STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
INDIA 5 3 1 1 14 13 10
MALAYSIA 5 2 2 1 15 7 8
KOREA 4 2 1 1 14 7 7
AUSTRALIA 4 2 1 1 14 10 7
PAKISTAN 4 1 2 1 16 14 5
CHINA 4 1 1 2 11 13 4
EGYPT 4 0 0 4 1 20 0
RESULTS: Australia 5 Pakistan 5, China 5 Egypt 1, India 2 Malaysia 5.
TODAY: Pakistan v Egypt (4.05pm), Australia v South Korea (6.05pm), China v Malaysia (8.05pm).
TOMORROW: REST DAY.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Malaysia go on five-goal rampage
MALAYSIA played at a fast-foward pace for 70 minutes to hammer India 5-2 in the 19th Azlan Shah Cup infront of a capacity crowd in Ipoh last night.
The win boosted Malaysia's chance of a good finish, as they end their pool fixtures against China today.
Before the match started, Pakistan had already done Malaysia a favour by holding Australia to a 5-5 draw.
Australia were leading 4-1 by the 40th minute, but a determined push drew them level, and the Green Shirts could have even won the match, if not for two attempts that hit the post, and a near miss in the last three seconds of the match.
Australia ended up with seven points, and will play another tough match against South Korea, who also have seven points, today to determine their fortunes in this tournament.
Malaysia started on a confident note, and kept the ball for long periods, and waited paitently before mounting counter-attacks. And in the fourth minute, Tajol Rosli won a penalty corner after a solo run.
However, Razie Rahim's attempt was palmed away with ease by India goalkeeper Bharat Chetri.
Malaysia received an early blow when stout defender Razie went off in the 15th minute for a cut on his face.
And right after he went out for treatment, Malaysia were awarded their second penalty corner but Faizal Saari's attempt was also stopped by Bharat.
Malaysia received another chance to take the lead when Amit Prabhakar deliberately brought down Faizal Saari in the 27th minute.
This time, Amin Rahim was given the chance, and his powerfull knee-high drag-flick grazed the pads of Bharat and went crashing into the board for the much sought-after lead, which held into the breather.
India tried to get back into the match and were awarded their third penalty corner, but goalkeeper S. Kumar brought off a great save, and Malaysia immediately mounted a sizzler of a counter, and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin dribbled two defenders, and from an acute angle slammed in a reverse stick shot which went crashing into the net in the 39th minute.
The crowd went wild, and so did the Malaysian players who broke into the India semi-circle right after the re-start, and this time defender Razie Rahim slammed in the third goal, also off a reverse stick attempt, in the 41st minute.
But India refused to be broken and in the 44th minute, Danish Mujtaba pulled one back off a penalty corner attempt.
The night seemed to belong to Malaysia, who won their fifth penalty corner in the 47th minute, and Amin Rahim scored his brace and Malaysia's fourth goal with ease.
There were only 15 minutes remaining for Malaysia to pull off a great victory, and instead of defending, they went on the attack and in the 60th minute, a one-two between Azlan Misron and Azreen Rizal saw the latter slam in the fifth goal from close range and India were truly beaten.
Ravi Pal scored India's second in the 68th minute, but it was too late to salvage the match.
The win boosted Malaysia's chance of a good finish, as they end their pool fixtures against China today.
Before the match started, Pakistan had already done Malaysia a favour by holding Australia to a 5-5 draw.
Australia were leading 4-1 by the 40th minute, but a determined push drew them level, and the Green Shirts could have even won the match, if not for two attempts that hit the post, and a near miss in the last three seconds of the match.
Australia ended up with seven points, and will play another tough match against South Korea, who also have seven points, today to determine their fortunes in this tournament.
Malaysia started on a confident note, and kept the ball for long periods, and waited paitently before mounting counter-attacks. And in the fourth minute, Tajol Rosli won a penalty corner after a solo run.
However, Razie Rahim's attempt was palmed away with ease by India goalkeeper Bharat Chetri.
Malaysia received an early blow when stout defender Razie went off in the 15th minute for a cut on his face.
And right after he went out for treatment, Malaysia were awarded their second penalty corner but Faizal Saari's attempt was also stopped by Bharat.
Malaysia received another chance to take the lead when Amit Prabhakar deliberately brought down Faizal Saari in the 27th minute.
This time, Amin Rahim was given the chance, and his powerfull knee-high drag-flick grazed the pads of Bharat and went crashing into the board for the much sought-after lead, which held into the breather.
India tried to get back into the match and were awarded their third penalty corner, but goalkeeper S. Kumar brought off a great save, and Malaysia immediately mounted a sizzler of a counter, and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin dribbled two defenders, and from an acute angle slammed in a reverse stick shot which went crashing into the net in the 39th minute.
The crowd went wild, and so did the Malaysian players who broke into the India semi-circle right after the re-start, and this time defender Razie Rahim slammed in the third goal, also off a reverse stick attempt, in the 41st minute.
But India refused to be broken and in the 44th minute, Danish Mujtaba pulled one back off a penalty corner attempt.
