Malaysia failed to clamp New Zealand in the Sultan of Johor Cup at the Johor Hockey Stadium in Taman Daya today.
The Young Tigers fell to a 2-3 defeat in this opening match of the tournament infront of more than 3,000 fans.
Malaysia’s pop singer and actor Jamal Abdillah had earlier lighted up the night by entertaining hockey fans before the start of the match, and during the interval, by belting several of his hit songs.
But the joy of the night eventually ended in despair foe the players and fans.
Coach I. Vikneswaran’s Young Tigers, however, missed the opportunity to score more goals against the Kiwis whom they defeated 2-1 in a friendly match three days ago on the same green pitch.
“The players really worked very hard. It is a learning process. This is the first tournament these boys are playing and this is their first game. Rome is not built in a day. But then we made crucial errors. It is a bitter pill to swallow.”
“Looking at the game I think we started off poorly. New Zealand was all on top of us. And after the stroke of the quarter our boys started getting their rhythm which resulted in the equalizer,” he said.
“But we had the dominance and opportunity to score but this we did not do. The other elements in this kind of games is sustainability. Your mental strength plays a big role. These are the areas obviously we need to improve,” added I. Vikneswaran.
The Malaysians got off the blocks slow and came under pressure within four minutes into the match. The Kiwis earned two back-to-back penalty corners and Jonty Elmes converted in the second attempt to put the Junior Black Sticks 1-0 ahead.
After seeing their own backyard rumble and tumble, it took the Young Tigers some time to put their own house in order, and their opponents under the pump.
They earned their first penalty corner in the 16th minute and Harris Osman pounded the ball past goalkeeper Hayden Ganley for the equalizer. However, Elmes struck back with his second goal from a penalty stroke in the 48th minute to put The Kiwis 2-1 up.
But the joy in the New Zealand camp was short-lived when Adam Ashraff made a brave solo run into the semi-circle, got past two defenders, and sneaked the ball past Ganley to restore parity at 2-2.
The Kiwis then went on to fire the last blow with a 56th minute field goal by Gus Nelson that handed them a 3-2 victory.
New Zealand coach Aaron Ford, said: It was a tough match. We knew it. But I am proud of the players. They gave their best against a strong Malaysian side. We created a lot of chances throughout the whole match.
“I don’t think we were lucky to win this match. We deserve this win. For a long period of the game, we actually controlled it and created a lot of goal chances,” said Ford.
In earlier matches, three-time champions India got off to their journey in the tournament with a 4-2 victory over Japan.
India’s captain Amir Ali, and midfielder Gurgot Singh scored for India in the 12th and 36th minutes via field goals after Tsubasa Tanaka’s equalized 1-1 for Japan with a brilliant dummy past goalkeeper Bikramjit Singh in the 26th minute.
Both teams started the match at a frenzy pace but it was the Indians who earned two penalty corners in the first quarter only to be denied of scoring opportunities by goalkeeper Kisho Kurado who had a good day on the field.
India, however, got a third bite at the cherry in the 44th minute as the match approached towards the end of the third quarter. Anmol Ekka orchestrated the move with a powerful penalty corner drag-flick towards the goalmouth, Kurado intercepted the ball, but Sourabh Anand Kushwaha picked up the ball from a rebound and placed it neatly into the net.
The fourth quarter turned out to be starkly different with India going on the offensive and Japan forwards finding their bearing. Ankit Pal extended India’s score to 4-1 in the 47th minute through a field goal from a reverse stick shot but the Japanese rallied back to reduce the deficit to 4-2 through Rakusei Yamanaka’s 57th minute penalty corner conversion.
Great Britain kept two-time champions Australia in the dock to secure a 3-1 win today.
Champions in 2016 and 2017, the Burras trailed by three goals, courtesy of a brace from Kaden Draysey who converted a penalty stroke in the 22nd minute and then extended the lead to 2-0 via a penalty corner conversion six minutes later.
Michael Royden fired GB 3-0 ahead with a field goal in the 37th minute before Jesse Absolom reduced the deficit for the Australians to 1-3 after a frustrating game against a well organised GB defence.
Great Britain’s best finish in the SOJC was winning the title three times (2015, 2018 and 2019), and finishing runners-up in the last two editions. They aim to be the first team to win the Cup for a fourth time.
