Malaysia, go for fifth placing

07/03/2002

MALAYSIA must be feeling the jitters, and they have every reason to lose
sleep before the match against Pakistan today because they have not beaten
a single big name in the tournament so far.
The 1-0 win against Japan was scrappy, the 3-2 against India was lucky
considering skipper Baljit Singh missed a penalty stroke and the way they
played against Cuba, they did not deserve to win 4-2.
The three points against England, although a morale booster, was against
a side which struggled in the Champions Trophy and almost got relegated
into the Champions Challenge.
So there is nothing to shout about, because our preparations have been
elaborate and the millions spent on the team, should have yeilded better
results against Australia and South Korea, not to mention a struggling
Polish side.
So how will the Malaysian team fare against Pakistan tonight?
The multiple choice answer would be (A) Win (B) Lose (C) Any of the
above.
A draw is out of the question, and not suprisingly, all the journalists
who have been covering Malaysia for decades chose C as their answer.
The Malaysian players are well known all over the world, not for their
determination to win, but for their fickle-mindedness. They can play like
champions one day and then bring out their worse eventhogh they are being
cheered on by a crowd of 10,000.
The preview of the World Cup was there for all to see during the
Champions Challenge where they won three matches in a row but when they
almost hit a home-run, they caved in to the pressure and lost to Argentina
and South Africa.
So what is wrong with the present batch of players. Only a psychiatrist
can answer the question because both coach Paul Lissek and team manager
Datuk R. Yogeswaran have gone dizzy trying to psycho-analyse their
players.
"They had a great chance of reaching the semifinals, but they chose to
put the pressure on themselves instead of their opponents," said
Yogeswaran.
While Lissek is still optimistic that his charges can finish fifth in
the World Cup, he too cautioned the Press not to mention that to the
players because: "Then they will start shivering and Malaysia will be in
trouble again."
Pakistan have not been playing up to their mark, and in the last few
matches, it was evident that Shahbaz Ahmad's age caught up with him faster
than he thought it would after the gruelling matches he played in Group B.
Their controversial exit against the Germans has upset them and
yesterday, when Timesport tried to contact their coach and team manager,
even the hotel receptionist was scared to make the call.
She said: "The Pakistan team manager (Brig Khokar Khalid) has given
strict instructions not to disturb him."
On a normal day, Shahbaz and his teammates would be loitering in the
lobby of the official hotel and easy to approcah, but yesterday, they
chose to quarantine themselves and none were seen coming down for lunch
either.
Pakistan, four-time World Cup champions, are feeling the pressure, and
they might just break against Malaysia today - that is if the national
players bother to play hockey.
After the Junior World Cup debacle in Hobart last year, Timesport said
that the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) need to do an IQ test before
selecting national players, and we stick by that.
(END)

