Dutch fight back to edge error-prone Malaysia

25/01/2002

MALAYSIA were leading 2-1 against Holland at one stage of the match but
poor backpasses robbed them of glory in the Six-Nation at the National
Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
In the end, although Malaysia lost 3-2, they did show glimpses of
brilliance which must be tapped if they want to have a good outing in the
2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup on Feb 24 to Mar 9.
The match was so close to being a Malaysian victory, but somehow, the
home side threw away what Holland had given them on a silver platter.
Holland, naturally, were lethargic in the afternoon heat, but
surprisingly Malaysia too looked like a tired lot and missed numerous
chances which could have turned the tables on the Dutch in the first half
itself.
The first dangerous move by the Dutch was in the first minute itself
when Teun de Nooijer, capped for the 200th time yesterday, made a point-
blank shot at goalkeeper Nasihin Nubli but his angle was blocked and the
ball was easily palmed out.
First choice goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin has been sitting on the bench
after the blunder against Pakistan on Sunday and for the following four
matches, Nasihin has taken the spot between the goalposts and has been
doing a great job keeping the scores low.
Holland, dangerous in the penalty corners with Bram Lomans considered as
one of the best in the world, were handed a chance in the sixth minute
after a blunder by the Malaysian forwards.
But this time Lomans was stopped on the line as K. Gobinathan stood his
ground and made a clearance.
But in the 18th minute, off their third penalty corner, Holland took the
lead. Lomans flicked and Nasihin palmed it into play again for de Nooijer
to score.
Holland stopped playing hockey after that but Malaysia failed to make
full use of the situation because they were too busy making back-passes.
Holland started the second half badly as Malaysia came out of the locker
room on a new mission, and they were rewarded in the 42nd minute when
Mirnawan Nawawi scored after picking up a loose ball off a free hit from
the top of the semicircle. It was Mirnawan's second goal of the tournament
and it injected some fire into the Malaysian game.
And after a handful of near misses, Malaysia went ahead in the 47th
minute when S. Shanker connected the ball after another free hit from the
top of the semicircle. It looked like Malaysia had the match in their
palms but a few bad decisions in midfield undid everything in the 55th
minute.
Karel Klaver robbed a poor backpass from K. Keevan Raj and was not
stopped as he made a solo attempt and it was the easiest goal in the Six-
Nation which saw the Olympic and World Cup holders come to level terms
with Malaysia.
Holland won a penalty corner three minutes later but they were stopped
and Malaysia mounted a serious counter-attack with three players in the
Dutch semicircle but Bram Lomans stopped them and the Dutch charged back
at the Malaysian goal and Jaap Derk Buma got his name on the scoresheet
with another soft goal. The score read Holland 3 Malaysia 2 and although
Malaysia made a concerted effort and fought for the equaliser in the last
10 minutes, the Dutch stood their ground.
"I am very happy with the overall performance of the team because at one
stage, they were leading the World Cup champions. My bone of contention is
with a handful of players who made us lose today.
"Keevan Raj is a very good player and in the absence of S. Kuhan (who is
down with a hamstring injury) I tried him out in midfield and he did well
until the stupid backpass which gave Holland a chance to equalise," said
national coach Paul Lissek.
He also singled out Jiwa Mohan and K. Logan Raj for not making good of
their chances: "They stood like lamp posts while the rest of their
teammates played their hearts out. This is not good for their future,"
said Lissek.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
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