IRELAND snatched the favourites tag in the Olympic Qualifiers, after they pomelled Ukraine 12-0 in a show of strength and skills to top the standings with a total of 18 goals.
In their first match, the Irish had disposed Russia 6-1.
The Green Machine, as they are nick-named, were merciless in their onslaught and their precision in the semi-circle is simply awsome.
However, their true form will only be known today, when they square off against world No 6 South Korea.
The Koreans showed that they are vulnerable at the back as they have let in three goals, and the also needed some 30 minutes before they could crack open the Chile goalmouth for a 6-1 win.
However, Ireland coach Paul Revington was not in a mood to celebrate the goals galore, yet, when he said: “I don’t think we’ll read too much into it.”
The coach was well aware that goals might come to nothing is they do not win three points against the Koreans.
“I think we are happier with the clean sheet. It was a composed and organised performance against Ukraine, however, Korea will be tough and we’ll do our preparation to be ready for that.”
Korea have not been their usual confident self in this tournament, and the fact that they recalled four Sydney 2000 players into their ranks also indicates that they have pushed the panic button, and the Irish could just dash their Olympics dream today.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Ireland-Malaysia sold out..
TICKETS for the Malaysia-Ireland match on Saturday have all been sold out, as it is expected to be the crunch match which will decide the fate of both teams in the Olympic Qualifier.
The fact that Malaysia has played in nine Olympics and declined the 1980 Moscow Olympics, while Ireland have been waiting for the last 104 years to play hockey at its highest level, has not gone unnoticed.
The Malaysian students here, on their own initiative, have snatched up 100 tickets for the match, while the National Sports Council have bought another 200 to be distributed to Malaysians living in Ireland.
The support will not be lacking when Malaysia play the Green Machine, as even the Malaysian Hockey Confederation will be bringing a 23-strong cheering squad for the South Korea and Ireland matches.
Malaysia have never won three matches in a row in any tournament, and they look set to break the jinx when they play Ukraine today, but after that the real tests await them.
Off the field, the fans are ready, but the team does not look 100 per cent confident and they need to change their mind-set in the final warm-up against Ukraine.
The strikers have only shown patches of brilliance, and missing are their darting runs and counter-attacks which were evident during the run-up tours.
Malaysia's best striker Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin has only played 50 per cent to his capabilities, but was still named as the best player against Russia.
He seem to lack his usual confidence, and hesitates when given the ball, someting which this scribe has never seen him do since the 2005 Junior World Cup in Rotterdam.
Faizal Saari has been more confident in his attacks than Tengku Ahmad, and is fast turing into a realiable hand even though he is only 21 years old.
His brother, Fitri, is only 19 and both of them had a good understanding against Russia and it looks like they might just turn out to be the twin-attack Malaysia need to win the remaining three matches and enter the final.
The fact that Malaysia has played in nine Olympics and declined the 1980 Moscow Olympics, while Ireland have been waiting for the last 104 years to play hockey at its highest level, has not gone unnoticed.
The Malaysian students here, on their own initiative, have snatched up 100 tickets for the match, while the National Sports Council have bought another 200 to be distributed to Malaysians living in Ireland.
The support will not be lacking when Malaysia play the Green Machine, as even the Malaysian Hockey Confederation will be bringing a 23-strong cheering squad for the South Korea and Ireland matches.
Malaysia have never won three matches in a row in any tournament, and they look set to break the jinx when they play Ukraine today, but after that the real tests await them.
Off the field, the fans are ready, but the team does not look 100 per cent confident and they need to change their mind-set in the final warm-up against Ukraine.
The strikers have only shown patches of brilliance, and missing are their darting runs and counter-attacks which were evident during the run-up tours.
Malaysia's best striker Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin has only played 50 per cent to his capabilities, but was still named as the best player against Russia.
He seem to lack his usual confidence, and hesitates when given the ball, someting which this scribe has never seen him do since the 2005 Junior World Cup in Rotterdam.
Faizal Saari has been more confident in his attacks than Tengku Ahmad, and is fast turing into a realiable hand even though he is only 21 years old.
His brother, Fitri, is only 19 and both of them had a good understanding against Russia and it looks like they might just turn out to be the twin-attack Malaysia need to win the remaining three matches and enter the final.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Big Chile bungle...
