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Malaysia just want to avoid getting the wooden spoon

IPOH: A porous defence was the cause of Malaysia’s defeat to India on Monday.
The national team conceded two goals in the first 11 minutes of the match in their 3-2 loss.
Skipper and defender Mohd Shukri Abdul Mutalib admitted that they lost the match because of poor defending.

“We gave away the first goal in the ninth minute because junior player Norhizzat (Sumantri), who is making his debut with the national team, failed to clear the ball quickly.

“India scored their second goal two minutes later because none of the defenders ran to stop a direct hit from India’s Shivendra Singh off a penalty corner,” said the Sungkai-born Shukri, who has 153 international caps.

Besides Shukri and Norhizzat, the other defenders are Mohd Amin Rahim, Mohd Razie Abdul Rahim, Baljit Singh Charun and Mohd Noor Faeez Ibrahim.

The 26-year-old Shukri, who was named the national team captain for the first time, said they also failed to score from the chances they created in the first half.

“We failed to capitalise on the five penalty corners we earned in the match and only managed to score one goal through Mohd Amin Rahim,” said Shukri.

Malaysia have two points from three matches and are lying at the bottom of the standings. They drew the first two matches 1-1 against South Korea and 3-3 against Britain.

Shukri said their hopes of qualifying for the final are virtually over although they have three more matches to play.

Malaysia will face Pakistan today before taking on New Zealand tomorrow and Argentina on Saturday.
Shukri said they faced a tough task against Pakistan, who have talented players with good dribbling skills.
“They definitely will be going all out to beat us to stay in hunt for a place in the final. We need to play a tight marking game against them. We also cannot afford to give away penalty corners as Pakistan have Sohail Abbas, who is regarded as the best penalty corner flicker in the world,” said Shukri.

Malaysia lost to Pakistan the last time they met at the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy in Ordos, China, last September.

Shukri said they need to beat Pakistan to avoid finishing last in the tournament.
“The pressure will be on us and I hope my team-mates will rise to the occasion to register our first win in the tournament,” said Shukri.

Malaysia finished last in the seven-nation tournament last year.




THE STAR

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