Nine points or bust

13/05/08
AFTER two fantastic displays, the national hockey team were heavy-footed when they were hammered 5-0 by Ar gentina on Monday.
And even though Malaysia received a fair share of penalty corners, Amin Rahim’s flicks were either wide, or easily palmed away by the goalkeeper.
Could the remaining three pool matches turn into a night- mare?
Coach Sarjit Singh feels the worst is over, and is planning for full nine points from now onwards.
"My fear became a reality against Argentina. I had a notion that after the gruelling match against New Zealand (Malaysia won 2-0), the team will be heavy (muscles become tight) and that is exactly what happened.
"This usually happens to any team in one match in a tournament, and now I believe my team will fare much better against Canada, Belgium and India," said Sarjit.
Pakistan were in the same boat with Malaysia on Monday, after the hard-earned 3-3 draw against Argentina on Sunday. They were trailing Canada 1-0, but recovered with two late goals in the 64th and 67th minutes.
On penalty corners, Sarjit said he is giving Amin a chance to prove himself.
"We did try a set-piece during the second penalty corner, but it did not work. So, I gave the rest to Amin to try direct flicks. I need to assess him in this tournament, and see if he will be valuable in our quest to qualify for the 2010 Delhi World Cup from Asia Cup next year," said Sarjit.

MAY 14: New Zealand v Argentina (4pm), Belgium v Pak istan (6pm), Malaysia v Canada (8pm).

Argentina 5 Malaysia 0

13/05/08
RESULTS: Belgium 4 India 6, Canada 1 Pakistan 2, Malaysia 0 Argentina 5.
MALAYSIA were blanked out 5-0 by Argentina in the 17th Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh yesterday.
The defeat has almost shut the final door on Malaysia, while the Argentines and Pakistan remain unbeaten.
Malaysia were a bundle of nerves, and gave away possession too easily, and allowed Argentina to enter the dressing room with a healthy 2-0 lead.
The national players were not sharp enough in the semi-circle, and wasted two penalty corners that came their way in the first half.
Amin Rahim’s first attempt was palmed away by the goalkeeper, while his second flick went wide.
Argentina took the lead in the 19th minute when Facundo Callioni stood at the far post and connected a free-hit which sailed past a sea of Malaysian hockey sticks.
And in the 28th minute, Callioni was again on target, when he deflected a penalty corner attempt from the penalty spot to claim a brace.
With two seconds remaining in the half, Malaysia almost snatched the tonic they needed, but Ismail Abu’s diving attempt to connect a cross was just short of the target.
The second half started on a wrong note, when defender Jiwa Mohan was sent to the sin-bin for a rough tackle in the 41st minute, and coach Sarjit Singh had to bench a few forwards and send in the defenders.
Argentina pushed forward, and won a penalty stroke after Madzli Ikmar used his head-gear to stop the ball in a 46th minute penalty corner.
Juan Gilardi flicked in from the penalty spot, and Malaysia looked like they had no more will-power to stage a come-back even though there was plenty of time left.
Lucas Hernan slotted in the fourth in the 54th minute, and reduced Malaysia to a loose outfit, and it was easy for Thomas Argento to score the fifth in the 68th minute.
Meanwhile, India beat Belgium 6-4, after taking a comfortable 5-1 lead in the first half.
Shivendra Singh (9th, 68th), Sandeep Singh (29th, 35th), Diwakar Ram (22nd), and S.V. Sunil (32nd) scored for India. Belgium got their goals off Thomas Briels (45th, 59th), Alexandre De Sadeleer (24th) and Charles Vandeweghe (61st).
Even in victory, their second in the tournament, India coach A.K. Bansal described it as a ‘horrible win for them’.
"However, we will go for wins in our two remaining matches, (Pakistan and Malaysia) to qualify for the third placing playoff,"

TODAY: Rest Day.
TOMORROW: New Zealand v Argentina (4pm), Belgium v Pakistan (6pm), Malaysia v Canada (8pm).

STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
ARGENTINA 4 3 1 0 15 5 10
PAKISTAN 4 3 1 0 14 9 10
INDIA 4 2 0 2 13 14 6
CANADA 3 1 0 2 3 5 3
MALAYSIA 3 1 0 2 4 8 3
NEW ZEALAND 3 1 0 2 7 11 3
BELGIUM 3 0 0 3 5 9 0
ends/

India 6 Belgium 4

12/05/08
INDIA: Shivendra Singh (9th, 68th), Sandeep Singh (29th, 35th), Diwakar Ram (22nd), S. V. Sunil (32nd).
BELGIUM: Thomas Briels (45th and 59th), Alexandre De Sadeleer (24th), Charles Vandeweghe (61st).
Note: I have left Ipoh for Kuala Lumpur (two and a half hour drive) for another assignment. So the updates will be slow, as I have to rely on ESPN and friends at the Azlan Shah Stadium.
Reporters there said India coach A. K. Bansal "said that it was a horrible win for them', as they allowed Belgium too much space in the second half.

Pakistan 3 Argentina 3

11/05/08
RESULTS -- Canada 1 India 3, Malaysia 2 New Zealand 0, Pakistan 3 Argentina 3.
TODAY: Belgium v India (4pm), Canada v Pakistan (6pm), Malaysia v Argentina (8pm).

STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
ARGENTINA 3 2 1 0 10 5 7
PAKISTAN 3 2 1 0 12 8 7
MALAYSIA 2 1 0 1 4 3 3
CANADA 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
INDIA 3 1 0 2 7 10 3
NEW ZEALAND 3 1 0 2 7 11 3
BELGIUM 2 0 0 2 1 3 0
ends/

Malaysia 2 New Zealand 0

11/05/08
MALAYSIA outclassed New Zealand in every department to win 2-0 in the 17th Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh yesterday.
The national players were a class above, and could have score at least another three, but the crowd did not mind, as a win against an Olympic side was more than enough for them.
Malaysia were a bundle of nerves for 10 minutes, and the Kiwis almost ran riot in
the semi-circle and took three pot shots which went sizzling left, then right, and the
one that went smack in the middle was saved brilliantly by goalkeeper S. Kumar. But after the close shaves, the national team settled down, New Zealand were
forced to defend for long periods, before they cracked in the 32nd minute. A cross from Amin Rahim found Chua Boon Huat's stick and the ball bounced off
Kiwi goalkeeeper Paul Wool Ford right into Azlan Misron's path. Chua moved aside, and Azlan slammed in a cracker to hand Malaysia a well
deserved lead. Otherwise, the first half saw some stout defending by New Zealand and Malaysia,
and both teams went into the dressing room without conceeding any penalty
corners. The second half was a sizzler, as New Zealand opened up looking for the
equaliser, but the Malaysian defenders Baljit Singh Charun, Jiwa Mohan and Madzli
Ikmar made the least possible mistakes. And just when the Kiwis were loking comfortable inside the Malaysian semi-circle,
a 43rd minute counter was initiated from a deep in defence by Azlan Misron, who
found Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin. Tengku released the ball to S. Selvaraju, and the
Perak-born player cooly pushed the ball in and the scoreboard read: Malaysia 2
New Zealand 0. The Kiwis tried their level best after that, but Malaysia proved that they were made of sturdier stuff, and sailed home on the two goals.
"Malaysia played very well infront of their home crowd, and it is always difficult to beat a team which scores first, and then has a strong backing from the gallary," said New Zealand coach Shane McLeod.
National coach Sarjit was not happy with the first half, and said the margin of victory could have been bigger.
"The first half was a little slow, but we had ball possession, and kept ourselves in the match. The second half was almost perfect, but for the three chances which we muffed. But that is to be expected, in a highly charged match.
"Now, we must recover from this match, and play just as well against the hard-running Argentine side tomorrow (today)," said Sarjit.