Ireland 7-a-side team face must-win game in bid for Paralympic qualification

Crunch time for the Boys in Green

Day one of the Ireland football team's bid to qualify for the 2016 Paralympics didn't go so well, but they have a chance to make up for the opening loss when they face Australia on Thursday. The Irish lads suffered a 8-1 defeat to Russia in their first game of the Cerebral Palsy 7-a-side Football World Championships on Tuesday, and have just over 24 hours to recover before their next game. The tournament, being held in the UK this week, is our only chance to get a team to 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, and a spot in Brazil next year will be secure if we can reach the q-finals. But if we're to have any hope of doing that then a win against Australia is a must on Thursday afternoon. Russia were the top seeds in our group and manager Barry Ferguson is hopeful of a much improved performance in tomorrow's 1pm kick-off,

“We always knew this was going to be a huge test as it proved to be. They’re the number one seed in the group, and in the tournament. Obviously no one likes to concede as many as we did today but there were positives we’ll take away. They are a fantastic team and they are at the level we strive to reach. We are really looking forward to the challenge Australia will bring on Thursday.”

Our final group game is against Portugal on Saturday with the Q-finals underway on the 24th of June. H/T to Paralympics.ie