japan - Kenichi Katayama FG 8m, Takahiko Yamabori PC 21m, Akira Ito FG 41m, Kazuhiro Tsubouchi PC 52m, Yutaka Bito PS 69m, France - Antoine Gouedard-Comte FG 11m, Nicolas Gaillard FG 24m FG 27m
STANDINGS:
Read as: matches played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points
POOL A:
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P W D L GF GA PTS
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England 5 4 0 1 19 8 12
Pakistan 5 3 2 0 10 7 11
Belgium 5 3 1 1 9 5 10
Ireland 5 1 1 3 7 12 4
Canada 5 1 0 4 6 10 3
Egypt 5 1 0 4 8 17 3
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Pool B
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Korea 5 3 2 0 12 6 11
New Zealand 5 3 1 1 15 11 10
Japan 5 3 0 2 14 13 9
France 5 2 2 1 17 13 8
Malaysia 5 1 0 4 6 12 3
China 5 0 1 4 6 15 1
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