Malaysian Junior Hockey Team trounce India to walk through to the Sultan of Johor Cup Finals: Match Analysis
Contrary to the expectations, the Malaysian Junior Hockey Team routed India by its biggest win of the tournament, 5-1, securing a place in the finals of the Sultan of Johor Cup 2011.
The one-sided competition was held at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on November 11.
Despite missing the services of two key players, Firhan Ashaari and Faizal Saari, the Malaysian team displayed a fantastic show, becoming the second finalist team of the six-nation tournament.
Following a defeat at the hands of Australia in the opening match of the tournament, the Malaysian team pulled itself together and managed a draw against New Zealand in the very next encounter.
The Malaysian team further flexed its muscles, winning the last three games from South Korea, Pakistan and India.
Prior to the match against India, Coach K. Dharmaraj stated that the Malaysians will play only for a victory.
He observed, “We will play to win and do what is needed. There is no point depending on the results of others as it makes one forget the task at hand. We will remain focused at getting a favourable result and take it from there”.
In the jam-packed hockey stadium, both the teams marched into field with only the mission to win the game. Majority of the spectators were backing the home side but the Indian team also had a sizeable number for its support.
Malaysia and India started playing aggressively from the very beginning minute of the fixture.
With 9th minutes into the first half of play, the Indians suffered a setback when Talwinder Singh was sent off the field.
However, they did not come under pressure and continued their fast-paced game, accomplishing back to back strikes against Malaysia.
India received a short corner in the 13th minute mark and decided to test Harpreet Singh this time. He did not disappoint his team, volleying a powerful shot at the corner of the goal and placing India ahead of Malaysia by 1-0.
Surprised by the goal, the Malaysian team enhanced its efforts in search of an equaliser. They received back to back short corners in a very short span of time.
After missing a few chances, Muhammad Noor Faeez scored off a penalty corner in the 17th minute mark, making a tie at one-all.
The duo contested the game aggressively in the remaining minutes of the first half, but to no avail. The first half of play concluded with both the squads deadlocked at 1-1, at halftime.
The second half belonged to the Malaysian team completely, that ruined India’s defence-line in the thirty-five minutes of play.
Mohd Izad Jamaluddin scored a goal in the 45th minute of the play that brought huge smiles on the faces of the onlookers.
Mohd Shamim Yusof, Noor Faeez and Shazril Irwan Nazli scored one goal each in the 57th, 59th and 61st minutes, respectively, for Malaysia.
The Malaysian team won the match by 5-1, walking through to the finals of the tournament.
The host team will take on Australia in the title claiming match of the Sultan of Johor Cup, on November 12. Nevertheless it will be a competitive show where both the squads will fight for the title.
The Malaysians will have the advantage of the home-crowd. However, it will not be an easy task for them, as they were beaten by Australia in the first league match of the tournament.
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