New Zealand bounced back from a 6-4 defeat in a pool match against Malaysia to triumph 3-2 for the bronze medal in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh tonight.
Muhamad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal stroked Malaysia’s opening goal in the third minute to the delight of the Raja Permaisuri of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, and an estimated 5,000 hockey fans for this third-fourth place encounter.
The Raja Permaisuri of Perak graced the final and will present prizes to the winning teams in this 30th edition of the tournament.
New Zealand, who won the SAS Cup in 2012 and 2015, introduced George Enersen instead of regular custodian Dominic Dixon.
Sarjit Singh, Malaysia’s head coach, said the new set of youngsters in the team will need more time and many more matches to fit into the structure.
“We started off well, took a 1-0 lead but two errors by us allowed New Zealand to win this match. Overall, we gave a good performance in this tournament and as I said before, the players are in the process of building their game. They have learned a lot from this experience.
“Azrai played well and was unlucky not to score. Anybody can miss a penalty stroke. It is part of the game. He had a good tournament overall and played exceptionally well. I think in the last three matches he was a marked man but yet he still managed to breakaway and score,” added Sarjit.
New Zealand coach Greg Nicol said he is satisfied with the ending of this match against the Malaysians though it was a thrilling affair that could gone anyway.
“At least we did not allow Malaysia to score four goals in the first quarter as we did in the pool match. We had a good game in the first quarter and I think in the second and fourth quarters we were under a lot of pressure, especially towards the last five minutes of regulation time,” he added.
“As a whole, the youngsters in the team did a good job as we get ready for the Nations Cup and Paris Olympics. We will get back home, take a few days rest and get back to training.”
The dramatic opening goal by the Speedy Tigers was orchestrated by Faizal Saari who scooped the ball high from the middle line and landed inside the semicircle. Azrai then moved in at a fast pace, pounced the ball over Enersen and into goal. Malaysia 1 New Zealand 0.
But Scott Cosslett and Jonty Elmes brought the Kiwis, ranked World No 10, back into contention. Cosslett scored off a field goal in the fifth minute and Elmes extended the lead to 2-1 via a penalty corner conversion in the 10th minute. The score stood at 2-1 at half time.
The second half turned into a thrilling affair with the Speedy Tigers and Black Sticks mounting numerous chances for goals. Malaysia’s best opportunity to restore parity came in the 39th minute when they were awarded a penalty stroke. But Azrai’s flick went wide.
The 25-year-old Azrai has scored eight goals in the tournament and derservingly won the tournament’s top scorer award.
New Zealand continued piling pressure on the Speedy Tigers and extended the lead to 3-1 courtesy of a penalty corner conversion by Dane Lett in the 48th minute. It was the Kiwis’ fifth penalty corner of the match.
National team head coach Sarjit Singh resorted to power play in the last five minutes of regulation time in search of two quick goals to level the score. Speedy Tigers earned a penalty corner in the 58th minute but Faizal’s drive was cleared by the goalkeeper.
His younger brother, Fitri, finally scored in the last few seconds of the match to close the night 3-2 in favour of New Zealand.
