Pakistan vs. Malaysia: 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup – Mid-match Report
Pakistan and Malaysia are currently playing at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia. The seven-nation Malaysian Invitational will get finalised tomorrow, declaring the Sultan Azlan Shah trophy in the name of the winner.
The first-half concluded with Pakistan leading 2-1, over the Malaysians.
As the match kicked-off, Malaysia dominated the ball possession with mid-fielders exchanging strong passes towards their forward line. Soon, Pakistan made an appearance with the turn-over of possession and made passes while rushing into the defensive semi-circle of Malaysia.
As a result, Pakistan earned their first penalty corner in the seventh minute. World record-holder penalty specialist, Sohail Abbas, made an appearance and gave his team the opening lead with wonderful goal in the eighth minute.
Malaysia soon came into action and received their first penalty corner in the 14th minute, but it was wasted by their side and they continued to struggle chasing the ball.
Another potential opportunity was missed when a sitter was missed by Malaysia’s Kevinder in the 17th minute. Pakistan received their third penalty corner but it did not pay-off, as the ball was flicked outside the goal post by Sohail.
Pakistan’s Muhammad Waqas delivered the ball in the 21st minute, advancing the team’s lead to 2-0.
The rest of the match was very close, with no side being able to penetrate into the defensive circle of their opponent. Ten minutes went by with no offensive show from either side, however, in the last minute, Malaysia was on the front foot rushing into the Pakistan defensive circle.
Hafifi Hafiz Hanafi scored a goal and Malaysia reduced the trail to 1-2, in the last minute of the first-half.
The first-half concluded with Pakistan leading by one goal, at 2-1. If Pakistan continue to play aggressively over their opponent in the next half, the will surely qualify for the finals to be played tomorrow.
Currently, the second-half is underway with Malaysia dominating the field. However, the Malaysian forward line is committing too many errors to match-up the pressure soaked in by the Pakistan side.
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