Malaysia remain unbeaten

MALAYSIA topped the Group B table on nine points, after they beat Russia 4-3 in the Champions Challenge II in Dublin, Ireland yesterday.
However, at press time, Poland and Ireland had to play in Group A, and Malaysia’s opponents in the last-four could not be determined.
Malaysia took a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from Ismail Abu and Hafifi Hafiz.
Malaysia earned their first penalty corner in the eight minute, and Ismail deflected in a set-piece to take the lead.
And in the 29th minute, it was Hafifi’s turn to increase the lead off a field attempt.
But in their haste to score, Malaysia forgot to defend and were punished early in the second half.
Russia scored two quick goal in the second half, and drew level. However, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin made it 3-2 with another penalty corner set-piece in the 53rd minute, but the Russians equalised again.
The winner was scored by Junior World Cup player Faizal Shaari in the 66th minute.
“The defenders lost concentration in the second half, and an easy match became difficult. We did well to win all the pool matches, and the real test will be in the semi-finals,” said team manager George Koshy.

RESULTS: Group A: Japan 4 Chile 3, Poland 3 Ireland 2; Group B: Malaysia 4 Russia 3, Austria 1 France 5.

FINAL STANDINGS
GROUP A

P W D L F A Pts
Poland 3 3 0 0 9 6 9
Ireland 3 2 0 1 8 3 6
Japan 3 1 0 2 6 9 3
Chile 3 0 0 3 5 10 0

GROUP B
P W D L F A Pts
Malaysia 3 3 0 0 11 7 9
France 3 2 0 1 12 8 6
Russia 3 0 1 2 10 13 1
Austria 3 0 1 2 7 12 1


SATURDAY: Semi-finals: Malaysia v Ireland (12 midnight Malaysian time), Poland v France.
Fifth-Eight: Japan v Austria, Russia v Chile.