An embarrassing moment unfurled at the UC Dublin grounds on Sunday when the organizers of the Olympic Qualifier played the Malaysian national anthem for Chile before their match against South Korea.
The Chile players were shocked, but kept their composure and stood still, while the 20-odd Malaysians at the stands took the opportunity to sing the Negaraku loudly to the amazement of the Irish crowd.
The Negaraku was played in full, and after it ended, the Chile players were seen talking to the umpires, but they decided to start the match anyway.
Interestingly, the Negaraku inspired the Chile players to hold Korea to for 30 minutes, before the Koreans could crack open the goalmouth.
The Chile players were shocked, but kept their composure and stood still, while the 20-odd Malaysians at the stands took the opportunity to sing the Negaraku loudly to the amazement of the Irish crowd.
The Negaraku was played in full, and after it ended, the Chile players were seen talking to the umpires, but they decided to start the match anyway.
Interestingly, the Negaraku inspired the Chile players to hold Korea to for 30 minutes, before the Koreans could crack open the goalmouth.
Arul could derail Malaysia's hopes
IT was back in the 2009 Champions Challenge II that Arul Selvaraj first assisted Ireland to beat Malaysia 2-1 in the semi-finals.
Playing in Dublin, Malaysia fell by the wayside and ended up fourth, after losing 4-3 in extra-time to France.
And today, as a much more experienced Ireland assistant coach, Arul will again be in charge of plotting a win for his adopted country in the Dublin Olympics Qualifier which starts on Saturday.
Arul is no stranger to Malaysian hockey, and as a former international, he had played alongside the likes of Nor Saiful Zaini and knows the ins-and-outs of the national side.
He has been in the Malaysian camp as a player and then coach when he assisted Paul Lissek, and kept in touch with the current batch of players when he was back home on a holiday.
Always with a smile, Arul could be the 12th man when Malaysia play Ireland in their final league match on March 17.
The fixtures have been kind to Malaysia as they first meet Chile followed by Russia and then Ukraine to not only get the maximum nine points, but also goals which could come into play when the dust settles.
After the 'easy' early matches, Malaysia play South Korea and if they falter, the Ireland match will be a must-win tie if Malaysia hope to to reach the final of the Qualifier.
And if Malaysia reach the final, either Korea or Ireland are tipped to be their nemesis again.
Arul knows that Amin Rahim is flat-footed and that it's easier to win penalty corners off him compared to Razie Rahim, Baljit Singh and Madzli Ikmar, the other defenders.
He also knows that when Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin is given too much space, he will score even from an acute angle.
Arul is also wise to the fact that Malaysia have three penalty corner flickers in Amin, Razie and Faizal Saari.
The damning conclusion is that Ireland's assistant coach knows not only the penalty corner variations and strengths and weaknesses of all the Malaysian players, but also their favourite food as he has had many a 'teh-tarik' with the players.
Arul had helped Malaysia qualify for the 1998 Utrecht Word Cup when they finished sixth in the Kuala Lumpur Qualifier in 1997.
But his work is now cut out to stop Malaysia at all costs, especially if the Irish lose to Korea and the Malaysia encounter is their last avenue to reach the final -- which is very likely.
Playing in Dublin, Malaysia fell by the wayside and ended up fourth, after losing 4-3 in extra-time to France.
And today, as a much more experienced Ireland assistant coach, Arul will again be in charge of plotting a win for his adopted country in the Dublin Olympics Qualifier which starts on Saturday.
Arul is no stranger to Malaysian hockey, and as a former international, he had played alongside the likes of Nor Saiful Zaini and knows the ins-and-outs of the national side.
He has been in the Malaysian camp as a player and then coach when he assisted Paul Lissek, and kept in touch with the current batch of players when he was back home on a holiday.
Always with a smile, Arul could be the 12th man when Malaysia play Ireland in their final league match on March 17.
The fixtures have been kind to Malaysia as they first meet Chile followed by Russia and then Ukraine to not only get the maximum nine points, but also goals which could come into play when the dust settles.
After the 'easy' early matches, Malaysia play South Korea and if they falter, the Ireland match will be a must-win tie if Malaysia hope to to reach the final of the Qualifier.
