MALAYSIA came back from two goals down to hold Asian champions South Korea to a 2-2 draw in a highly dramatic Azlan Shah Cup matc in Ipoh yesterday.
With seven players earning their first caps in this tournament, nobody would have expected Malaysia to hold an experienced Korean side but they did it with sheer determination, and great help from goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman, who only earned his second cap yesterday, but was named as man-of-the match for his saves which kept Malaysia in the match until the second half fight-back.
Malaysia started on an unfortunate note as skipper and most experienced player on the field Azlan Misron went out for a nose bleed treatment, and the Koreans nailed the lead while he was out.
Defender Azlan, with 325 caps, took a nasty hit on the nose, and in his absense, the young Malaysian back-line collapsed and in the 10th minute, Oh Dae Keun perfected a one-two and scored.
Malaysia tried their best for the equaliser, but bungled at the final touch on numerous occassions, with experienced striker Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin missing the best chance in the 24th minute when he too a wild shot even though there was no pressure on him.
On the other side, Azlan Shah Cup debutant goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman, 22, brought out a handful of super saves to keep Malaysia in the match as the clock ticked towards the half-time.
However, with five more minutes to the half-time, Oh Dae Keun nailed his brace when he connected home a cross and Malaysia went into the dressing with a mammoth task to salvage the game, as they only had one shot at goal and no penalty corner to show after 35 minutes.
The national players put up a brace front after the breather, but 50 minutes into the match, they still failed to find the break as Korean defenders made no mistakes in their own semi-cirle to award Malaysia a penalty corner or a clear shot at goal.
However, the fire was ignited in the 56th minute when Firtri Saari finally went solo and won Malaysia's first penalty corner. The corner was almost botched by poor stopping, but Shahril Saabah took it on his own accord to salvage it by scoring a reverse stick goal.
With 11 minutes remaining on the clock, the possibilities opened up for the young Malaysian side.
And they attacked like men on a mission, and finally got their act together to win the second penalty corner in the 65th and Faizal Saari nailed the equaliser with a high flick, and shared the spoils with mighty Korea.
Malaysian coach K. Dharmaraj was pleased with his youth power: "When we went into the dressing room 0-2 down, I told them we have nothing to lose and to start playing an attacking game as we have young legs to run down the Koreans and it worked.
"Against Canada, we will also be looking for a win as now we have a better chance of playing in the final now after holding Korea to a draw," said Dharmaraj.
Malaysia meet Canada today, and coach Anthony Farry said he was warry of the speedy Malaysians: "I was not around for the series (friendlies where Malaysian won 6-1, 5-1 and lost 5-4 to Canada in Malacca before the Azlan Shah Cup) but from what I have watched on video, they have great trapping skills and are very fast so I expect another tough match."
In another match, defending champions Australia cruised to a 6-0 victory over Canada to further consolidate their chances of lifting their eighth Azlan Shah Cup title since its inception in 1983.
The Aussie goals were scored by Glenn Simpson (10th), Jeremy Hayward (26th), Nicholas Budgeon (34th), Russlee Ford (46th), Jacob Whetton (53rd, 63rd).
RESULTS: Australia 6 Canada 0, Malaysia x South Korea 2.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
AUSTRALIA 2 2 0 0 13 0 6
S KOREA 2 1 1 0 5 2 4
MALAYSIA 2 1 1 0 5 4 4
CHINA 2 1 0 1 5 7 3
S AFRICA 2 0 0 2 2 8 0
CANADA 2 0 0 2 0 9 0
FIXTURES
TODAY: South Africa v Australia (4pm), China v South Korea (6pm), Malaysia v Canada (8pm).
March 18: REST DAY.
March 19: Canada v South Africa (6pm), Malaysia v China (8pm).
March 20: Canada v China (6pm), South Korea v Australia (8pm).
March 21: REST DAY.
March 22: Australia v Malaysia (6pm), South Africa v South Korea (8pm).
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Aussies hit a sixer past Canada..
AZLAN SHAH CUP DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Australia cruised to a 6-0 victory over Canada to further consolidate their chances of lifting their eighth Azlan Shah Cup title since its inception in 1983.
The Aussie goals were scored by Glenn Simpson (10th), Jeremy Hayward (26th), Nicholas Budgeon (34th), Russlee Ford (46th), Jacob Whetton (53rd, 63rd).
NOTE: Australians wore black arm-band against Canada as respect for skipper Mark Knowles, whose aunty passed away due to cancer.
KNOWLES: It was a very nice gesture from my team-mates, for a hockey loving family of mine..
The Aussie goals were scored by Glenn Simpson (10th), Jeremy Hayward (26th), Nicholas Budgeon (34th), Russlee Ford (46th), Jacob Whetton (53rd, 63rd).
NOTE: Australians wore black arm-band against Canada as respect for skipper Mark Knowles, whose aunty passed away due to cancer.
