Stick with Malaysia!

28/02/2002

MALAYSIA had India by the jugular in the first half with three fantastic
goals but in the end, goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin was the toast of the
Malaysian camp as he saved a penalty stroke and the hosts scraped home.
After taking a three-goal lead in the first half, Malaysia started the
second on a defensive note and India knocked in two soft goals, as Paul
Lissek's men became overconfident and allowed the 1975 champions back into
the match.
A heavy downpour brought some relief from the stifling evening heat
around the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, but just as the match
was about to start, the rain stopped and sizzling action began.
As early as the second minute, even before some of the latecomers could
find seats, S. Shankar brought the roof down when he caught Indian
goalkeeper Jude Menezes having a siesta.
The move was initiated by Tajol Rosli from the right and the ball found
Chua Boon Huat who dribbled past two Indian defenders before sending a
soft pass to Shankar.
Shanker caught Menezes covering the left of his goal and tapped the ball
to the keeper's right to send the Malaysian supporters in raptures. He had
given Malaysia the lead against the odds.
India, who were held 2-2 by Japan and beaten 2-1 by the South Koreans,
found themselves trailing again ands did everything to get back into the
match. But the Malaysian defenders stood firm.
There was a moment in the sixth minute where India almost snatched the
equaliser when Baljit Singh's free hit from outside the penalty corner
crashed into goal. Dhanraj Pillay claimed that the ball deflected into
goal off his stick but umpire Steve Graham of Wales disallowed the goal.
The Indians protested and Graham consulted second umpire, Ian Faulkner
of New Zealand. Both shared the same view.
There were some well co-ordinated moves from the Malaysians after that
as they went upfront looking to increase their and were rewarded in the
19th minute.
This time, the move was initiated by Rodhanzam Radzi but before he could
make an attempt at goal, he got into a shoving match with Menezes.
Rodhanzam elbowed the keeper who in turn picked up his stick and hit
Rodhanzam in the face.
As Rodhanzam fell on the sidelines holding his face, the ball rolled to
Mirnawan Nawawi and the umpire played the advantage rule.
Mirnawan sent the ball down the Indian goalmouth for K. Logan Raj and
his brother Keevan to take off from there. Logan missed but Keevan cooly
picked it and blasted past Menezes. Malaysia 2-0.
The sky opened up again in the 24th minute of the match and play was
stopped for 37 minutes.
Upon resumption, India got off to a robust start. Baljit Singh brought
down Shankar and received a warning from the umpire. But a minute later,
Baljit was back with his antics and had Chairil Anwar rolling on the
ground this time with a knock on the Malaysian's ankle. The Indian was
sent off.
Malaysia took advantage of their numerical advantage and in the 31st
minute, Chua's pass to Mirnawan was well connected by the Malaysian
skipper. Malaysia 3-0.
The hosts, who needed to win yesterday, went on the defensive after the
breather and were punished in the 51st minute.
Daljit Singh scored a soft goal which put life back into India's play.
They further narrowed the gap off a penalty corner goal seven minutes
later through Prabhjot Singh.
India blew their chance to equalise in the 62nd minute when they were
awarded a penalty stroke after Keevan stopped the ball with his leg.
However, Indian skipper Baljit's flick was palmed away by Roslan.
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
GROUP A
ARGENTINA 4 SOUTH AFRICA 1
Mario Almada (7th) Greg Nicol (63rd)
Jorge Lombi (18th, 22nd)
Matias Vilas (70th)
HOLLAND 5 BELGIUM 1
Marten Eikelboom (15th) Maxime Luycx (54th)
Karel Klaver (20th)
Taeke Taekema (33rd, 67th)
Teun de Nooijer (44th)
PAKISTAN 2 NEW ZEALAND 0
Shahbaz Ahmad (39th)
Khalid Saleem (57th)
SPAIN 3 GERMANY 2
Eduard Tubau (26th, 47th) Bjorn Michel (68th)
Xavier Ribas (63rd) Oliver Donke (69th) GROUP B
MALAYSIA 3 INDIA 2
S. Shankar (3rd) Daljit Singh (52nd)
K. Keevan Raj (19th) Prabjot Singh (58th)
Mirnawan Nawawi (31st)
AUSTRALIA 5 POLAND 1
Jamie Dwyer (35th) Tomasz Choczaj (38th)
Michael McCann (51th, 68th)
Craig Victory (57th)
Troy Elder (60th)
ENGLAND 7 CUBA 0
Danny Hall (3rd)
Mark Pearn (4th, 34th)
Tom Bertram (5th, 57th)
Dave Mathews (19th-ps, 68th)
Jerome Goudie (32nd)
Ben Sharpe (64th)
SOUTH KOREA 3 JAPAN 0
Lee Jung-seon (23rd)
Song Seung-tae (31st, 60th)
(END)