The night seemed to belong to Malaysia, who won their fifth penalty corner in the 47th minute, and Amin Rahim scored his brace and Malaysia's fourth goal with ease.
There were only 15 minutes remaining for Malaysia to pull off a great victory, and instead of defending, they went on the attack and in the 60th minute, a one-two between Azlan Misron and Azreen Rizal saw the latter slam in the fifth goal from close range and India were truly beaten.
Ravi Pal scored India's second in the 68th minute, but it was too late to salvage the match.
Pakistan hold world champs in 10-goal thriller
By Azlanshahcup.comWorld champions Australia were held to a 5-5 draw at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and it makes their chances to make the final a lot more difficult now.
The Aussies had taken a 4-1 lead at one stage but Pakistan came back fighting despite being down by two goals in the last nine minutes and could have even won it in the dying seconds if not for Mohamad Zubair’s miss.
Australia was all over the Pakistan in the opening minutes but it took them 11 minutes to open their accounts via Timothy Bates.
Though Australia forced two penalty corners in the 14th and 15th minutes, Christopher Cierello failed to get the better of Pakistani custodian Imran Shah.
But some fine work by Timothy Bates opened up the Pakistani defence and the ball was relayed to Grant Schubert who put Australia 2-0 ahead in the 17th minute.
Pakistan reduced the deficit in the 21st minute when Muhamad Rizwan weaved past the Aussie keeper George Bazeley to score from an acute angle. However Australia regained their two-goal advantage when Christopher Ciriello scored off their third penalty corner in the 26th minute.
Muhamad Irfan almost reduced the deficit in the dying seconds of the match but was denied by the upright with Bazeley beaten.
Ciriello scored his second of the day in the 40th minute and Pakistan were a beaten side. Luck too was not on the Pakistani teams side as in the 45th minute Muhamad Rizwan’s attempt came off the upright.
Against the run of play, Pakistan reduced the deficit to 4-2 when Irfan and Rizwan combined well to pierce open the Australian defence in the middle with Irfan having the final touch to score in the 53rd minute.
Pakistan was awarded their first penalty corner of the match in the 58th minute and up stepped skipper Muhammad Imran to send a low flick past Bazeley to reduce the deficit to just one goal.
Then Grant Schubert struck for Australia to make it 5-3in the 61st minute but Muhamad Umar Bhutta made it 5-4 in the 64th minute. Imran scored off another penalty corner a minute from time to ensure a grandstand finish and Zubair could have won all three points in the dying seconds but it was not to be.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Win or take the midnight train home...
LETTING in a goal 20 seconds from time in the 3-3 equaliser against Pakistan has come back to haunt the Malaysian team's progress into the final of the 19th Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh.Malaysia threw two points away in the blunder, and now coach Stephen van Huizen's men are not guaranteed of playing in the final even if they beat India today, and China on Thursday.
"It was a mistake which might cost us dearly even though we collect maximum points from the two remaining matches," admitted Stephen.
Malaysia have a mammoth task in hand today, as India have been quite impressive in the tournament, especially in their 4-3 win over Australia.
However, all is not lost as India have bungled all their penalty corners, except one, in the 12 goals they have scored in four matches, as they go for set-pieces in the absence of drag flicker Sandeep Singh.
And the fact that Malaysia softened South Korea in a hard-fought 1-1 draw before India beat them the next day, and then Malaysia sapped the Australian team's energy in the 2-1 defeat before India beat them also did not go unnoticed.
"India are playing well but we did them favours in the bruising encounters against Korea and Australia, before they beat both the teams.
"But after a days rest, both teams will enter the pitch as equals, and we have our plans to take three points in this crucial match," said Stephen.
India team manager Harendra Singh admitted it will be one of their most difficult matches.
"It is never easy playing Malaysia, especially in front of their own fans and even though we are unbeaten, it does not mean we will have it easy.
"We ned three points to consolidate our spot in the final, and we want to do it with one match in hand (India play Egypt last)," said Harendra.
Australia, India and Korea are in the best position to fight for berths in the final, while Malaysia will have to pray hard that one of them keeps fumbling in the next two days.
Azlan Misron, promoted to striker from a midfielder, has shown promise but he lacks support upfront with only Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin to play with.
At the back, experienced defender Amin Rahim has been the target of most teams, as he is slow in the semi-circle, so he was moved to the 25yard area against Egypt and it delivered the desired result.
These experiments will players positions will benefit Malaysia when they play in the Commonwealth and Asian Games later in the year.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Malaysia afloat with Egypt bashing
MALAYSIA finally found their winning touch in the 19th Azlan Shah Cup when they beat Egypt 5-0 in Ipoh yesterday.
And after a day's rest they will face top-of-the-table in India, and wrap-up their fixtures against China on Thursday. The national players need six points from both the remaining matches for a good finish.
Coach Stephen van Huizen's men were in dire need to beat Egypt to keep afloat in the Azlan Shah Cup, but started off listlessly, and strikers Azlan Misron, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin and Hafifihafiz Hanafi were clueless when presented with chances.
This tirade continued for a good 20 minutes, and the crowd became restless as Egypt started to come out of their semi-circle and started attacking.
