Hockey Champions Trophy: Malaysia go down fighting

2007/12/07


By : Jugjet Singh

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German goalkeeper Christian Schulte blocks a shot from Malaysia’s Tengku Abdul Majid (right) in their Champions Trophy match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday. — Pic: FATHIL ASRI


MALAYSIA fought back from three goals down to lose 3-2 to World No 2 and back-to-back world cup champions Germany in a thrilling Champions Trophy match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.




And the win also saw Germany becoming the first team to book a spot in the final on Sunday.

The encouraging sign leading to the April Olympic Qualifiers was that Malaysia beat the Germans in fitness, and fought gallantly before folding up with their heads held high.

Only two penalty corners separated the Germans from Malaysia in the first half of an otherwise balanced match.

Malaysia soaked in tremendous pressure in the opening five minutes as the Germans had three shots at the second choice goalkeeper Khairulnizam Ibrahim, who stood his ground.

And in the remaining minutes, Malaysia made numerous forays into the German semi-circle, but S. Selvaraju, Chua Boon Huat, Ismail Abu (pic) and skipper Azlan Misron’s attempts were too soft, and the robust Germans stopped them with ease.

Germany only received two penalty corners, and scored off both, while Malaysia failed to win a single penalty corner in the first half.

German Florian Keller snatched a brace with high flicks into the net in the 25th and 35th minute, to give his team a good lead going into the breather.

Malaysia held their formation, and displayed good skills but their only bane was being too soft in the German semi-circle.

“Overall I am happy with the team as they held their structure, and played to instructions. The Germans took their chances well, while we were soft in our attempts at goal, that was the only difference in today’s (yesterday’s) match,” said Malaysian coach Sarjit Singh.

In the second half, Germany got their third goal immediately upon resumption, when Matthias Witthaus made a darting run and sounded the board.

Malaysia, down 3-0, looked like they were in for a hiding, but instead of giving up, they started attacking the Germans in numbers.

The Malaysians scored in the the 54th minute when S. Selvaraju’s top of the semicircle shot narrowed the gap to 1-3.

And that was what the national team needed to inject more urgency into the match, and they played superb hockey and nailed the second goal in the 62nd minute, when Ismail Abu connected with a deft shot from Engku Malek.

The Germans were tired, and started making too many mistakes, and Malaysia pressed them hard, but only narrow misses came their way as the equaliser eluded them.

Jerman sah ke perlawanan akhir

KUALA LUMPUR – Juara dunia Jerman mengesahkan kemaraan ke perlawanan akhir kejohanan hoki Trofi Juara-juara selepas mengalahkan Malaysia 3-2 di Stadium Hoki Nasional, Bukit Jalil semalam.

Jerman mendahului Malaysia, yang membariskan pemain-pemain simpanan termasuk penjaga gol Khairunizam Ibrahim, 2-0 pada separuh masa pertama menerusi dua gol pakar penalti sudut Florian Keller pada minit 25 dan 69.

Mereka menambah gol ketiga seminit selepas permainan disambung menerusi Matthias Witthaus sebelum menyaksikan Malaysia cuba bangkit tetapi sudah terlambat.

Skuad negara merapatkan jurang jaringan menerusi penyerang S. Selvaraju pada minit 54 dan Ismail Abu minit 62.

Jerman mengutip 16 mata selepas enam perlawanan, lima mata di depan Korea Selatan di tempat kedua manakala Australia mengumpul 10 mata untuk menghuni anak tangga ketiga.

Dengan kekalahan itu, Malaysia yang hanya mengumpul satu mata hasil seri 2-2 dengan Pakistan sudah pasti menduduki tempat tercorot pada peringkat awal ini dan akan bersaing merebut tempat ke-7/8 sama ada dengan Pakistan (lima mata) atau Britain (enam mata) pada Ahad ini.

Semua pasukan masih mempunyai baki satu perlawanan dengan Malaysia akan bertemu Sepanyol esok. Sebarang keputusan tidak akan mengubah kedudukan skuad bimbingan Sarjit Singh itu.

Sepanyol menduduki tempat kelima ketika ini dengan lapan mata, di belakang juara Eropah, Belanda yang mengutip sembilan mata untuk berada di anak tangga keempat ketika ini.

Anak didik Sarjit kecundang lagi

Anak didik Sarjit kecundang lagi
Oleh Hamdan Saaid

KEBANGKITAN hebat lewat permainan tidak cukup membantu skuad hoki negara yang kalah tipis 3-2 di tangan juara dunia, Jerman di Stadium Hoki Nasional, Bukit Jalil, malam tadi, kekalahan kelima mereka daripada enam perlawanan pada kempen Trofi Juara-Juara.

Jaringan S Selvaraju pada minit ke-54 dan Ismail Abu minit ke-62 bagaimanapun menjadi penyuntik semangat buat anak buah Sarjit Singh yang akan berdepan pasukan sama pada kelayakan Sukan Olimpik Beijing 2008 di Kakamigahara, Jepun, April tahun depan.