Just another false dawn

06/03/2002

MALAYSIA may yet finish fifth in the World Cup but they showed, yet again,
last night that other than a false dawn, there is nothing much in
Malaysian hockey.
If they had a narrow escape against Cuba on Monday, they scraped through
by the skin of their teeth against Poland last night in the 2-2 draw which
brought their Group B campaign to an end.
It was a thoroughly disappointing outing by Malaysia and if this is the
best they can do, a eighth place finish is what they are looking at.
Despite England's stunning 2-0 win over South Korea, the odds were
heavily stacked against Malaysia and they were not shortened as the
national team simply didn't look as motivated as they should have been.
While no one logically thought that Malaysia would beat Poland by the
desired nine clear goals, what the 10,000 odd fans would have expected is
a fighting performance.
But Malaysia didn't look like they were up to the challenge, even after
Jiwa Mohan scored from an indirect penalty corner in the eighth.
If anything, Poland, who came for the World Cup with only 17 of the 18
allowed players, looked to be more motivated.
While Malaysia dominated, Poland only needed five minutes to equalise
through their first penalty corner and keeper Jamaluddin Roslan was guilty
of conceding a soft goal as he let slip Eugeniusz Gaczkowski's shot
through his pads.
Malaysia's odds has just been lenghtened and the players knew it as an
air of despondency seemed to surround their game.
They continued pressing but more often than not, were reduced to
appealing for penalty corners when in the penalty area as they seemed
hesitant to take risks.
And when the buzzer went for the break, Malaysia looked anything but the
top eight position they had ensured themselves in the tournament.
The crowd, who had to be satisfied with just that one goal in the first
half, were still not ignited after the Malaysians came back on after the
pep talk.
Except for back-to-back Malaysian penalty corners in the 38th minute,
which were wasted, it was Poland who looked hungrier for goals.
And they were justly rewarded in the 46th minute when Gaczkowski,
following a second successive penalty corner, dummied and slotted past a
clueless Jamaluddin.
Malaysia were also clueless upfront for it still didn't seem to strike
the players that even if a place in the semifinals was beyond reach,
finishing the preliminary round with a win would still be worth a lot.
Instead, Malaysia were fortunate not to trail by a bigger margin as
Zbigniew Juszczak had the ball in the net in the 55th minute. But it was
disallowed.
But there was to be an equaliser for Malaysia and it came off a penalty
corner as S. Kuhan scored following several exchanges.
The crowd cheered, but the gut feeling was that Malaysia had let them
down and have to make it up to convey the impression that what they have
done in the World Cup isn't merely another false dawn.
After the match, Malaysian coach Paul Lissek, talked about his team's
next target.
"Now that the pool matches are over, our target is to finish on top in
the classification matches. We would rather play Pakistan than Argentina,
because we have a better chance finishing fifth."
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
GROUP A
GERMANY .................... 3 PAKISTAN ...................... 2
Sascha Reinelt (20th) Sohail Abbas (35th, 38th)
Florian Kunz (24th, 49th)
NETHERLANDS ................ 3 SOUTH AFRICA .................. 0
Teun de Nooijer (10th)
Karel Klaver (29th)
Piet Hein Geeris (41th)
NEW ZEALAND ................ 4 BELGIUM ....................... 3
Hayden Shaw (24th, 41st, 62nd) Vitali Kholopov (30th)
Umesh Parag (64th) Loic Vandeweghe (67th, 70th)
ARGENTINA .................. 3 SPAIN ......................... 1
Mario Almada (15th, 34th) Albert Sala (24th)
Rodrigo Vila (26th)
GROUP B
MALAYSIA ................... 2 POLAND ........................ 2
Jiwa Mohan (8th) Eugeniusz Gaczkowski (12th, 46th)
S.Kuhan (62nd)
AUSTRALIA .................. 4 INDIA ......................... 3
Craig Victory (42nd) Jugraj Singh (25th)
Jeremy Hiskins (51st, penalty) Daljit Singh (45th)
Brent Livermore (59th) Prabjot Singh (67th)
Matthew Smith (63rd)
ENGLAND .................... 2 SOUTH KOREA ................... 0
Dave Matthews (31st, 33rd)
JAPAN ...................... 4 CUBA .......................... 2
Takahiko Yamahori (25th,64th) Alain Bardaji Lopez (19th)
Akira Takahashi (33rd) Jose Rodriguez Garcia (30)
Makoto Karuo (62nd)
(END)

No cigars for Lissek's men

05/03/2002

THE Cubans almost upset an overconfident Malaysia in Group B at the
National Hockey Stadium last night as the hosts decided to take a rest
after a stunning display against the English.
Sloppy passing and poor stopping, unlike the Malaysia which we all know,
disappointed the 10,000-odd crowd which started trickling in after the
office hours.
It was almost like a staged drama, and ironically next door to the
hockey stadium, `The Rock' and his mean machine were getting warmed up to
stage a wrestling drama, and Malaysia entertained their fans with clownish
mistakes which, in any other situation, would have sent the fans in
stitches.
But the silver lining is that with the three points, Malaysia are
assured of finishing at least eighth in the World Cup. Japan, who are in
the same group as the hosts, had earlier shocked England 2-1.
Malaysia started off badly and conceded an eighth minute goal when too
much space was given to Jose M. Rodriguez who dribbled past the entire
defence and scored a goal from an acute angle.
Roslan Jamaluddin was not his usual self and the blame for the goal lay
entirely on him and Maninderjit Singh who gave away the ball to Rodriguez
with a poor pass across the goalmouth.
Maninderjit looked lethargic and made a number of bad passes. Maybe the
dehydration he suffered after giving 100 per cent against England the
previous day took its toll on defender.
But a stunning goal from Chairil Anwar two minutes later gave hope of a
high scoring match. Malaysia won a penalty corner and S. Kuhan took a
thundering shot which was heading towards goal but Chairil made sure by
jabbing his stick and the ball crashed into the net. Malaysia 1 Cuba 1.
But six minutes later, Yuneil Rodriguez Hernandez did a copycat and
weaved his way near the goalline before putting it past Roslan. Malaysia 1
Cuba 2.
That was a costly mistake because the Cubans grew in confidence after
this.
Malaysia pulled up their socks and in the 24th minute, Fairuz Ramly
connected a pass from Mirnawan Nawawi and Malaysia were back in the game.
But poor passing and silly mistakes riddled the match and the Cubans
were as amazed as the crowd because the hosts were giving them too much of
space to move and a handful of Cubans had the field all to themselves.
Malaysia trooped into the dressing room with their heads hung low and
coach Paul Lissek must have handed them a lashing because they started the
second half on a better note.
And four minutes into the match, Malaysia won a penalty corner and the
crowd went wild anticipating a goal. Kuhan did not disappoint them and his
goal brought back some pride to the match.
But after that, Malaysia started clowning again and the Cubans had a
field day running circles around the Malaysian defenders. In the end,
everyone agreed that Malaysia were lucky to have scraped through.
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
GROUP B
MALAYSIA 4 CUBA 2
Chairil Anwar (10th) Jose Rodriguez Garcia (8th)
Mohd Fairuz Ramly (25th) Yuniel Rodriguez (15th)
S. Kuhan (29th, 39th)
JAPAN 2 ENGLAND 1
Takahiko Yamahori (18th,24th) Dave Matthew (65th)
INDIA 4 POLAND 1
Daljit Singh (5th) Tomasz Choczaj (27th)
Baljit Singh Dhillon (15th)
Prabjot Singh (28th)
Dhanraj Pillay (69th)
AUSTRALIA 4 SOUTH KOREA 2
Scott Webster (8th) Song Seung-tae (28th)
Troy Elder (14th) Lee Jung-seong (62nd)
Jeremy Hiskins (42nd, 43rd)
(END)

