Malaysia’s Young Tigers lifted the 14th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup in a thrilling penalty shoot-out victory at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium on Saturday night.
Both teams were locked in a 2-2 draw at the end of regulation time, forcing the match into a shootout which the Malaysians won 4-3. Adam Asyraf Johari, Gagandeep Singh, Rahu ul Fazrien Nazrien and Ashrafeel Iman Rizal converted for Malaysia during the shootout.
The final was witnessed by 5,000 fans that included Dato’ Haji On Jabbar @ Jaffar (Deputy Johor State Secretary), and Tuan Haji Mohd Hairi Mad Shah (State Exco for Youth and Sports).
The Malaysians won the first edition of the SOJC in 2011, defeating Australia 3-2 in extra time. And 15 years later claimed the trophy once again – restoring dignity after a long drought.
Malaysia and Pakistan hockey matches have consistently generated excitement. This is the Majic of the Sultan of Johor Cup.
An inspiring performance from Malaysian goalkeeper Mohd Adib Amysar throughout the match was the sole reason why the Green Shirts had difficulty breaking through the defence. Adib made several excellent saves, thwarted Waleed Rana close range shots as the Pakistanis went into attacking mode.
The young Malaysian goalkeeper received the Man of the Match and Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament awards.
The bubble, however, burst when Waleed converted a penalty corner (19th minute) and Muhammad Usman field goal (23rd) injected confidence in the Pakistanis following a 2-0 lead.
As the game wore on, the Malaysians clawed back to reduce the deficit to 2-1 through Adam Ashraf Johari penalty corner execution in the 25th minute, and Dheeressh Gunalan converted a penalty corner (49th) to level score 2-2 at the final hooter.
Malaysian players failed to capitalise after Pakistan were down to 10 men. Ali Hamza was flashed a yellow card for an infringement in the 57th minute.
With the SOJC Trophy in hand, the Young Tigers had a second mission. Hardly two hours after the celebration, the players rushed to KLIA from Johor Bahru to board a flight to Chennai, India to compete in the All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament from Oct22-Nov 1.
ROLL OF HONOUR
Champions: Malaysia
Runner-up: Pakistan
Third: Japan
Fourth: Canada
Fifth: China
Man of the Match: Mohamad Adib Amsyar (Malaysia)
Best Player: Muhammd Ammad (Pakistan)
Top Goal Scorer: Ryosuke Shinchara (Japan)
Best Goalkeeper: Mohamad Adib Amsyar (Malaysia)
Fair Play: Japan
