Foto: Pakistan Come From Behind To Beat Malaysia 4-1

IPOH, Aug 25 - Former World champion Pakistan came from behind to crush Malaysia 4-1 in a highly exciting Group A Asia Cup 2013 encounter at the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey stadium, here, Sunday night.

Malaysia had taken a much deserved lead through Muhammad Razie Abdul Rahim's clinically struck penalty corner in the 26th minute but that goal only seemed to have awakened the Pakistan side that has won the Asia Cup in 1982, 1985 and 1989 because they played with renewed vigour.

The tremendous pressure applied by the Pakistanis paid off in 32nd minute when Muhammad Zubair rammed home from close range to equalise but that was only to signal the start of more things to come after the break.

A lapse in concentration in defence saw Pakistan take the lead through Muhammad Dilber's 46th minute field goal while skipper Muhammad Waqas made it 3-1 in the 60th minute before Shafaq Rasool put the icing on the cake, six minutes before the end.

Coach Paul Revington said though he was disappointed with the result, he was happy with the performance of his players.

"I am satisfied with the determination that was shown by all the players, but some things need to be improved, especially in terms of defence which was a little loose," he said.

Revington said the next match against Japan on Tuesday was very important for Malaysia.

"We should take some time to fix some flexibility on the defensive line before the next match," he said.

In a match played earlier, defending champion South Korea whipped Bangladesh 9-0 in a Group B match while Japan beat Taiwan 5-1 in a Group A match.

Malaysia play Japan on Tuesday and a win or draw will see Malaysia move into the semifinals.

Tomorrow, Bangladesh will again see action against Oman while India face South Korea.

-BERNAMA

Foto: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2013, Australia is the Champion

More photo in my Facebook Page HERE

IPOH, March 17  - Australia lifted the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup for the seventh time beating hosts Malaysia 3-2 in a thrilling final at Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium Sunday night.

The result broke the hearts of thousands of fans who were counting on Malaysia to emerge champions for the first time in the tournament's 30 year history.

Australia who are currently ranked second in the world won the tournament in 1983, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2011.

The Regent of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah Raja watched the final and later presented the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to the Australian team led by Robert Hammond.

The Puan Besar of Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim was also present.

Over 12,000 supporters filled Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium chanting support and beating drums as Malaysia coached by Paul Revington put up a fine display.

Malaysia drew first blood when Faisal Saari who has scored five goals in the tournament connected a penalty corner by Azran Misron to score in the 4th minute.

Stung, Australia came charging and were rewarded when Nicholas Budgeon scored in the 29the minute to equalise.

It was followed by the second goal in the 30th minute when Craig Boyne's field goal beat Malaysian goalkeeper S.Kumar.

Malaysia got the equaliser in the 49th minute when Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Abdul Jalil scored a field goal to put the score at 2-2.

Trent Mitton was the hero when his field goal in the 70th minute gave Australia coached by Ric Charlesworth their seventh title of the tournament.

In the third place match, South Korea beat defending champions New Zealand 2-1.

South Korea opened scoring via Hyun Hye Sung (33) only for New Zealand to equalise when Stephen Jenness scored (41).

Nam Hyun Woo gave South Korea victory when he scored in the 58th minute to confirm third place while New Zealand had to settle for fourth place.

In the match for fifth place, India beat Pakistan 4-2.

India's goals were scored by Rupinder Pal Singh (16,62), Akashdeep Singh (35) and Malak Singh (43).

Pakistan scored with goals by Muhammad Imran (8) and Syed Kashif Shah(46).

-BERNAMA

Foto: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2013, Malaysia vs Australia [Men's Hockey]

IPOH, March 12 - Ace striker Faizal Shaari was the savior of the national team when his 69th minute goal helped Malaysia to secure a 1-1 draw against seven times champions Australia in the prestigious Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey championship at the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium here Tuesday night.

The first half saw the national players who are coached by South African Paul Revington pull off numerous fine moves which had Aussie keeper Andrew Charter on tenterhooks.

In the 27th minute, Muhammad Marhan Mohd Jalil had a golden chance to put Malaysia ahead but failed to overcome Charter in a one-to-one situation.

And just as the first half was about to end with neither side appearing to score, Trent Mitton managed to beat Malaysia's keeper S.Kumar in a goalmouth melee a minute before the half-time siren to put the Aussies ahead.