KNOWLES: It was a very nice gesture from my team-mates, for a hockey loving family of mine..
Only 60 minutes for Asian Games...
THE was mixed news from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) headquarters in Lausane, Switzerland as a German-born players was allowed to represent Malaysia, while in the same breath, the governing body made massive changes to the sport for the Asian Games.
Kevin Lim, who holds a Malaysian mykad, last played for UniKL in the Malaysia Hockey League in 2011 and then turned up in Perth when Malaysian went for a playing Tour there recently and impressed coach K. Dharmaraj.
As for the Asian Games, the FIH aanouced that there will be a new format where teams will play four quarters of 15 minutes each, with a break of two minutes for the first and third quarters, as well as commercial breaks. This will cut regular playing time from 70 minutes, to 60 minutes only.
And while coach K. Dharmaraj was happy with news of Kevin, he was still grappling with the change in format for the Asian Games.
"I was impressed with Kevin when he came for an unofficial trial with the Malaysian side during our Tour of Perth recently, and he should be able to make the team for the Champions Challenge in Kuantan (April 26-May 4) now that the FIH have approved and cleared our application to field him," said Dharmaraj.
Kevin, 27, was not impressive when he played for UniKL in 2011, but according to Dharmaraj, he is now a much better player.
"I was also not impressed with his performance with UniKL back then, but now, Kevin has become a much better player and I believe he would be an asset to Malaysia in the Champions Challenge," said Dharmaraj.
As for the new format, Dharmaraj said: "With playing tme cut by 10 minutes, there will be very little room to make mistakes as making a comeback from a goal down would be much more harder now. And I don't understand why the change was only made for the Asian Games, which is a qualifier for the Olympics, and not for the Champions Challenge, World Cup and the Commonwealth Games which would also be held this year."
Malaysia will be battling for the sole Asian Games ticket to the Olympics against South Korea, Pakistan, India, China and Japan.
Kevin Lim, who holds a Malaysian mykad, last played for UniKL in the Malaysia Hockey League in 2011 and then turned up in Perth when Malaysian went for a playing Tour there recently and impressed coach K. Dharmaraj.
As for the Asian Games, the FIH aanouced that there will be a new format where teams will play four quarters of 15 minutes each, with a break of two minutes for the first and third quarters, as well as commercial breaks. This will cut regular playing time from 70 minutes, to 60 minutes only.
And while coach K. Dharmaraj was happy with news of Kevin, he was still grappling with the change in format for the Asian Games.
"I was impressed with Kevin when he came for an unofficial trial with the Malaysian side during our Tour of Perth recently, and he should be able to make the team for the Champions Challenge in Kuantan (April 26-May 4) now that the FIH have approved and cleared our application to field him," said Dharmaraj.
Kevin, 27, was not impressive when he played for UniKL in 2011, but according to Dharmaraj, he is now a much better player.
"I was also not impressed with his performance with UniKL back then, but now, Kevin has become a much better player and I believe he would be an asset to Malaysia in the Champions Challenge," said Dharmaraj.
As for the new format, Dharmaraj said: "With playing tme cut by 10 minutes, there will be very little room to make mistakes as making a comeback from a goal down would be much more harder now. And I don't understand why the change was only made for the Asian Games, which is a qualifier for the Olympics, and not for the Champions Challenge, World Cup and the Commonwealth Games which would also be held this year."
Malaysia will be battling for the sole Asian Games ticket to the Olympics against South Korea, Pakistan, India, China and Japan.
Hafiz: Promising goalkeeper..
HAFIZUDDIN Othman, 22, earned his first cap when Malaysia beat South Africa 2-1, and the young goalkeeper earned praise from many for his brave performance in his Azlan Shah Cup debut in Ipoh on Thursday.
And goalkeeper's coach M. Nadarajan, who has been training him since his junior days, was also full of praise for this prodige.
"Hafiz did exceptionally well in the Junior World Cup (where Malaysia finished fourth) and his debut with the senior side was also laudable as he did not freeze and played bravely when under pressure from the South African strikers. I believe he has a very bright future," said Nadarajan.
Hafizuddin was shoved into the limelight when No 1 goalkeeper S. Kumar picked up an injury while playing in the Hockey India League, while No 2 Roslan Jamaluddin is also on the croak list.
"I believe Hafiz can be a good replacement for Kumar and Roslan when both of them decided to retire from the sport, it might take more than five years as both the senior goalkeepers are also in top flight now, but Hafiz will be a good back-up in the making," said Nadarajan.
The other goalkeeper in Ipoh for the Azlan Shah Cup is Hazrul Faiz Sobri, but he has yet to earn a cap.
"Hafiz's positioning as well as his ability to judge the ball was good against South Africa, and the first goal he let in went past the postman, while the second should have been stopped by him, but that sometimes happens in a game," said Nadarajan.
