Koreans hand Malaysia a thumping

09/06/2002

AUSTRALIA ............2 INDIA ....... 1
KOREA ................3 MALAYSIA ..... 1
MALAYSIA went down for the second time to Olympic silver medallists South
Korea, losing 3-1, in the Four-Nation in Melbourne yesterday.
In the first leg in Adelaide the score was 3-0, and the only difference
yesterday was that Malaysia managed to score one goal.
Today, Malaysia will meet Korea for the third time in the placing match,
and not much is expected from the young team.
Australia will meet India in the final, and yesterday was a dress
rehearsal for the Indians who fought tooth-and-nail before losing 2-1.
Korea scored first in the eighth minute when Seok Kyo-Shin sounded the
board and the score remained until the breather as Malaysia went into a
defensive mode.
Woon Kon-Yeo made it 2-0 when he scored in the 57th minute but two
minutes later, newcomer Megat Azrafiq narrowed the gap.
But in the final minute of the match, Moon Ki Yoo scored the goal of the
game with a brilliant reverse stick hit from the top of the circle to give
Korea a healthy win.
In the Australia-India match, the 2,500 strong crowd enjoyed a tough
first half, with both teams at times looking dangerous.
The Aussies had more of the attack, but squandered opportunities, the
final pass often disappointing after some excellent build-ups.
The improved Indian lineup was dangerous on the counter attack, and
although the Australians earned two penalty corners in the first half,
India had more shots at goal.
An excellent save by goalkeeper Mark Hickman ensured that Australia went
into the dressing room on equal terms.
But two minutes into the second half, skipper Paul Gaudoin sent in a
free hit into the circle and Michael McCann pounced on the rebound to tap
in a goal.
Both teams created some good chances after that, and India equalised off
a Jugraj Singh penalty corner in the 47th minute.
Troy Elder found the net nine minutes later when he connected home a
Jamie Dwyer pass.
Australian coach Colin Batch acknowledged that the match was very close:
"It was a very tough game, and India has improved over the two
tournaments. We expected a hard game today (yesterday), and that is
certainly what we got. We expect a real battle in the final."
Melbourne - Today: 3rd-4th - Malaysia v South Korea; Final: Australia v
India.
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