Go for the goals, boys!

04/03/2002

THAT Malaysia will collect three points from Cuba tonight is almost a
certainty. What is uncertain is the margin of victory, which could help
the hosts if fate is on their side.
Cuba, playing in their first World Cup by virtue of being the Pan-
American champions, have conceded 27 goals in five matches and scored just
three.
So tonight, to keep the mathematical chance of making the semi-finals
alive, Paul Lissek's men must go for the numbers and hope that providence
will shone on them and knock South Korea out.
For, if Malaysia can pile up the goals, and should Korea who have two
difficult matches in hand against Australia and England, fall, the path
will re-open for the hosts.
After scraping past England on Saturday, Lissek said the possibility of
playing in the semifinals is still within sight and he will plot
accordingly.
"Anything can happen in the World Cup after we beat England. Malaysia
has made Group B more exciting and now we must score as many goals against
Cuba and Poland and wait for the other matches to decide our fate," said
Lissek.
Before the World Cup Lissek said, at best, the national team can finish
10th. So after Malaysia beat England, he was asked about his new target.
"I am a man of small steps, and right now my target is to beat Cuba with
as many goals as possible," said Lissek.
After that he caused the packed media conference to break into chuckles
when he said: "I do not dare to dream big, because some of them who have
done so, have ended up going home (Indian coach Cedric D'Souza)."
But Lissek was quick to add that Cedric is a good friend of his and he
would like to do something to help him out: "Maybe he can help coach the
Malaysian side, because sacked coaches (Lissek was sacked by the Germans
after the Sydney Olympics) seem to be doing okay here," said Lissek.
The German does not need divine intervention to lead his men into battle
for the fifth-eighth positions, but to make the semis, he will need a
bagful of luck because the Koreans have been in menancing form and the
only team which can trouble them is Australia.
"We know that the last two matches are the most crucial ones for Korea
but we have been preparing for this moment ever since FIH released the
fixtures.
"Tomorrow (today) we will play our toughest match in Group B but I am
confident that my men will keep their winning streak," said a confident
Korean coach Kim Young Kyu.
Yesterday, Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president Sultan Azlan Shah
joined the team for lunch at the official hotel, Concorde Kuala Lumpur,
and his advice for the team was to put away all the chances that come
their way.
"What happened to you (S. Shanker) when you got that beautiful pass in
the match against England," questioned Azlan Shah.
"And Fairuz (Ramli) you should have put that ball into goal after all
the hard work of beating the three defenders," said Azlan Shah before
joining the team for lunch.
Cuba almost caused the upset of the millennium when they scored two
swift goals to lead South Korea 2-1 in the halftime during the curtain
raiser of the World Cup.
But they have since been `softened' by the other teams and those who
have watched them play went home wondering how they qualified for the
World Cup.
But tonight, Malaysia must put away all their chances because right now,
goals are their only chance of making the semifinals, mathemathically that
is.
Yesterday, the Malaysian team drafted a new member into the squad when
Mirnawan Nawawi handed Sultan Azlan Shan the yellow jersey after lunch.
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
GROUP A
PAKISTAN 2 SPAIN 0
Ali Raza (59th)
Alif Bashir (66th)
GERMANY 1 NETHERLANDS 0
Bjorn Michel (56th)
ARGENTINA 3 NEW ZEALAND 1
Jorge Lombi (3rd) Phillip Burrows (9th)
Matias Vila (30th)
Mario Almada (67th)
SOUTH AFRICA 3 BELGIUM 0
Greg Nicol (29th)
Justin King (56th)
Mike Cullen (70th)
(END)

