Classy act by Shahril
Forward scores twice to sink England in Sultan of Johor Cup
JOHOR BARU: Forward Mohd Shahril Saabah is living a dream in the Sultan of Johor Cup.
The Kuala Lumpur-born netted two penalty corner goals to steer Malaysia to a convincing 3-1 win over England at the Taman Daya Stadium yesterday to surge to the top of the standings.
Malaysia need a win over Pakistan today to seal a place in the final. Their last round-robin match is against India on Saturday.
Shahril gave Malaysia the lead after only nine minutes. Defender Mohd Izad Hakimi Jamaluddin then doubled the score, also through a penalty corner, in the 43rd minute.
Shahril was again on target in the 56th minute. It was his fifth goal in three matches.
Skipper Andrew Peter Bull netted England’s consolation goal through a penalty corner in the 61st minute.
Malaysia coach K. Dharmaraj was full of praise for his players.
“They played their hearts out. We are on the right track for the Junior World Cup in New Delhi in December,” he said.
The only thing that Dhamaraj was unhappy about was the forwards’ inability to score a single field goal.
“I’m pleased with our penalty corner takers. My only concern is our strike force as the forwards are not sharp in front of goal. We were not aggressive enough against England in the first half,” said Dharmaraj.
When asked about their next match against Pakistan, Dharmaraj said: “It’s going to be a real test for us. They have experienced players who have played in the Olympics and World Cup. I will be a very happy man if we beat them to qualify for the final.”
Pakistan received a big blow in their buildup to the showdown with Malaysia after being humiliated 4-0 by arch-rival India in a match later in the night. It was Pakistan’s first defeat in the tournament and they dropped from first to third in the standings.
Second-placed and unbeaten India need to collect full points against South Korea today to seal a place in the final.
Defender Sukhmanjit Singh was the hero for India, netting a brace in the 37th and 46th minutes. Imran Khan (45th) and Ramandeep Singh (61st) netted the other goals.
Said India coach Baljit Singh Saini: “It was a morale-boosting win for us. It was our best performance so far. We are now one win away from the final and I want my players to play another good match against Korea tomorrow,” said Baljit.