Malaysia failed to capitalise on a 2-1 lead against New Zealand and settled for a 2-2 draw in the 31st Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at the Sultan Azan Shah Hockey Stadium in Ipoh tonight.
The Malaysians got off to rousing cheers from fans and a solid start. It took the Speedy Tigers 10 minutes into the first quarter to take a 1-0 lead against the 2025 Nation Cup champions.
Silverius Shello picked up a brilliant long pass from Faizal Saari, raced into the semicircle chased by several New Zealand players hot on his heels, and powerfully packed a tomahawk. The ball struck the inner pads of goalkeeper Leon Hayward and skimmed into the goal.
The Speedy Tigers were not done in their demolition exercise. They earned their first penalty corner in the 22nd minute, and drag-flick specialist Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan stroked home the second goal with a perfectly calculated conversion. Malaysia 2 New Zealand 0.
New Zealand had earlier got off the blocks on a fast pace five minutes into the game, earning a penalty corner in the very first minute only to be denied by goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman who stood out tall.
The Black Sticks, however, stepped on their gear in the 26th minute and closed the gap through team captain Sam Lane from a penalty stroke as the score stood at 2-1 at the interval. Dylan Thomas, however, lifted his side with the equaliser two minutes before the end of regulation time.
The opening day start time of all matches were earlier rescheduled due to a heavy downpour since 3pm. An earlier match between India and South Korea that was initially scheduled to be played at 4.00pm, has been rescheduled to 10.00pm, after the conclusion of the Belgium-Canada encounter, which started at 8.30pm instead of 8.00pm.
The return of the Speedy Tigers most prolific goal-scorer Faizal Saari, 34, who announced his retirement nine months ago, had drawn excitement among Malaysian fans. It was the 34-year-old Faizalâs first international match.
MALAYSIA â Sarjit Singh (Coach)
I think both teams played well on a wet pitch. Both teams took their chances well. We are having the same problem of allowing our opponents to score at the very last minute. We need to look into this again. But overall, I think the boys played well on a heavy pitch. It is not easy to play. Substitution is very important. It was a fair result.
NEW ZEALAND: Greg Nicol (Coach)
We adapted to the situation well. In the early part of the game, we had several chances but the Malaysians really came fighting. I like the character in the team. The players came back to score the equalizer. We are really happy at howe we came back into the game. They didnât give up.
