KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia came alive in the last 15 minutes to beat world No. 22 China 2-0 in a Super Four match of the Asia Cup at the Rajgir Sports Complex in Bihar, India today.
Defender Syed Syafiq Syed Cholan gave Malaysia the lead off his second penalty corner in the 45th minute. Malaysia kept up the pressure, and two minutes later, Akhimullah Anuar Esook scored from close range. It was Akhimullah’s 10 goals in four matches.
The match was very physical as three yellow and four green cards were flashed by the umpire.
It was Malaysia’s 13th win over China in 18 matches since the World Cup Qualifier in Invercargill, New Zealand in 2009.
The win was a relief for coach Sarjit Singh and his men after their 4-1 loss to China in the Asian Champions Trophy in Inner Mongolia last September.
World No. 12 Malaysia need another win from their remaining two matches against world No. 7 India tomorrow and defending champions South Korea on Saturday to qualify for the final.
China went on the offensive from the first whistle, but they could not capitalise on six penalty corners while Malaysia converted one of the six they earned.
In the 33rd minute, Malaysia and China were reduced to 10 men each when captain Marhan Jalil and China’s Lu Yuanlin were flashed yellow cards for a scuffle. Both players were sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes.
Sarjit said: “We played to our structure and did not give them a lot of gaps. We know China is good on counter attacks and we played more defensive.
“We played a patient game and when we had the chances, we scored.”
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