Despite the deficit, the almost 4,000 home fans who packed every nook and corner of the stadium remained solidly behind their heroes and buoyed them on with the song 'Perajurit Tanah Air' (Our Warriors) and beat drums that reverberated throughout the venue.

It was just the tonic the hosts needed and they reciprocated with Faizal Shaari turning hero when he found the equaliser in 69th minute with a piledriver from a rebound on a penalty corner that Muhammad Razie Abdul Rahim was unable to convert.

Malaysia next play Pakistan on Thursday, also in a night match.

Malaysia captained by Mohd Shahrun Nabil Abdullah had won their two earlier matches, against South Korea on Saturday and New Zealand on Sunday.

In the afternoon matches played today, South Korea lost 0-3 to New Zealand while India beat Pakistan 3-1.

- BERNAMA

Foto: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2013, Malaysia vs New Zealand (Men's Hockey)

IPOH, March 10 - Malaysia scored its second consecutive win in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup by beating defending champion New Zealand 2-1 at the Azlan Shah Stadium, here, Sunday night.

Malaysia, looking very much a rejuvenated side under newly appointed coach Paul Revington from Ireland, had beaten South Korea 3-2 yesterday.

In today's match, both teams started on a cautious note, resulting in a scoreless first half.

But once the second half got underway, the Malaysian side played with more urgency and only five minutes into the restart, seasoned campaigner Chua Boon Huat put his side in the driving seat, taking advantage of a goal mouth melee to slam the ball home in the 40th minute.

It was Boon Huat's third goal in two matches.

Four minutes later (44th min), Tengku Ahmad Tajudin Abdul Jalil gave the home fans reason to cheer by slotting home the second goal.

Stunned by the goals, New Zealand sprang into action and doubled their efforts at goal only to see a number of good chances missed.

However, the Kiwis managed to reduce the deficit from a penalty corner set piece in the 65th minute through Shay Neal, resulting in a tense five minutes for the home side and the fans.

Meanwhile, Tengku Ahmad Tajudin was awarded the man-of-the-match for his silky skills and tireless efforts.

In earlier matches played today, Australia whipped Pakistan 6-0 while South Korea made up for their defeat yesterday by beating India 2-1.

--BERNAMA

Foto: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2013, Malaysia vs Korea [Mens' Hockey]

IPOH, March 9 (Bernama) -- Malaysia kicked off their Sultan Azlan Shah Cup campaign in style by upsetting South Korea 3-2 at the Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium, here Saturday night.

Malaysia opened accounts from a penalty corner in the 21st minute through Faizal Saari but South Korea levelled the score in the 57th minute through Nam Hyun Woo's field goal after a goal mouth melee.

Seasoned campaigner Chua Boon Huat made it 2-1 in the 68th minute but the Koreans again levelled the tie a minute later from a Yoon Sung Hoon strike.

Just when the match was headed for a draw, Boon Huat struck again in the final minute to ensure all three points for the home team.

Malaysian team skipper Mohd Shahrun Nabil when met after the match attributed the win to the undivided support from the supporters.

"Boon Huat has vast experience and he was certainly the mentor and guiding force to the team in the match," he said.

In earlier matches, Pakistan beat New Zealand 4-3 while Australia, winners of the title seven times, beat India 4-3 to start their campaign on a winning note.

In tomorrow's fixtures, Australia take on Pakistan, South Korea face India and Malaysia are up against New Zealand.

Tomorrow's fixtures:

Australia vs Pakistan- 4.05pm

South Korea vs India- 6.05pm

Malaysia vs New Zealand - 8.05pm

-BERNAMA

Foto: Perak YBU FC vs Penang, FAM League

Alright, I admit it, I am one of the hardcore fans of this Panther team. But past few years, this team hasn't be able to play well. They become such a big loser with capital L!

Former FA Cup Champion, Penang dropped their title consistently. Sacked from Super League, unable to performed in Premier League and now they are playing in the 3rd Division League, FAM.

Struggling to carry the burden from the past, they hired Merzagua who's also former player of Penang during their 'happy' time.

So they are now, crawling slowly to ensure top place in this league in order to qualified in the Premier League.

Today's game was good after they beat YBU FC 3-2

Foto: Food(ography)

Its been a long time since I posted the last photo of mine. Yup, the school holiday is around the corner, a lot of invitations and jobs surely fully book for all the wedding photogs...

Me too..so need to refresh my skill..

