IPOH - Nic Woods converted two penalty corners to hand defending champions New Zealand a 5-3 victory over Pakistan in the round-robin league of the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament, here today.
Twin strikes by Woods in the space of three minutes put New Zealand on winning course after the teams were level 2-2 at half-time.
Back to winning habit after being held to draws by Malaysia and Canada in their initial two outings, New Zealand took their points tally for five, while Pakistan have three points from two matches. Pakistan had beaten Canada 3-1 in their opening fixture. Pakistan opened the account in the eighth minute through Arslan Qadir, who flicked in Ajaz Ahmed's cross just wide of goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex.
Pakistan could have increased the lead two minutes later from their first penalty corner when the shot deflected off the goalkeeper's pads to the goal-post and back into play. The Black Sticks defenders did not have a clue about the ball's direction until it was cleared in a melee.
New Zealand drew parity in the 12th minute when George Muir's diagonal cross was deflected into the boards by Stephen Jenness. Captain Simon Child put the Black Sticks ahead for the first time in the 19th minute when his reverse shot from top of the circle went through Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Butt's pads.
Pakistan then forced seven penalty corners in the space of three minutes, four of them in a succession before equalising in the 21st minute. Irfan Jr found the target in a scrimmage following a penalty corner shot. New Zealand left Pakistan way behind with three goals in a four minute burst. Two strikes by Woods (39th and 42nd minutes) and one by Kane Russell (43rd) on penalty corners stunned Pakistan.
Pakistan tried to stage a comeback and exerted a lot of pressure on New Zealand, but could only reduce the margin by a goal. Qadir scored his second goal for Pakistan in the 52nd minute before New Zealand closed the gaps in their defence.
New Zealand coach Colin Batch was happy with the win as it put them back on the title hunt. “But I cannot say that I am overly happy with the performance. We certainly did better in some areas like converting the penalty corners,” he said.
“The early part was also good. We should have managed the fourth quarter better when they came at us,” said Colin.
Pakistan coach Khawaja M. Junaid reckoned that it was the best match of the tournament so far. “It had everything and I am glad that we are able to play such a high level game. We made some early mistakes and our penalty corner defending was not up to expectations. These are areas we need to be more consistent. We hope to improve in the next game,” he said.
Three goals in less than two minutes late into the third quarter, saw Australia beating hosts Malaysia 5-1 and leapfrog to the top of the table.
Malaysia found the opening goal from what was their first true attack of the Australian goalmouth and against the run of play. They were awarded their first penalty corner in the 24th minute. Sukri Mutalib seems to have misjudged the push but managed to stop the ball outside the circle and relayed it back to skipper Razie Rahim, whose rising shot beat the Aussie keeper Tyler Lovell.
Malaysia, after taking a shock lead , were caught napping by the Aussies. It took Australia just two minutes to hit back, They forced a penalty corner in 26 minute. While they failed to make a conversion, they did strike from ensuing free hit. This time Hairi could not stop the flick from Jacob Whetton from the right of the goalmouth.
Then in the third quarter, they scored three well executed field goals in quick succession. Flynn Ogilvie gave them the lead with a delightful scoop in the 40th minute and Matt Gohdes notched their third within seconds of the restart after the Aussies stole the ball from the Malaysian at midfield. Flynn picked up his second with another beautifully crafted field goal in the 41st minute. Flynn, was awarded the Man of the Match for his brilliant display.
Malaysia conceded a late goal in the 55th minute after committing all the players in attack. Craig Thomas found himself ahead of the Malaysian defence and was gifted with the goal. By then Malaysia were well and truly beaten by the marauding Aussies.
Earlier, fast-improving Canada posted their first victory in three outings by prevailing 3-1 over Japan. After a goalless first half, Canada rode on two open field goals in successive minutes to take a 2-0 lead. Mark Pearson (34th minute) and Garbiel Ho-Garcia (35th) penetrated the Japanese circle to shoot on target before Japan pulled one back in the 42nd through captain Hiroki Sakamoto through a penalty corner. Canada sealed the fate of the contest with a 45th-minute penalty corner strike by captain Scott Tupper. The victory took Canada's points tally to four from three outings. They had picked up the first point from a 1-1 draw against New Zealand on Thursday. Japan have suffered defeats in all their three outings.
STANDINGS
Pos Team Played w D L Points
1 Australia 2 1 0 0 6
2 New Zealand 3 1 2 0 5
3 Canada 3 1 1 1 4
4 Malaysia 3 1 1 1 4
5 Pakistan 2 1 0 1 3
6 India 2 1 0 1 3
7 Japan 3 0 0 3 0
Results
Australia 5-1 Malaysia
New Zealand 5-3 Pakistan
Canada 3-1 Japan
TODAY’S FIXTURES
Japan vs New Zealand
Australia vs Pakistan
Canada vs India