A classic from Malaysia

03/03/2002

MALAYSIA played one of their best matches in years to beat England 2-1 in a World Cup Group B match at the National Hockey Stadium last night.
And as the hosts did their lap of honour at the end of the match,
cheered by a capacity crowd of 18,000, there was a feeling of `Merdeka' as our former Colonial masters were brought down.
There was another yellow `Tsunami' at the stadium to watch Malaysia
battle England, and this time they were rewarded as early as the eighth
minute.
When Malaysia won their first penalty corner in the seventh minute the
crowd went wild and almost brought down the temporary seats at the
stadium.
S. Kuhan's powerful drive was deflected high by England goalkeeper Jimi
Lewis and as the ball headed for goal an English defender made a high
clearance and the umpire, without hesitation, pointed to the penalty spot.
As Maninderjit Singh lined up to take the stroke, there was pin-drop
silence but Mike, as he is better known, was not to be denied. His low
powerful flick found the back of the net.
There was nothing in the Malaysian side to show that they were feeling
the `blues' after losing narrowly to South Korea the previous night and
their free-flowing attacking play gave the fans plenty to cheer.
Jiwa Mohan and Chua Boon Huat were entrusted to marshall the defence as
Nor Azlan Bakar took a break. The two Junior World Cup players were solid
and goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin only had to make one diving save to stop
a goal-bound attempt during the entire first half.
All the blood, sweat and toil of the past two years began to pay off as
Malaysia took total control of the first half with accurate passing and
slick stopping.
More than 10 attempts were made at the England goal but all whizzed from
left to right or vice versa as the forwards were slow to connect.
During the break, the 18,000 capacity crowd did the Mexican Wave and
enjoyed themselves thoroughly as they waited for action to resume.
The fans did not have long to wait.
Four minutes into the second half, a clever free hit by Chua from the
25-yard line was deflected by S. Shanker but as the ball was about to
crash into the net, England goalkeeper Lewis brought out a splendid save.
That was a signal of better things to come for Malaysia.
A minute later, Malaysia won a penalty corner and the surprise push from
the left of the goalmouth, instead of the normal right, took England by
surprise.
Maninderjit sent in a sizzling grounder and just as the ball was about
to hit the England 'keeper who was lying flat on the turf, Madzli Ikmar
jabbed his stick and deflected the ball over the `keeper.
Malaysia 2 England 0 and the action was sizzling - for Malaysia that is.
The hosts looked like thay had just started the match while the English
were jaded and looked intimidated by the robust crowd. In the 60th minute
the score could have been 3-0 but the post stood in the way.
Fairuz Ramli dribbled past a defender and sent the ball between the legs
of the England 'keeper but the ball hit the post and went out.
England reduced the margin in the 64th minute through a penalty corner
taken by Dave Mathews. But that was as far as England got.
The night belonged the men in yellow strips who received an emotional
standing ovation from the fans.
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
GROUP A
NETHERLANDS 2 PAKISTAN 1
Bram Lomans (18th, 37th) Khalid Saleem (55th)
SPAIN 2 SOUTH AFRICA 2
Pol Amat (22nd) Abrahams Clyde (23rd)
Eduard Tubau (35th) Justin King (70th)
GERMANY 2 NEW ZEALAND 1
Bjorn Michel (33rd) Hymie Gill (52nd)
Christoph Bechmann (63rd)
ARGENTINA 3 BELGIUM 1
Rodrigo Vila (34th) Charles Vandeweghe (45th)
Jorge Lombi (44th, 64th)
GROUP B
MALAYSIA 2 ENGLAND 1
Maninderjit Singh (8th) Dave Mathews (63rd)
Madzli Ikmar Mohd Nor (40th)
SOUTH KOREA 4 POLAND 0
Hwang Jong Hyun (10th)
Kim Jung Chul (15th)
Kim Kyung Seok (16th)
Lee Jung Seon (23rd)
INDIA 4 CUBA 0
Dilip Tirkey (9th)
Daljit Singh (14th)
Deepak Thakur Sonkhla (16th)
Baljit Singh Dhillon (52nd)
AUSTRALIA 5 JAPAN 0
Jeremy Hiskins (2nd)
Matthew Wells (8th, 54th)
Craig Victory (51st, 70th)
(END)