Next, South Africa test...

MALAYSIA will play South Africa in the quarter-finals of the Champions Challenge I in Buenos Aires, Argentina, today (Thursday 7.30pm Malaysian time).
  The national players are in a super run, as they beat all three teams in Group a by four-goal margins. However, the true test begins today, as all eight teams move into the quarter-finals irrespective of their group results.
  Only the champion will move into the Champions Trophy bracket.
  Malaysia started off by beating Poland 4-0, then South Korea 4-2 and finally Canada 4-2 for nine points. The only other team which ended with nine points in the tournament are hosts Argentina in Group B.
  Malaysia didn't need to beat Canada on Tuesday, as they were already assured of the top spot on six points after Poland shocked South Korea 5-4 in an earlier Group A match.
  However, Paul Revington's charges kept up the winning momentum with moments of brilliance from goalkeeper S. Kumar to deny the Canadians, and a super solo effort from Fitri Saari in scoring the fourth goal and dousing a fight-back.
  Razie Rahim started the goal-count by tucking in a seventh minute penalty stroke, and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin increased the lead with a field goal in the 11th minute.
  Canada pulled one back in the 17th minute when Keegan Pereira fired home, but Malaysia restored their two goal cushion in the 24th minute through a Faizal Saari field attempt.
   The Canadians rallied hard towards the end of the first half and could easily have pulled themselves level if not for some outstanding goalkeeping from Kumar.
   Canadawere rewarded for their persistence when Matt Guest lashed home a reverse stick shot in the 39th minute and looked liked they were game for a fight.
  But the fire was doused by Fitri Saari, With 14 minutes of the match remaining, as he snatched the ball in midfield, drifted past three Canadian defenders before arrowing in a sensational reverse stick shot into the bottom corner.
   It was a goal worthy of sealing shut any match.
  “My team has only been training together for six or seven weeks, and this is our first official international tournament.
 "That’s why it is good for us score four goals in every match again. I’m pleased with my players because playing against Canada is never easy.
  "However, even our next opponents South Africa are no pushovers even though they hit a bad patch in the Group stages so we will have to bring out our best again to move into the semis," said Malaysian  coach Paul Revington.
  Kumar, 32 and 195 caps, believes the team must keep up the winning mentality in the next three knock-out stages.
  “We did well three games but have to keep this winning attitude in the knock-out stages as well as we work our way towards the final.
  "Although this is an important tournament and we want to win it, we are also looking for a constant improvement of the team for the future.”
  RESULTS (Tuesday): Group A -- Malaysia 4 Canada 2, South Korea 4 Poland 5.
  Group B: Ireland 3 South Africa 1, Japan 1 Argentina 4.
  THURSDAY -- Quarter-finals: Malaysia v South Africa (7.30pm Malaysian time), Japan v South Korea, Poland v Ireland, Argentina v Canada.


FINAL STANDINGS

GROUP A
            P  W  D  L    F    A  Pts

Malaysia    3  3  0  0    12   4  9
Poland      3  1  1  1    8    11 4
Korea       3  1  0  2    8    9  3
Canada      3  0  1  2    5    9  1

GROUP  B

              P  W  D  L  F   A  Pts
Argentina     3  3  0  0  10  5  9
Japan         3  1  1  1  8   8  4
Ireland       3  1  0  2  6   8  3
South Africa  3  0  1  2  6   9  1

Malaysia v Canada in pictures

 PENALTY STROKE!

 RAZIE RAHIM SCORES PS

 RAZIE RAHIM AFTER SCORING PS

 CHUA BOON HUAT

 BALJIT SINGH (22), iSMAIL ABU (13) AZLAN MISRON (14) SHUKRI MUTALIB (12) AND TENGKU AHMAD TAJUDDIN (GIVING A HIGH FIVE)

MALAYSIA DEFENDING: RAZIE RAHIM (17), aZLAN mISRON (14).

Malaysia 4 Canada 2

Malaysian goals by Razie Rahim (seventh), Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (11th), Faizal Saari (24th) and Fitri Saari (56th).
 
MALAYSIA didn't have to lift a finger against Canada, but were propelled to the top of Group A in the Champions Challenge I in Buenos Aires, Argentina yesterday.
  The earlier match between Poland, world No 19, and South Korea, No 7, upset the rankings when Poland won 5-4 which saw Malaysia unchallenged to the top on six points from beating Poland (4-0) and South Korea (4-2) in their earlier matches.
  However, Malaysia still went on to beat Canada 4-2 yesterday to keep a clean slate on nine points.
  Malaysia will now play against the bottom placed team in Group B which could be either South Africa, Ireland or even Japan.
  The South Africa-Ireland and Japan-Argentina matches were yet to start at Press time.
  All eight teams qualify for the quarter-finals, but only the champion advances to the Champions Trophy.

Poland stun Korea 5-4..

