Almost another heartache
Malaysia’s slack defending nearly costs them dearly against Japan
IPOH: Poor finishing and sloppy defending marred an otherwise improved performance by Malaysia in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament.
Although Malaysia defeated Japan 4-3 at the Azlan Shah Stadium here yesterday, coach Stephen van Huizen must be worried about his team’s shaky display in the last quarter when Japan scored twice to narrow the deficit.
Malaysia were leading 4-1 when they took their foot off the pedal. This allowed Japan to stage a fightback.
Luckily for Malaysia, the Japanese ran out of time.
Malaysia took the lead in the second minute through skipper Mohd Razie Rahim off their first penalty corner set piece.
Their joy was shortlived as Japan hit back in the very next minute with a penalty corner goal of their own through Hiroki Sakamoto.
Razie restored Malaysia’s lead in the 11th minute when he scored from their second penalty corner attempt.
Malaysia then made it 3-1 with another penalty corner goal in the 14th minute, with Mohd Haziq Shamsul scoring off a rebound.
Malaysia earned their fourth penalty corner in the 32nd minute but Razie, who took the flick, was fouled by a Japanese defender. Malaysia were awarded a penalty stroke and Fitri Saari made no mistake from the spot.
Shota Yamada netted a brace in the 54th and 60th minute to reduce the deficit to give Malaysia a late scare.
“We started off well and managed to get four early goals, but we finished poorly ... especially in the last five minutes,” said national coach Stephen.
“It’s dangerous to allow a team to come back when you have a good cushion. You need to kill them off by finishing off your moves ... and not allow mistakes to creep in.
“I’m happy with our game and I hope the players learn from this.”
Razie was glad that their plan to attack Japan right from the word go paid dividends.
“We played well, except for the fourth quarter,” he said.
“We rotated the players many times in that quarter and it affected our rhythm.”
This is Malaysia’s first win in the tournament, having drawn 3-3 against defending champions New Zealand on Wednesday.
Japan last defeated Malaysia in the 1973 World Cup – winning 1-0. Since then, the two teams have met 10 times and Malaysia have won seven of those encounters.
Malaysia, who top the seven-team standings with four points, will face world champions and world No. 1 Australia tomorrow.