Malaysia fourth again..

MALAYSIA'S quest to lay their hands on the Asia Cup bronze fell flat, as Pakistan played with more zest to claim it on a 3-1 score at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh yesterday.
   The hosts, who had qualified for the World Cup, were beaten in all departments by Pakistan who will sit out their first World Cup since its inception in 1971.
    "I am disappointed with the way we finished in this tournament as there was someting lacking in attack and also our penalty corners conversion rate was at its worst.
   "Something needs to be done in these two areas (finishing and penalty corners) if we want to achieve results in future," said Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
   Coach Paul Revington echoed the sentiments: "Yes, the penalty corner conversion rate was not as expected but Razie (Rahim) and Faizal (Saari's) shoulders are sore from flicking in this tournament.
    "Once they recover, we will work on them further to improve their flicks," said Revington.
    The first overhead flick won Malaysia a penalty corner in the first minute, but Razie Rahim's attempt was deflected by goalkeeper Salman Akbar and the ball hit the top bar and sailed out.
   And in the second minute, the clouds opened up and heavy rain made play much more difficult.
    Malaysia had lost 4-1 to Pakistan in the group stages, but looked much more dangerous than Pakistan in the bronze battle. Only heavy rain made it difficult for both sides to score.
   For the record, Malaysia lost the Asia Cup bronze medal  to China in the last edition in Kuantan 7-6 on penalty strokes after being held 3-3 in regulation time.
    The heavy rain never let up in the first half, making hitting and pushing almost impossible as Malaysia  keep defending penalty corners, and reduced to counter attacks in the final five minutes.
    Faizal Saari finally gave Malaysia the lead in the 34th minute with a diving attempt, but right after the restart, Pakistan's Haseem Khan nailed the equaliser with a field attempt, as the scoreboard clock showed seven seconds to half-time.
   After the breather, the rain finally stops, and Pakistan move forward to increase their lead. And they finally score in the 54nd minute off their fifth penalty corner when Muhammed Imran sent in a powerful drive.
     More misery crept into the Malaysian bench, as immediately after the restart, a Malaysian goal was disallowed, while in the 56th minute, Razie Rahim scores an own goal to make the score 3-1 for Pakistan.
   And in the following minutes, Pakistan goalkeeper Salman Akbar brings out five super saves to send Malaysia reeling on their knees.