Malaysia 2 New Zealand 0

11/05/08
MALAYSIA outclassed New Zealand in every department to win 2-0 in the 17th Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh yesterday.
The national players were a class above, and could have score at least another three, but the crowd did not mind, as a win against an Olympic side was more than enough for them.
Malaysia were a bundle of nerves for 10 minutes, and the Kiwis almost ran riot in
the semi-circle and took three pot shots which went sizzling left, then right, and the
one that went smack in the middle was saved brilliantly by goalkeeper S. Kumar. But after the close shaves, the national team settled down, New Zealand were
forced to defend for long periods, before they cracked in the 32nd minute. A cross from Amin Rahim found Chua Boon Huat's stick and the ball bounced off
Kiwi goalkeeeper Paul Wool Ford right into Azlan Misron's path. Chua moved aside, and Azlan slammed in a cracker to hand Malaysia a well
deserved lead. Otherwise, the first half saw some stout defending by New Zealand and Malaysia,
and both teams went into the dressing room without conceeding any penalty
corners. The second half was a sizzler, as New Zealand opened up looking for the
equaliser, but the Malaysian defenders Baljit Singh Charun, Jiwa Mohan and Madzli
Ikmar made the least possible mistakes. And just when the Kiwis were loking comfortable inside the Malaysian semi-circle,
a 43rd minute counter was initiated from a deep in defence by Azlan Misron, who
found Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin. Tengku released the ball to S. Selvaraju, and the
Perak-born player cooly pushed the ball in and the scoreboard read: Malaysia 2
New Zealand 0. The Kiwis tried their level best after that, but Malaysia proved that they were made of sturdier stuff, and sailed home on the two goals.
"Malaysia played very well infront of their home crowd, and it is always difficult to beat a team which scores first, and then has a strong backing from the gallary," said New Zealand coach Shane McLeod.
National coach Sarjit was not happy with the first half, and said the margin of victory could have been bigger.
"The first half was a little slow, but we had ball possession, and kept ourselves in the match. The second half was almost perfect, but for the three chances which we muffed. But that is to be expected, in a highly charged match.
"Now, we must recover from this match, and play just as well against the hard-running Argentine side tomorrow (today)," said Sarjit.