IPOH: Defending champion Malaysia allowed Pakistan to come from behind and snatch a 5-4 victory in their opening Sultan Azlan Shah Cup match at the Azlan Shah hockey stadium here tonight.
Malaysia were leading 3-1 until the fourth quarter through a hattrick by Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal in the 13th, 28th and 45th minutes. However, Pakistan managed to stage a late fightback in dramatic style towards the final moments of the match, with the lead rapidly changing hands.
Pakistan, winners of the cup in 1998, 2000 and 2003, stunned the local fans in the ninth minute when Muhammed Sufyan Khan’s powerful strike from a penalty corner left goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman with no chance.
Malaysia, known as the Speedy Tigers, quickly bounced back and Azrai Aizad, 24, turned in a pass from Faizal Saari in the 13th minute to bring cheers to about 4,000 fans who had filled the stadium.
Azrai later finished off two penalty corners in the 28th and 45th minutes to complete his hattrick and give Malaysia a 3-1 lead, bringing a big smile to coach Sarjit Singh.
Pakistan coach Roelant Oltmans, who had only a week to prepare his boys, saw his charges reduce the deficit through Muhammed Sufyan in the 50th minute while Zikiriya Hayat’s goal three minutes later levelled the score at 3-3.
With three minutes remaining, Shello Silverius cut through the Pakistan defence in a solo run and slipped the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper to put Malaysia 4-3 up but a lapse in concentration in defence saw Muhammed Sufyan levelling the score at 4-4 through a penalty corner strike.
As the match was heading for a draw, the umpire awarded Pakistan a penalty stroke in the final minute of play and Abu Bakar Mahmood stepped up to place the ball past the goalkeeper to ensure all three points for the “Green Shirts”.
Wrapping up today’s performance, Sarjit said the players lost focus and followed the rhythm of the fans in the last five minutes and that proved costly for the team.
“We had a chance to win when leading 4-3 with three minutes to go, but two silly errors (caused the defeat). Then in the last 30 seconds we had a chance but chose to follow into the centre, and they countered.
“We need to control the match, no need to hurry as we had time on our side today. But it is ok, we have a long way to go, hopefully we learn from this and keep on improving,” said Sarjit who was named as the national coach in March.
Malaysia face Canada tomorrow while Pakistan take on South Korea.
The Speedy Tigers won the title for the first time in 2022 and were runners-up fives times before. - FMT
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