Malaysia shot down in Muscat shoot-out

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia clawed back from the jaws of death to force a draw, but a disappointing shoot-out saw them lost 3-1 to Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, Oman.
  In the other semi-finals, India edged a fighting Japan 3-2.
  Malaysia will now play for bronze with the Asian Games champions, while India and Pakistan battle for gold.
  Losing 1-4 at one point, a super third quarter saw Malaysia fight back and end regulation time at 4-4, but in the shoot-out only Nik Aiman Rozemi was able to score, while Firhan Ashari, Faizal Shaari and Shahril Saabah faltered.
  In regulation time Faizal Shaari (second, 56th), Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (37th) and Nik Aiman Rozemi (44th) delivered.
  Malaysian coach Roelant Oltmans said: "Indeed the boys had a great comeback and to be honest the score at half time (losing 1-4) was not flattering as we conceded some unecessary goals and missed a couple of chances ourselves."
  The Dutch national them encouraged his charges: "I told them (at the half-time break) the game was not over and that we would get our chances again.
  "In regulation time we could have finished the match but unfortunately we lost on shoot-out. Nevertheless I'm proud of the performance but disappointed with the final outcome."
  The coach was barely appointed when he had to take his charges to Oman for the ACT.
  "Of course we didn’t prepare much. But we need to do better than scoring just one goal (in shoot out) while our goalkeeper Hairi (Rahman) saved two, which is good."
  And on Oltmans take on the bronze battle: "Japan, who lost just 3-2 to India will be another interesting encounter again. We beat them 3-0 (in the pool) and we will fight for the bronze medal for sure."  

ACT semifinals: Malaysia collapse in shoot-out

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia went down 3-1 in a shoot-out to Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, Oman on Saturday.
  Malaysia clawed back from being down 4-1, to equalise at 4-4 and drag the match into shoot-out but failed to crack Pakistan and will now play for the bronze medal
  The defeat came at the back of a 1-0 loss to Pakistan in the pool match, and this spells trouble for coach Roelant Oltmans World Cup campaign.
  Malaysia are in Group D with Pakistan, Germany and Netherlands in the Bhubaneswar, India, World Cup on Nov 28-Dec 16.
  And they need to brush up their tactics, if they hope to beat Pakistan in the World Cup and advance to the next stage, as the fourth placed team in each group will go home early.
  Faizal Shaari gave Malaysia a second minute lead, but it was all Pakistan after that.
  Goals from Muhammad Irfan (sixth), Aleem Bilal (12th), Abu Bakar Mahmood (15th) and Aleem Bilal (20th) -- made it 4-1.
  Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (37th) and Nik Aiman Rozemi (44th) narrowed the gap, and Faizal's 56th minute goal took the match to shoot-out, but Malaysia failed at the final hurdle.

Razak Cup; Terengganu hold champions Perak

KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions Perak were held to a 1-1 draw by a fighting Terengganu in Division One of the Razak Cup at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil Saturday.
  Perak scored first off a field attempt from  Haziq Samsul in the 27th minute, but Terengganu fought back to share points with a strike from Najmi Farizal Jazlan in the 37th minute.
  Both goalkeepers also played a pivotal role in this draw. Seasoned former national player and now with the national coaching set-up Roslan Jamaluddin made some brilliant saves, and at the other end, former Junior World Cup goalkeeper Hazrul Faiz Sobri saved more than five point-blank shots.
  National player Fitri Shaari who stayed back from the Asian Champions Trophy to attend his Convocation at Universiti Malaya, was the back-bone of Terengganu.
  And how did Terengganu skipper Fitri feel about the draw: "Disappointing, a really disappointing draw. We had a few clean shots at goal but my forward line could not convert the chances and we ended up sharing points in a match that we should have won."
  Terengganu next play Penang Sunday.
  "We can't afford to drop anymore points, and so, we need to minimise mistakes and be sharper in the opponents semi-circle to keep our sights on playing in the final," said Fitri.
  The men's Division One and Two is being played on a round robin format, and the top-two teams play gold.
  RESULTS: Men's Division One: Perak 1 Terengganu 1, Malacca 0 Kuala Lumpur 0, Penang 0 Johor 4.
  Division Two: Police 4 Singapore 2, Kelantan 1 Armed Forces 4, Selangor 1 Pahang 5.
  Women's Group A: Selangor 3 Police 3, Kuala Lumpur 5 Singapore 1.
  SUNDAY: Men's Division One: Johor v Kuala Lumpur (4pm, Pitch I), Perak v Malacca (4pm, Pitch II), Penang v Terengganu (6pm, Pitch I).
  Women's Group A: Kuala Lumpur v Police (9.30am, Pitch II), Malacca v Selangor (9.30am, Pitch I); Group B: Pahang v Armed Forces (7.30am, Pitch II), Penang v Terengganu (7,30am, Pitch I).

Razak Cup: Nor Hidayah saves Selangor...

KUALA LUMPUR: Women's Razak Cup champions Selangor got off to a good start when they beat Kuala Lumpur in Group A Friday.
  The winner was delivered by Nor Hidayah Ahmad off a field attempt in the 11th minute.
  Selangor, who won their first title last year, will next play Police on Saturday.
  RESULTS -- Men's Division Two: Selangor 2 Armed Forces 2, Pahang 6 Singapore 0, Kelantan 2 Police 6.
  Women's Group A: Malacca 2 Singapore 0, Selangor 1 Kuala Lumpur 0.
  Group B: Pahang 2 Terengganu 0, Armed Forces 2 Penang 2.
  SATURDAY: Men's Division One: Perak v Terengganu (6pm, Pitch I), Malacca v Kuala Lumpur (8pm, Pitch I), Penang v Johor (8pm, Pitch II).
  Division Two: Police v Singapore (4pm, Pitch I), Kelantan v Armed Forces (4pm, Pitch II), Selangor v Pahang (6pm, Pitch II).
  Women's Group A: Selangor v Police (7.30am, Pitch II), Kuala Lumpur v Singapore (7.30am, Pitch I).

Razak Cup: Brian explains four guest player ruling

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) competitions committee manager Brian Fernandez (pic) Friday said the player eligibility rule in Razak Cup is to make sure states develop their own players.
  In a statement, Brian said the rule is not new and has been practised for a long time, only that it was limited to four players this year.
  Earlier, states could field as many 'guest' players as they liked provided they get release letters from states which they sign players from.
  Player eligibility rules forced Division One teams Negri Sembilan and Perlis as well as Division Two side Kedah to withdraw from the Razak Cup at the 11th hour.
  "Eligibility rule is there to make sure states develop their own talent and not rely on others to form a team. 
  "If grassroots development is carried out regularly, states would have no problem fielding a team. 
  "And as everybody knows, state-leagues are very active right now, and players should have been spotted at this level and states should no longer have problems in player-selection," said Brian.
  Perlis, Kedah and Negri had claimed that even though half of their team had Identity Cards which state they were born elsewhere, the said boys have been schooling as well as playing for them for a long time.
  Brian also said the competitions committee, chaired by George Koshy and with members from states, emphasise on development and so states should have a bigger pool of players to make sure there is no shortage.