Dua gol menerusi pukulan sudut penalti menamatkan babak pertama yang bagaimanapun agak seimbang dalam 20 minit pertama dengan kedua-dua pasukan agak sukar untuk menembusi benteng pertahanan lawan masing-masing.



Sarjit membuat sedikit perubahan dengan penjaga gol muda, Khairulnizam Ibrahim beraksi kali pertama pada kejohanan ini mengambil alih tempat S Kumar.

Selepas 24 minit, Jerman akhirnya mendapat peluang pertama mereka apabila dianugerahkan pukulan sudut penalti dan Florian Keller menolak bola tinggi untuk meletakkan pasukannya di depan.

Beberapa saat sebelum babak pertama ditamatkan, Keller sekali lagi menyempurnakan sudut penalti, ketiga diterima pasukannya, dengan tolakan bola leret menewaskan Khairulnizam kali kedua.

Tidak sampai seminit babak kedua berlangsung, ketika hujan kembali lebat, Jerman terus menambah sengsara kem Malaysia dengan gol ketiga, sekali gus membuktikan penguasaan mereka.

Matthias Witthaus tenang menyambut serta memukul masuk hantaran pendek ketua pasukan Timo Wess dalam kawasan D.

Awalnya, Malaysia, yang setakat ini hanya meraih satu mata hasil keputusan seri 2-2 dengan Pakistan, mensia-siakan peluang menerusi Ismail, ketua pasukan Azlan Misron dan Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Jalil.

Selvaraju mengurangkan defisit gol apabila menerima hantaran ketua pasukan Azlan Misron dengan berpusing sebelum memukul bola masuk melepasi penjaga gol Jerman, Christian Schulte.

Kira-kira 4,000 penonton yang hadir sekalipun hujan agak terhibur dengan persembahan skuad negara yang merapatkan kedudukan menerusi Ismail berikutan pukulan percuma Engku Malek Engku Mohamad. Ismail mudah memukul kencang bola lantunan daripada penjaga gol lawan.

Hockey: Malaysia stage fightback but Germany hold on for win

By AFTAR SINGH

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia went down fighting 2-3 to world champions Germany in the Champions Trophy at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil here last night.

Malaysia trailed 0-3 before staging a remarkable fightback to reduce the deficit.


Fighting back: Malaysia’s S. Selvaraju celebrates after scoring against Germany during their Champions Trophy match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday. Malaysia lost 2-3. – AZHAR MAHFOF / The Star
Florian Keller scored a brace in the 25th and 35th minutes before Matthias Witthaus added the third a minute into the second-half.

Malaysia replied through S. Selvaraju in the 54th minute before Ismail Abu added the second in the 62nd minute.

It was national team’s fifth defeat in the tournament. They only have one point from six matches.

Germany continued their excellent run in the tournament by chalking up their fifth win to qualify for the final.

Yesterday’s match would have allowed both teams to size up each other as they will be meeting again in the Olympic qualifiers in Japan next April.

The winner of the qualifiers will earn a place in the Beijing Olympics in August.

Malaysia last played against Germany in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Ipoh three years ago and lost 2-4.

Yesterday, Malaysia played well in the first-half and had two chances but were let down by poor finishing.

Germany, powered by 11 World Cup players, shot into the lead off their first penalty corner in the 25th minute through Keller.

Germany kept up the pressure and earned another penalty corner in the last minute of the first-half and Keller was on target again.

Hardly a minute into the second-half and Germany were 3-0 up, thanks to a Witthaus attempt from close range.

The Germans then slowed down the game and Malaysia took advantage to knock in two goals in eight minutes.

First Selvaraju collected a through pass from Azlan Misron to slam it into the goal in the 54th minute before Ismail scored from close range off a free hit by Engku Abdul Malik eight minutes later.

In an earlier match, Pakistan fought back from 1-3 down to draw 3-3 with Asian Games champions South Korea.

The Koreans remain in second spot with 11 points from six matches and need to beat Britain in their last match on Saturday to reach the final.

Trainning Hockey Team in small field

Seperti biasa pasukan-pasukan sukan sekolah yang akan bertanding pada tahun 2008 adalah diwajibkan dan perlu menjalani ujian saringan atau UTiD pada setiap penghujung tahun. Pemain-pemain yang berada dalam klip telah berjaya dan tunggu surat tawaran dari unit kokurikulum sekolah. Harapan tahun 2008 pasukan hoki sekolah akan mendapat kejayaan yang cemerlang

Muka-Muka Pemain Bawah 18 Tahun (2008)

Mereka di atas ini adalah beberapa pemain yang berjaya menambat hati saya untuk dimasukkan dalam pasukan utama. Mereka ada peluang yang baik. Usia mereka pada tahun ini masih 14 tahun