And if Malaysia reach the final, either Korea or Ireland are tipped to be their nemesis again.
Arul knows that Amin Rahim is flat-footed and that it's easier to win penalty corners off him compared to Razie Rahim, Baljit Singh and Madzli Ikmar, the other defenders.
He also knows that when Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin is given too much space, he will score even from an acute angle.
Arul is also wise to the fact that Malaysia have three penalty corner flickers in Amin, Razie and Faizal Saari.
The damning conclusion is that Ireland's assistant coach knows not only the penalty corner variations and strengths and weaknesses of all the Malaysian players, but also their favourite food as he has had many a 'teh-tarik' with the players.
Arul had helped Malaysia qualify for the 1998 Utrecht Word Cup when they finished sixth in the Kuala Lumpur Qualifier in 1997.
But his work is now cut out to stop Malaysia at all costs, especially if the Irish lose to Korea and the Malaysia encounter is their last avenue to reach the final -- which is very likely.
Olympian Mirnawan lends support
THREE-TIME Olympian and national skipper Mirnawan Nawawi is in Dublin to support the national team, and after watching them whip Chile 5-1, he feels this is Malaysia's best chance to get back into the Olympics after 12 years in the cold.
Mirnawan first played in the 1992 Bercelona Olympics at the age of 20 where Malaysia finished ninth, and then as a 24-year-old, he led the charge at the Atlanta Olympics where Malaysia finished 11th.
Mirnawan's hat-trick as an Olympian was in Sydney 2000, where Malaysia again ended 11th.
He was once among the most feared strikers in the world, and his presence was immediately felt at the Universiti College Dublin Stadium by the Malaysians who are studying or working here.
"It was a slow start against Chile but the team showed composure by coming back strongly in the second half and that indicates they have what it takes to win this tournament," said Mirnawan.
Mirnawan is now the team manager of Project 2013, who will be playing in the Junior Asia Cup in May, which is also a qualifier for the Junior World Cup.
"I know all the senior players very well and my take is that they will collect maximum nine points from the first three matches and then beat either South Korea or Ireland and make the final," predicted Mirnawan, who watched South Korea hammer Ukraine 8-2 on Saturday, and added: "Ukraine are an inexperienced side but they are hard-running and quite dangerous on the counter attack.
"Malaysia must not give them much space and need to win as many penalty corners as possible as their penalty corner defence is not very strong.
"Their goalkeeper is quite sturdy under attack, but he is weak in penalty corner defence, and this is where Malaysia need to make full use of our three flickers to get as many goals as possible."
Malaysia next play Ukraine, and flickers Razie Rahim, Faizal Saari and Amin Rahim should get their names on the scoreboard again.
Mirnawan first played in the 1992 Bercelona Olympics at the age of 20 where Malaysia finished ninth, and then as a 24-year-old, he led the charge at the Atlanta Olympics where Malaysia finished 11th.
Mirnawan's hat-trick as an Olympian was in Sydney 2000, where Malaysia again ended 11th.
He was once among the most feared strikers in the world, and his presence was immediately felt at the Universiti College Dublin Stadium by the Malaysians who are studying or working here.
"It was a slow start against Chile but the team showed composure by coming back strongly in the second half and that indicates they have what it takes to win this tournament," said Mirnawan.
Mirnawan is now the team manager of Project 2013, who will be playing in the Junior Asia Cup in May, which is also a qualifier for the Junior World Cup.
"I know all the senior players very well and my take is that they will collect maximum nine points from the first three matches and then beat either South Korea or Ireland and make the final," predicted Mirnawan, who watched South Korea hammer Ukraine 8-2 on Saturday, and added: "Ukraine are an inexperienced side but they are hard-running and quite dangerous on the counter attack.
"Malaysia must not give them much space and need to win as many penalty corners as possible as their penalty corner defence is not very strong.
"Their goalkeeper is quite sturdy under attack, but he is weak in penalty corner defence, and this is where Malaysia need to make full use of our three flickers to get as many goals as possible."
Malaysia next play Ukraine, and flickers Razie Rahim, Faizal Saari and Amin Rahim should get their names on the scoreboard again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
