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NOBODY expects Malaysia to
beat World No 1 Australia in the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh today, but the
fans can rest assured that coach K. Dharmaraj's men would strive to keep
the score low.
For this might just see them play Australia again in the final on Sunday.
The Aussies have already qualified for the final and will be going for
their eighth Azlan Shah Cup title, with the second spot being a toss
between South Korea and Malaysia.
Malaysia have a seven-goal cushion, while the Koreans are on level terms as they have scored nine and let in nine.
Mathematically speaking, Malaysia need to keep the score against
Australia low, and hope South Korea do not hammer the daylights out of
South Africa in their chase for goals -- as they play after the
Malaysian game and would know just how many goals to score.
"The
Australians are in a different league altogether as they are also the
raging favourites for the World Cup. But we need to make sure we do not
let in too many goals so that we have another chance to play them in the
final," said Dharmaraj.
This is the best chance for Malaysia to
spar with Australia, as their next meeting would be in the opening match
of the World Cup in The Netherlands on May 31-June 15. The
International Hockey Federation (FIH) has paired the World No 1 against
the lowest ranked team in the World Cup, Malaysia at 13th, for the
curtain raiser.
"Playing Malaysia in Malaysia is a dream
situation, as this would be our last chance to meet our first World Cup
opponents. And with Malaysia having fast forwards who have very good
individual skills, it would be a very interesting match for sure," said
Australian skipper Mark Knowles who last played in the Azlan Shah Cup in
2006.
Australia has a massive advantage over Malaysia, and their
pedigree in the tournament saw them lift the title seven times in 1983,
1998, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2013. And as hosts for 23 Editions,
Malaysia's record stops at four silvers won in 1985, 2007,2009 and 2013.
"Yes, the match would certainly be a very interesting one as not only
are Malaysia a very fast side, but also have a very supportive fan base
and when they fill up the stadium, the noise is deafening and the
atmosphere is electrifying. We don't get mush of this in Australia, so
the experience would be good heading into the World Cup," said
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth.
The Ipoh fans have filled the
Azlan Shah Stadium to the brim during all the Malaysian fixtures, and
today would also see a mammoth turnout. And the fans would not be
disappointed if their team lose to Australia, as all they would be
looking for today is a brave fight.
Keeping in mind that Dharmaraj
took the risk of blooding seven rookies for this edition, the boys
showed their mettle by beating China, Canada and South Africa and their
draw was against Asian giants South Korea.
But with Australia
hammering South Korea 5-1, and all their other scores were in the region
of sixers and sevens, and only letting in one goal, tonight's match can
turn into a mismatch, or the crowning glory in Malaysia's record
against Australia.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
AUSTRALIA 4 4 0 0 25 1 12
MALAYSIA 4 3 1 0 15 8 10
S KOREA 4 2 1 1 9 9 7
CHINA 5 1 0 4 13 21 3
CANADA 5 1 0 4 7 18 3
S AFRICA 4 1 0 3 5 17 3
FIXTURES
March 21: REST DAY.
March 22: Australia v Malaysia (6pm), South Africa v South Korea (8pm).
WORLD NO 1 Australia started off slowly, but went on to beat South Korea 5-1 to cement their spot in the final of the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh yesterday.
And now, Malaysia need to keep the score low when they play Australia on Saturday, and hope South Korea does not hammer South Africa in their last match to move into the final on goal difference.
The Koreans scored nine and let in nine, while Malaysia have a seven goal cushion going into the Australian match and they must no blow it.
Australia were given the run around by Asian champions South Korea, who defended stoutly until a silly mistake made all the difference in the 10th minute.
Off a goalmouth melee, Trent Mitton slotted in the ball for the lead.
However, the Koreans refused to be intimidated by that goal and kept defending while only moving forward a handful of times in the first half. And if paid off when they won their first penalty corner in the 32nd minute and Jang Jong Hyun nailed the equaliser with a low push which sounded the board.
But the Australians came back strongly into the match again, and just as the clock showed seconds left to the half-time, Nicholas Budgeon scored and made it 2-1.
In the second half, goals by Jeremy Hayward (59th), Matt Gohdes (63rd, 69th) made it a comfortable 5-1 win for the Aussies.
Meanwhile, Malaysia had a well deserved two-day rest period after whipping China 7-3 on Wednesday and will only meet tournament raging favourites Australia on Saturday.
Seasoned striker Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, who is playing in his eigtht Azlan Shah Cup likes the improvement shown by the seven juniors drafted for the tournament, and feels they can only become better is given more exposure.
"Seven players without caps were included by the coach, and they showed some good promise in all the matches, and I believe that with more exposure, Malaysia will have a very strong team as these players mature further," said the 28-year-old who scored his first tournament goal against China.
Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin made his mark in the 2005 Junior World Cup in Rotterdam, and has since been a permanent fixture in the Malaysian strike-force.
With beating Australia almost an impossible dream, the task as hand for Malaysia would be to stop the Aussies from scoring too many goals and have a rematch with the World No 1 in the final on Sunday.
RESULTS: Canada 4 China 3, South Korea 1 Australia 5.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
AUSTRALIA 4 4 0 0 25 1 12
MALAYSIA 4 3 1 0 15 8 10
S KOREA 4 2 1 1 9 9 7
CHINA 5 1 0 4 13 21 3
CANADA 5 1 0 4 7 18 3
S AFRICA 4 1 0 3 5 17 3
FIXTURES
March 21: REST DAY.
March 22: Australia v Malaysia (6pm), South Africa v South Korea (8pm).