After a few close shaves, finally the national players got their act together in the 24th minute when Azlan Misron scored a freak goal for the much sought after lead.
Azlan raced into the semi-circle and lost the ball when Egyption goalkeeper Farahat El Razak shielded it from him, but in his haste, the goalkeeper fumbled and allowed the ball to trickle into goal.
And Malaysia increased the lead off their second penalty corner in the 33rd minute when Amin Rahim made a dummy and passed the ball to 19-year-olf Faizal Saari to flick high into the net.
The second half saw more urgency from the Malaysian side and in the 40th minute, the lead was increased to 3-0 when Amin Rahim made a direct penalty corner attempt.
And the Egyptions had barely settled down, when a minute later Azlan Misron scored his brace after connecting home a pass from close range.
The Egyptions were beaten, but Malaysia needed more goals and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin delivered the fifth in the 56th minute.
Tengku was named as man-of-the-match for his tireless workrate in the second half.
Defending champions India pulled of a major upset when they beat World No 1 Australia 4-3 in a thriller.
India, unbeaten after four matches, have two more matches against Malaysia and Egypt, and three points would be enough to take them into the final.
India took a 3-0 lead into the breather when Tushar Khandker (19th, 33rd) and Rajpal Singh (21st) were on target. However, they allowed the Aussies back into the match with goals from Trent Milton (38th) and Christopher Ciriello (40th) before Shivendra Singh came to their rescue with a 61st minute goal to make it 4-2.
Australia narrowed the gap with 30 seconds remaining on the clock off a Mark Paterson field goal.
In the first match of the day, South Korea beat China 5-3 and will have to beat both Australia on Thursday and Pakistan on Saturday to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
INDIA 4 3 1 0 12 8 10
KOREA 4 2 1 1 14 7 7
AUSTRALIA 3 2 0 1 9 5 6
MALAYSIA 4 1 2 1 10 6 5
PAKISTAN 3 1 1 1 11 9 4
CHINA 3 0 1 2 6 12 1
EGYPT 3 0 0 3 0 15 0
RESULTS: South Korea 5 China 3, Australia 3 India 4, Malaysia 5 Egypt
0.
TODAY: Rest Day.
TOMORROW: Australia v Pakistan (4.05pm), China v Egypt (6.05pm),
India v Malaysia (8.05pm).
And after a day's rest they will face top-of-the-table in India, and wrap-up their fixtures against China on Thursday. The national players need six points from both the remaining matches for a good finish.
Coach Stephen van Huizen's men were in dire need to beat Egypt to keep afloat in the Azlan Shah Cup, but started off listlessly, and strikers Azlan Misron, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin and Hafifihafiz Hanafi were clueless when presented with chances.
This tirade continued for a good 20 minutes, and the crowd became restless as Egypt started to come out of their semi-circle and started attacking.
After a few close shaves, finally the national players got their act together in the 24th minute when Azlan Misron scored a freak goal for the much sought after lead.
Azlan raced into the semi-circle and lost the ball when Egyption goalkeeper Farahat El Razak shielded it from him, but in his haste, the goalkeeper fumbled and allowed the ball to trickle into goal.
And Malaysia increased the lead off their second penalty corner in the 33rd minute when Amin Rahim made a dummy and passed the ball to 19-year-olf Faizal Saari to flick high into the net.
The second half saw more urgency from the Malaysian side and in the 40th minute, the lead was increased to 3-0 when Amin Rahim made a direct penalty corner attempt.
And the Egyptions had barely settled down, when a minute later Azlan Misron scored his brace after connecting home a pass from close range.
The Egyptions were beaten, but Malaysia needed more goals and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin delivered the fifth in the 56th minute.
Tengku was named as man-of-the-match for his tireless workrate in the second half.
Defending champions India pulled of a major upset when they beat World No 1 Australia 4-3 in a thriller.
India, unbeaten after four matches, have two more matches against Malaysia and Egypt, and three points would be enough to take them into the final.
India took a 3-0 lead into the breather when Tushar Khandker (19th, 33rd) and Rajpal Singh (21st) were on target. However, they allowed the Aussies back into the match with goals from Trent Milton (38th) and Christopher Ciriello (40th) before Shivendra Singh came to their rescue with a 61st minute goal to make it 4-2.
Australia narrowed the gap with 30 seconds remaining on the clock off a Mark Paterson field goal.
In the first match of the day, South Korea beat China 5-3 and will have to beat both Australia on Thursday and Pakistan on Saturday to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
INDIA 4 3 1 0 12 8 10
KOREA 4 2 1 1 14 7 7
AUSTRALIA 3 2 0 1 9 5 6
MALAYSIA 4 1 2 1 10 6 5
PAKISTAN 3 1 1 1 11 9 4
CHINA 3 0 1 2 6 12 1
EGYPT 3 0 0 3 0 15 0
RESULTS: South Korea 5 China 3, Australia 3 India 4, Malaysia 5 Egypt
0.
TODAY: Rest Day.
TOMORROW: Australia v Pakistan (4.05pm), China v Egypt (6.05pm),
India v Malaysia (8.05pm).
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