~ Faizal Saari completd his 300th match for Malaysia ~
Moqi (China), 12 September 2024: A spirited performance by Malaysia saw them edge past Japan with a 5-4 win in the ongoing Hero Asian Champions Trophy here in the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China on Thursday. Goals by Syed Cholan (12’, 40’), Norsyafiq Sumantri (21’), Syarman Mat (47’) and Kamal Abu Azrai (48’) helped Malaysia win the match and climb up to No.4 in the points table.
Placed in the bottom of the pool table after losing 1-8 to India on Wednesday, Malaysia needed a win today to stay in contention for a semifinal spot. They began the match with positive intent, pushing for early chances in the Japanese circle. Only seconds into the game, Malaysian attacker took an ambitious shot on goal but could not breach the Japanese goalie Takumi Kitagawa. A few seconds later, they were given a PC which was overturned by the video umpire after a good referral by the Japanese team. Malaysia were finally able to beat the Japanese defence in the 12th minute when they won a PC and Syed Cholan was on target to fetch his team an important 1-0 lead.
They extended the lead to 2-0 in the 21st minute when Norsyafiq Sumantri struck a splendid field goal. Japan responded swiftly, as they made a solid comeback in the game with two back-to-back goals in the 24th and 28th minute through PC specialist Ken Nagayoshi.
Even though Japan who recently won the Sultan of Azlan Shah Cup made a slow start to the game, they returned from the 10-minute half-time break to score another goal in the 36th minute. This was an important field goal by Tsubasa Tanaka as it helped them take a 3-2 lead over Malaysia.
Though this goal posed a setback for Malaysia, they were undeterred and continued to create forays in the attacking circle. As many as five circle entries and equal number of shots on goal were created in the third quarter by Malaysia and found success with Syed Cholan scoring from a PC. The equaliser boosted Malaysia’s game, as they came back into the fourth quarter with two back-to-back goals in the 47th and 48th minute through Syarman Mat and Kamal Abu Azrai.
This helped them take the lead to a formidable 5-3. Though Japan struck one in the 51st minute through Kazumasa Matsumoto, Malaysia held on to the game with strong defence in the dying minutes of the match. This win by Malaysia puts Japan on the bottom of the table while Malaysia have moved up to No.4 in the pool standing.
Hero of the Match, Aiman Rozemi of Malaysia said, “It was very important for us to win this match and keep our chances for making the semifinal. After yesterday’s match against India where we lost 1-8, we just decided that we need to play as a team and cover for any mistakes made by our teammates and play positively. I am happy this worked and also happy on winning the Hero of the match award.”
by Asia Hockey