Both the South African penalty corner goals were off low pushes which sounded the board, and more experienced postmen like Razie Rahim and first runner Baljit Singh might have been able to judge the ball better. But both of them are on the injured list, and young players took over their jobs.
Today is a rest day, and Malaysia play their most crucil match tomorrow against Asian Games champions South Korea.
Skipper Azlan Misron knows he will have his hands full, but will be gunning for a victory: "Well you can say that we need to beat South Korea at all cost because it will open our passage into the final a bit wider. But having said that, it will not be an easy match, as the Koreans have brought a very experienced side," said Azlan.
The least number of caps on the Korean team list is 59, while 11 of them have caps ranging from 100 over to over 200.
But if Hafizuddin and his six other mates, who are making their Azlan Shah Cup debut, play to their capabilities, the Koreans can be stunned.
The only worry is the ability to score off penalty corners, as from the 12 that Malaysian won against South Africa, 11 were wasted.
South Korean coach Shin Seok Kyo is wary of the Malaysian youth brigade: "I notice may new faces in the Malaysian team, but still, they are very fast and have wonderful individual skills. But ince our target is to play in the final, it is very important for us to win this match on Sunday."
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
AUSTRALIA 1 1 0 0 7 0 3
S KOREA 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
MALAYSIA 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
CHINA 2 1 0 1 5 7 3
S AFRICA 2 0 0 2 2 8 0
CANADA 1 0 0 1 0 3 0
FIXTURES
March 16: Australia v Canada (6pm), South Korea v Malaysia (8pm).
March 17: South Africa v Australia (4pm), China v South Korea (6pm), Malaysia v Canada (8pm).
March 18: REST DAY.
March 19: Canada v South Africa (6pm), Malaysia v China (8pm).
March 20: Canada v China (6pm), South Korea v Australia (8pm).
March 21: REST DAY.
March 22: Australia v Malaysia (6pm), South Africa v South Korea (8pm).
And goalkeeper's coach M. Nadarajan, who has been training him since his junior days, was also full of praise for this prodige.
"Hafiz did exceptionally well in the Junior World Cup (where Malaysia finished fourth) and his debut with the senior side was also laudable as he did not freeze and played bravely when under pressure from the South African strikers. I believe he has a very bright future," said Nadarajan.
Hafizuddin was shoved into the limelight when No 1 goalkeeper S. Kumar picked up an injury while playing in the Hockey India League, while No 2 Roslan Jamaluddin is also on the croak list.
"I believe Hafiz can be a good replacement for Kumar and Roslan when both of them decided to retire from the sport, it might take more than five years as both the senior goalkeepers are also in top flight now, but Hafiz will be a good back-up in the making," said Nadarajan.
The other goalkeeper in Ipoh for the Azlan Shah Cup is Hazrul Faiz Sobri, but he has yet to earn a cap.
"Hafiz's positioning as well as his ability to judge the ball was good against South Africa, and the first goal he let in went past the postman, while the second should have been stopped by him, but that sometimes happens in a game," said Nadarajan.
Both the South African penalty corner goals were off low pushes which sounded the board, and more experienced postmen like Razie Rahim and first runner Baljit Singh might have been able to judge the ball better. But both of them are on the injured list, and young players took over their jobs.
Today is a rest day, and Malaysia play their most crucil match tomorrow against Asian Games champions South Korea.
Skipper Azlan Misron knows he will have his hands full, but will be gunning for a victory: "Well you can say that we need to beat South Korea at all cost because it will open our passage into the final a bit wider. But having said that, it will not be an easy match, as the Koreans have brought a very experienced side," said Azlan.
The least number of caps on the Korean team list is 59, while 11 of them have caps ranging from 100 over to over 200.
But if Hafizuddin and his six other mates, who are making their Azlan Shah Cup debut, play to their capabilities, the Koreans can be stunned.
The only worry is the ability to score off penalty corners, as from the 12 that Malaysian won against South Africa, 11 were wasted.
South Korean coach Shin Seok Kyo is wary of the Malaysian youth brigade: "I notice may new faces in the Malaysian team, but still, they are very fast and have wonderful individual skills. But ince our target is to play in the final, it is very important for us to win this match on Sunday."
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
AUSTRALIA 1 1 0 0 7 0 3
S KOREA 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
MALAYSIA 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
CHINA 2 1 0 1 5 7 3
S AFRICA 2 0 0 2 2 8 0
CANADA 1 0 0 1 0 3 0
FIXTURES
March 16: Australia v Canada (6pm), South Korea v Malaysia (8pm).
March 17: South Africa v Australia (4pm), China v South Korea (6pm), Malaysia v Canada (8pm).
March 18: REST DAY.
March 19: Canada v South Africa (6pm), Malaysia v China (8pm).
March 20: Canada v China (6pm), South Korea v Australia (8pm).
March 21: REST DAY.
March 22: Australia v Malaysia (6pm), South Africa v South Korea (8pm).
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