Same old story...

MALAYSIA dished out another pathetic performance, as they stuck to their 35-second syndrome plot and lost 3-2 to New Zealand in the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh yesterday.
The defeat, their fourth consecutive, have almost doomed them of finishing last in the seven-team tournament which will give them an undeserved rest on Sunday.
It was another inconsistent performance, as Malaysia only had four shots at goal, and one penalty corner to show after 70 minutes of running like headless chickens.
New Zealand took the lead in the 16th minute off a penalty corner set-piece when Nicolas Wilson deflected home from the penalty spot.
Malaysia came back in to the picture when Izzat Rahim took a cricket shot which went crashing onto the boards in the 30th minute and the score stood until half-time.
Stephen Jenness gave the Kiwis the lead again when he scored a field goal in the 57th minute but with two minutes remaining, Malaysia won their only penalty corner of the match and Faizal Shaari delivered.
And just as the match was heading for a draw the goal-scorer Izzat turned into a bad-boy when he made a deliberate clearance at the goal-line and the umpire awarded New Zealand a penalty corner.
Only 35 seconds remained when Izzat made the blunder,
and Steven Edwards punished Malaysia with a well placed
shot for full points.
"This (losing in the final seconds of the match) has been going on for almost a decade, and I don't have any answers for it.
"However, we played well against Australia, 35 minutes against India, and also for one half against Great Britain.
But if one does not play consistently at the international level, one would be surely punished.
"I'm building a team for the Olympic Qualifiers and we will work on the weaknesses identified here. So, give the boys a chance to pick themselves up," said Malaysian coach Tai Beng Hai.
The last minute losing syndrome was first spotted in the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and since then, Malaysia have lost many matches because of last minute lapses.
At the Azlan Shah Cup, this is the second time Malaysia lost the match in the last 35 seconds.
The first was against world No 1 Australia, as the match was 1-1 and heading for a draw but Australia won a penalty corner in the last 35 seconds of the match, and scored the winner.