Australia regains Azlan Shah Cup

S. THYAGARAJAN

A golden goal by Chris Ciriello in the second half of the extra-time gave Australia its sixth triumph in the Sulan Azlan Cup Hockey tournament before a splendid crowd here on Sunday.

The teams were deadlocked 2-2 at the end of the regulation time. The Aussies had last won the trophy in 2007.

What appeared to be a prosaic final developed into an absorbing duel as Pakistan injected a rare element of verve, recovering twice from arrears, to get the equaliser seven minutes before the time.

The Pakistani fight-back was led by the indefatigable Shakeel Abbasi who tormented the rival defenders with his delightful sallies. Rizwan and Zubair contributed their share and were supported well in the mid-field by Waseem Ahmed.

Strangely, the Aussies were unable to exert continued pressure. There were phases when they tended to be tentative, despite the good work by Matthew Swann and Glenn Turner.

Ciriello converted a penalty corner early on and the Pakistanis hit the equaliser from Sohail Abbas following a penalty corner. Earlier, Zubair and Haseem Khan had nearly hit the target.

Minutes after the break, Australia surged ahead from a brilliant move initiated Liem de Young which Glenn Turner completed with a fluent shot from the top of the circle. Even as Australia was mounting pressure, came the equaliser for Pakistan from Rehan Butt, who hooked on to an astute forward pass by Abbasi.

There were several pulsating moments in the extra-time with the goalkeepers Imran Khan and George Bezeley effecting exciting stops from penalty corners.

Smothering persistent pressure with utmost equanimity, notwithstanding an early reverse, Great Britain pounded the Kiwis for a 4-2 defeat to pick the bronze medal.

It was lively encounter in which the Kiwis matched their opponents move for move in the first half.

Stephen Jenness put New Zealand ahead, but progressively Britain took control of the proceedings. A brilliant leveller from a thundering penalty corner by Richard Mantell sent the team on an equal score 1-1 for the break.

In the second half, Britain held the whip-hand and netted three goals. The best among them came from Matt Daly who tapped in a cross from Ian Mackay. In the closing minutes, Hilton Blair restricted the margin, making capital off a pass from Nicolas Wilson.

Palpably sluggish and sombre in mood, reflecting perhaps the overcast weather conditions here, India slumped to the sixth place against Korea.

Ironically, Sunday’s contestants had fought for the trophy last year and emerged as joint champions after heavy rain prevented the final being played.

There was precious little to relate anything about India’s showing with a veneer of eloquence. It looked as though the team was going through a routine in a monotonous manner, caving against even feeble moves.

Goal-keeper Adrian D’Souza was unequal to the task of saving the two penalty corners that Korea slotted in the first half. Nam Woo and Jang Jong are too well known in the area of converting penalty corners.

The only sparkle the team had was in the early minutes in the second half when Mandeep Antil strove manfully to inject an element of verve. But that too was brief as none in the team displayed ever an iota of fervour.

The moment to cherish surfaced immediately on resumption when Vikram Pillay scored off a cross from Vikas Sharma. Thereafter everything slipped into the rut again.

Rupinderpal makes it

Rupinderpal Singh was the only Indian selected by the team of coaches from among the players who took part in the tournament for the Sultan Azlan Shah’s XI.

The team: Goalkeeper: Kumar Subramaniam (Malaysi): Defenders: Rupinderpal Singh (India), Dean Couzins (New Zealand), Glenn Kirkham ( GB), Fergus Kavanagh (Australia); Mid-fielders: Shakeel Abbasi (Pakistan), Steven Edwards (New Zealand), Simon Orchard (Australia). Forwards: You Hyo Sik (Korea), Glenn Tuner (Australia) and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (Malaysia).

The results: 5-6: Korea 2 (Nam Hyun Woo, Jang Jong Hyun) bt India 1 (Vikram Pillay); 3-4: Great Britain 4 (Richard Mantell, Robert Moore, Richard Smith, Matt Daly) bt New Zealand 2 (Stephen Jenness, Hilton Blair). Final: Australia 3 (Christopher Ciriello 2 (with golden goal), Glenn Tuner) bt Pakistan (Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt).

Final positions: 1.Australia, 2. Pakistan 3. Great Britain 4. New Zealand, 5. Korea, 6. India, 7. Malaysia

Player of the tournament: Shakeel Abbasi (Pakistan); Player of the final: Christopher Ciriello.

Top scorers: 6-Sohail Abbas (Pakistan) and Rupinder Pal Singh (India).