Foto: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2012 - Malaysia vs Argentina

It was heartbreak for Great Britain as they watched from the stands where a solitary goal was enough to deny them a chance to play in the final against New Zealand.

But the story of the day was Pakistan’s fall from grace as the Asian Champions finished as wodden spoonists after they lost 2-1 to Great Britain.

The last time Pakistan had finished last was in the 1986 World Cup in London.

Argentina opened scoring in the 39th minute when a low drag flick by Pedro Ibarra went through the pads of Malaysian goalkeeper S. Kumar.

As for Pakistan, heads would surely roll upon their return and this fact was not discounted by coach Khajwa Junaid who said the one of the key reasons for their dismal performance was due to the fact they had included six juniors who played in the Junior Asia Cup early May in Malacca, Malaysia.

The six are Kashif Shah, Khalid Bhatti, M Rizwan Junior, Muhammad Tauseeq, Muhammad Umar Bhutta and Ali Shan

“We now realise that it was asking too much from these youngsters who could not coipe with the demands of playing in back to back tournament,” said Junaid.

“We really had no choice but to include them as this is the team that will leave for the Europe tour two days upon our return to Pakistan.”

Junaid said that they would leave it to the national selectors with regards to the inclusion of any of the eight players that faced disciplinary issues after they participated in the unsanctioned World Hockey Series in India last March.

Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi were fined USD10,870 while Waseem Ahmed, Zeeshan Ashraf, Imran Warsi, Adnan Maqsood, Tariq Aziz and Mudassar Ali Khan received fines of USD2,717 each.

“The chief selector Hanif Khan has been monitoring the performance of this team via the TV telecasts and I have been in touch with him,” said Junaid.

“So far the inclusion of any of those players has never been brought up as we are awaiting word from FIH with regards to the sanctions against these players.”

Pakistan’s last placing was their worst ever performance in the history of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup since the inaugural event. Prior to this the three times champion’s worst finish was a sixth placing in a eight team event in 2007.

“Not that I am offering excuses for our performances here but the reality is that we failed to convert the chances that we created,” said Junaid.

“We were not consistent and in some matches we held the edge but could not finish off the game.”

As for Great Britain coach Jason Lee, the team that played in the Azlan Shah Cup will be retained for the Olympics with two players to be left out.

“We have 18 players here and the final squad for the Olympics will come from this team” said Jason.

“We would have made the final had we not dropped vital points against Malaysia where we were 3-1 up but conceded two late goals.

“But on the hindsight it has been a good tournament for me as we had a variety of opponents and I picked up a lot of pointers that will serve us well this summer.”

Meanwhile Korea defeated New Zealand 1-0 in a match that really had no bearing to the fortunes of both teams.

New Zealand had already assured themselves of a place in Sunday’s final. Korea scored the winner in the 68th minute through Jang Jong Hyun.

Argentina defeated Malaysia 1-0 to qualify for the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Tips: Goal!!!

I've shared some method widely use by profesional photo blogger during their photoshoot in my personal blog!

MALAYSIA CUP 2011 | 2ND QUARTER | PERAK VS SELANGOR

 Selangor's renaissance under interim coach P. Maniam continued after Rudie Ramli scored in a 1-0 win over Perak in the second leg at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh for a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Perak had few goalscoring chances despite having the majority of possession and were punished five minutes into the second half when Rudie, who came off the bench to replace the injured Amri Yahyah midway through the first half, headed into an empty net.

The goal resulted from a free-kick taken by Safiq Rahim, who scored twice from set-piece play in the first leg, which could only be pushed high up by goalkeeper Nasril Nourdin as Rudie followed up with an opportunistic header for his second goal of the tournament.

 More photos in my Facebook Page

GET SET....GO!

Dang! My Yellow team lost again to the Blue team even though they started with a good leading point...hmm!

More photos in my Facebook Page...

THE GRAND STAND

Here is one of  "the supporter" having a great time watching the kids playing football. I wonder how much he paid to get the sit there... hehehehe

HANDBALL

Here is my handball team (boys) who has successfully qualified to the district level in 19 February 2011. They gave everything to regain the title, but luck was not on their side.

They finished first in their group, beating SK Dato Sagor in semi final 5 -2, but lost to SK Chenderong Keludi in tossing coin session after both team was tied 1-1 after fulltime and penalty.

Both team qualified to represent their zone in the district level....