Champions Challenge I match between Malaysia and Japan ended in a 2-2 draw
Amin Rahim hit the tying goal in the dying seconds of the game, as the men’s hockey team of Malaysia held Japan in a two-all draw in the Champions Challenge I, played at the Randburg Hockey Stadium, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 27.
Malaysian Team Manager, George Koshy, expressed satisfaction over the performance, terming it a better show as compared to the first encounter. It is worth highlighting here that Malaysia lost the first game at the hands of Canada by 3-1.
He explained the game saying, “They (Malaysia) were again a little off colour in the first half against Japan but picked up in the second to earn the point. It’s always difficult when you are chasing a two-goal deficit”.
The manager further added, “But the team did better in that they were playing with structure. Japan is a vastly improved side and we have played them seven times this year. Each match has been close and they are physically stronger than before”.
Regardless of the draw, this performance cannot be declared a satisfactory one. The Malaysian team failed to start the game with a reasonable presentation and lagged behind by a two-goal advantage.
Malaysia adopted a defensive strategy in the early part of the game but it failed to cope with the speed of the Japanese players.
One of the major reasons behind their somewhat monotonous show was their complacency that helped the opponents to dominate the game.
With five minutes into the game, Hiroki Sakamoto managed to drive the ball inside the circle, hitting towards the goal. In a matter of a few minutes, Japan created a couple of short corners that helped it in establishing the lead.
Katsuyoshi Nagasawa availed the opportunity this time, converting one penalty corner and putting Japan ahead of Malaysia by 2-0.
Despite plenty of attacks, Malaysia failed to open the score-account in the first thirty-five minutes of play.
Malaysia started the second half of play with an improved game. The players effectively thwarted the Japanese’ attacks and scored two goals.
Mohamed Amin Rahim notched the two goals in the 52nd and 69th minutes, respectively for Malaysia, finishing the match in a two-all draw.
Malaysia still has chances to move forward if it delivers a strong performance against Argentina in the next fixture of the Champions Challenge I.
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