~ Day 1 of the marquee tournament saw exciting matches at the Moqi Hockey Training Base ~
Moqi (China), 08 September 2024: After Korea held Japan in a 5-5 goal-fest in the opening match of the day, a late surge by Malaysia saw them hold Pakistan to a 2-2 draw in a closely-fought match in the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Moqi, China on Sunday.
Playing under the guidance of newly-appointed Head Coach Tahir Zahan, Pakistan made a fine start to their campaign with an attacking first quarter. Though Malaysia was strong on their defence, not letting successful shots on goal, an infringement in the circle with seconds lefts on the clock for the first hooter saw Pakistan being awarded a PC. Despite four retakes, however, their star dragflicker Abu Mahmood could not breach the Malaysian rushers. It was not the case when they worked hard to earn a PC in the 24th minute.
A few quick tips by Zaman to Mahmood ahead of the PC saw them come up with a variation in the penalty corner attack which led to Sufyan Khan scoring the goal and fetching Pakistan a crucial 1-0 lead. Only minutes before this, Malaysia had a great chance to score from a PC but they squandered the opportunity with a poorly executed variation.
Riding on the 1-0 lead, Pakistan returned from the 10-minute half-time break to score a stupendous field goal by Zikriya Hayat in the 32nd minute. A defensive error by Pakistan, five minutes later, saw them concede a PC. It was the experienced Faizal Saari who came up with a fine goal to narrow down the goal deficit to 1-2. Malaysia had a brilliant opportunity to score in equaliser in the 43rd minute when they earned another PC but the dragflick was blocked away by Pakistani rushers. Malays made another impressive attack in the final minute of the third quarter, but could not muster a goal.
The final quarter was intense with both teams playing on-par with each other. While Pakistan defended their 2-1 lead with all their might, Malaysian attack pushed aggressively for a goal. It didn’t help Pakistan’s cause that they were a man down with Faisal Qadir getting a yellow card in the 45th minute.
With four minutes left, Malaysia won an-important PC. Aiman Rozemi scored a sensational goal, with a perfect dragflick, beating Pakistani goalie Ishtiaq Abdullah Khan. “This is a good start for Malaysia. We made a comeback into the game after being 2-0 down. We will take heart from this match and comeback stronger for match against China tomorrow,” expressed Faizal Saari, who scored the crucial first goal for Malaysia.
Pakistan conceded yet another PC in the dying moments of the match. But this time, they held their nerves to deny Malaysia the lead and thus ended up splitting the points.
Hero of the Match, Ammad Butt of Pakistan said, “Malaysia is a tough opponent, we started very well but didn’t manage our defence well in the third and fourth quarter which cost us the match. They rallied on their short corners to comeback into the game and that’s the area (short corner defence) we want to work on in the game tomorrow. On winning the Hero of the Match, it’s a proud moment for me.”
by Asia Hockey