Poland claimed their first win of the tournament with a stunning 5-4 victory over top-ranked Korea in the first game of Day 3 at the Argentina Hockey Champions Challenge 1 in Quilmes.  It was a remarkable result, with the team ranked 19^th in the FIH World Rankings overcoming a side currently sitting 12 places above them at 7^th. The result means that Malaysia are certain to top Pool A irrespective of the result in their later match against Canada.

It took Korea less than two minutes to open the scoring in the early morning fixture, with You Hyo Sik crashing home the opening goal before the Asians enjoyed 20 minutes of virtually unbroken dominance.  Korea controlled possession and created a number of excellent opportunities to extend their lead but were thwarted on numerous occasions by Poland goalkeeper Arkadiusz Matuszak who was in inspired form.

Poland pulled themselves back into the match in the 26^th minute thanks to a clever reverse stick deflection from Szymon Hutek, but Korea re-established their advantage just before half time when Jang Jong Hyun sent a perfectly placed penalty corner drag-flick into the net.

Poland exploded out of the blocks at the start of the second period, netting three goals in five minutes to stun their opponents from Korea.  A 40^th minute own goal was followed two minutes later by a tap-in from brilliant midfielder Dariusz Rachwalski before Miroslaw Jusczak flicked home from a penalty corner in the 45^th minute to give Poland a 4-2 advantage.

Korea fought hard to get back into the match but fell even further behind when Tomasz Gorny added a fifth 12 minutes from the end of the match.  Late goals from Jang Jong Hyun (PC) and Hyun Hye Sung (FG) gave Korea hope of a remarkable comeback, but smart defensive work ensured that Poland held on for a famous and hard earned victory.  

To see the official match sheet, please click here. 

Quotes:

Karol Sniezek (POL Coach)
 “Yes, I’m really happy with this team. Today they played very well. The most important thing is that they are improving every match. As I said the first match, we need these first 3 games to feel confidence and today they gained that. Korea is a great opponent, may be the best one in this tournament.”
“My players are trying to acclimatize in Argentina and with the temperature here. They will reach the proper level, physically and tactically, for the classification matches on Thursday”. 

 Darius Rachwalski (POL Captain and Scorer)
“I felt better today as we played our best match here in this tournament. I think we improved and that is good for our young and inexperienced players.  I can’t remember the last time Poland defeated Korea. It is great for us, for our confidence to face the classification pool.”

 Shin Seok Kyo (KOR Coach)
“Our team has many young players and they made many mistakes. They missed many opportunities to score and made the difference. At this time of the year, the players are tired. We have to think now in the next stage. In the semi-finals, we would prefer to play against Japan.”

Malaysia 4 South Korea 2

THE Malaysian hockey team surprised all and sundry when they beat world No 7 South Korea 4-1 in the Champions Challenge I in Buenos Airs, Argentina, on Sunday night.
    And now Paul Revington’s men, No 13 in the world, are sitting pretty at the top of Group A on six points, after having disposed Poland 4-0 in their first match.
    Their last group match tonight is against Canada, where even a draw will still place them at the top, with a likely crossover meeting against either South Africa or Ireland in the quarter-finals.
     All eight teams advance to the last-eight, but only the champion will make the Champions Trophy grade.
    Yesterday. South Korea took an early lead, but Malaysia powered ahead with four goals, before the Koreans scored their second.
    Razie Rahim made sure in the 18th minute, off a penalty corner, to draw level with South Korea, and two quick goals in the 30th and 31st minutes by Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin saw Malaysia take a 3-1 lead into the breather.
   And Chua Boon Huat made it 4-1 in the 48th minute, and the game was won before Korea’s Jang Jong Hyun scored his brace.
    For the record, all four Korean goals to date in the tournament, including the 2-0 win against Canada, were scored by Jang off penalty corners.
    Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, 26 and with 197 caps said: “I think we played well most of the match, except for the last  20 minutes where we were struggling to maintain our performance.
   “The score looks good, but we are not satisfied of our overall performance. There are many more areas to improve in our last group match against Canada.”
     However, Revington was pleased with his charges show against Korea.\
     “We finished the game pleased with the fact that we won it 4-2. Even though the players are disappointed on how they played for the last 10 minutes of the match, but I am pleased and proud of them, for their overall performance in the two games, as they have shown marked improvement,”
   RESULTS: Group A -- Malaysia 4 South Korea 2, Canada 3 Poland 3.
    Group B: Japan 3 Ireland 0, Argentina 2 South Africa 1.
   TODAY: Group A: South Korea v Poland, Malaysia v Canada (10pm Malaysian time).
   Group B: Ireland v South Africa, Argentina v Japan.

GROUP A
                   P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts

Malaysia      2  2  0  0    8      2      6
Korea           2  1  0  1    4     4      3
Canada         2  0  1  1    3     5     1
Poland          2  0  1  1     3    7     1

GROUP  B

                         P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
Argentina         2  2  0  0     6   4     6
Japan               2  1  1  0      7   4   4
South Africa      2  0  1  1      5   6  1
Ireland              2  0  0  2      3    7 0