MALAYSIA whipped the daylights out of China when seven different players scored in the 7-3 win against China in the 23rd Edition of the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh yesterday.
The goal-cushion could come into the picture as Malaysia, who confirmed a berth in the third-fourth placing match, make a dash for the final with only the Australian match remains on Saturday where they need to keep the score low.
China were the early agressors, but cheered on by a capacity crowd, Malaysia took an early lead after they started with a strike, instead of a defensive side.
And in the sixth minute itself, Marhan Jalil's cracking shot from the top of the semi-circle went crashing into the top of the net for the much needed lead.
The opening goal was just the tonic needed for another push, and the first penalty corner was won in the eighth minute. Ahmad Kazamirul's dummy went to Shahril Saabah, whose flick was saved by the goalkeeper but in came Azlan Misron who slapped in the rebound for the second goal in the ninth minute.
Missing from the match was striker Faizal Saari, who was suspended for one match yesterday morning after the Tournament Director Gavin Hawke from New Zealand found his conduct during the Canada match unbecoming.
On Monday, Faizal was yellow carded in the 24th minute for hitting Canadian Jagdish Gill, and instead of sitting it out, he hit the sin-bin plastic chair with his hockey stick and broke it.
The four-goal striker was then benched for the match against China, and coach K. Dharmaraj had to push skipper and defender Azlan into the forwardline.
And the coaches' reshuffle paid dividents as Malaysia went on a first half rampage and in the 23rd minute, off their third penalty corner, Kazamirul's push found Izzat Hakimi who tucked in to make it 3-0.
Three minutes later, it was the turn of experienced striker Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin to slam in the ball from a difficult angle for his first of the tournament, as Malaysia cruise at 4-0.
The fifth goal was another masterpiece, as Shahril Saabah got his name on the scoreboard with a tap-in in the 30th minute.
China pulls one back when E Liguang scores in the 44th, but a minute later Malaysian were awarded a penalty stroke and Fitri Saari scores from the spot to make it 6-1.
The second China goal was scored off a penalty stroke by Du Talake in the 60th minute, but Firhan Ashaari makes it 7-2 in the 62nd minute.
In the end, the final score was 7-3, as Du Talake gets his brace in the 66th.
"I did expect my players to pull off a win, but the score was not expected as the players took themselves to the limit," said Dharmaraj.
As for Azlan who from a defender was promoted to striker: "That is the new trend which I will propogate, as I look to make players versatile, and able to play in any position when required."
RESULTS: Canada 2 South Africa 3, Malaysia 7 China 3.
STANDINGS63
P W D L F A Pts
MALAYSIA 4 3 1 0 15 8 10
AUSTRALIA 3 3 0 0 20 0 9
S KOREA 3 2 1 0 8 4 7
CHINA 4 1 0 3 10 17 3
S AFRICA 4 1 0 3 5 17 3
CANADA 4 0 0 4 3 15 0
FIXTURES
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).
MALAYSIA survived an early scare, yet again, to beat Canada 3-1 and keep their hopes of playing in the final of the Azlan Shah Cup alive and kicking.
There were plenty of desperate moments, when the Malaysian players started to collect cards in their attempts to stop the Canadians, but a refreshed second half approach won them the crucial three points.
Malaysia started on a super note as they attacked relentlessly for the first five minutes, and were rewarded when the partnership of Marhan Jalil and Faizal Saari clicked in the fourth minute itself.
A darting solo run from Marhan, was followed by a deft pass to Faizal which only needed a deflection past goalkeeper David Carter for the lead.
There was another chance to seal the match early, when Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin won the first penalty corner in the seventh minute, but Faizal flicked it over the bar.
Canada came out of their shell, and won their first penalty corner in the 15th minute, and Adam Froese perfected it past goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman for the equaliser.
Cheered on by a full gallery at the Azlan Shah Stadium, Malaysia were supposed to play much better but started collecting cards instead, and giving the Canadians the advantage. First Izzat Hakimi was shown the green for rough paly in the 22nd minute, then Faizal Saari was yellow carded in the 24th minute for hitting Jagdish Gill.
And then in the 32nd minute, Azri Hassan was yellow carded, but still, Malaysia held on to the 1-1 score going into the dressing room.
The team again walked out of the dressing room looking confident, like they did when they were down 0-2 to South Korea and eventually drew the match at 2-2.
And in the 46th minute, Malaysian won their fourth penalty corner and a dummy from Shahril Saabah saw Faizal netting his brace to give Malaysia the lead again.
Faizal and his mates had many more chances to increase the lead, but the Canadian goalkeeper David played a solid second half to deny them.
And the one-goal lead was too slim going into the last five minutes of the match, but Ahmad Kazamirul made sure the win belonged to Malaysia when he scored a field goal in the 67th minute. Man-of-the-match was aptly awarded to Faizal Saari.
Meanwhile World No 1 Australia demolished South Africa 7-0 to move closer to playing in the final. The Australians have nine points after three matches as they had whitewashed China 7-0 and Canada 6-0 in earlier matches.
RESULTS: South Africa 0 Australia 7, China 2 South Korea 3, Malaysia 3 Canada 1.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
AUSTRALIA 3 3 0 0 20 0 9
S KOREA 3 2 1 0 8 4 7
MALAYSIA 3 2 1 0 8 5 7
CHINA 3 1 0 2 7 10 3
CANADA 3 0 0 3 1 12 0
S AFRICA 3 0 0 3 2 15 0
FIXTURES
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).
