Malaysia beat Pakistan 3-2 in the Sultan of Johor Cup at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru on Wednesday, sealing a place in Saturday’s final after a late comeback built entirely on Pakistan’s nine-minute discipline collapse. Pakistan had led 2-1 through two Adeel goals, but a red card and two yellow cards between the 51st and 58th minutes left the visitors with eight players, and Malaysia scored twice in two minutes to turn the match around. It was a bruising end to a mixed day for Pakistani sport, which had started with Pakistan’s 3-0 sweep of Bahrain in the Billie Jean King Cup in Islamabad. Pakistan now face Japan on Friday to decide the second finalist.
The collapse, minute by minute
12th minute: Pakistan win a penalty stroke after a video review rules that a Malaysian defender fouled inside the circle. Rana Waleed steps up, but the Malaysian goalkeeper reads the flick and saves it. At 0-0, it is the first turning point of the match, and it goes unnoticed.
Early second quarter: Malaysia draw first blood when T. Naaveennash Panicker converts Adam Asyraf Johari’s pass with a reverse-stick shot. Pakistan are behind, but playing well.
36th minute: Adeel levels it, firing home from close range after Muhammad Yahya Najeeb carries the ball into the circle from the left flank.
43rd minute: Adeel again. A defensive error from Malaysia’s Eswaran George, who fails to trap a long ball cleanly, lets the Pakistani forward slot in his second. Pakistan lead 2-1 and look the better side.
51st minute: The game turns. Rana Waleed is shown a red card for striking a Malaysian player on the forehead with his stick, Dawn reported. Pakistan are down to 10 players for the rest of the match.
54th minute: Three minutes later, Mustafa Ghulam is shown a yellow card and must spend five minutes on the sidelines. Pakistan are hanging on with nine outfield players.
55th minute: Malaysia make the numbers count. Safwan Salihe scores a field goal against the depleted defence to make it 2-2.
57th minute: Naaveennash strikes again, his second of the match, and Malaysia lead 3-2. Two goals in two minutes, both conceded while Pakistan were short-handed.
58th minute: Haider Asam is shown yellow. Dawn reported Pakistan finished the match down to eight players.
What the numbers say
Pakistan played the last nine minutes of the match with ten players, then nine, then eight, and conceded twice in two minutes. A side that had Adeel’s brace, a 2-1 lead at 43 minutes, and an early penalty stroke could not survive its own discipline record.
The penalty stroke that Waleed missed in the 12th minute, when the score was 0-0, proved costly in hindsight: an early lead would have forced Malaysia to chase the game, instead of letting the hosts grow into it.
Malaysia, meanwhile, could not convert any of their eight penalty corners, the Express Tribune reported, yet still scored three times from open play. Set pieces were not the problem for Pakistan. Discipline was: three cards in seven minutes, and each one punished.
September’s revenge
The win carried extra meaning for the hosts. Malaysia had lost twice to Pakistan at the Junior Asia Cup in Inner Mongolia, China, in September, and Wednesday’s result was a satisfying measure of revenge. The Sun reported it is only the second time Malaysia have reached the Sultan of Johor Cup final, having won the inaugural edition in 2011.
It adds to a bruising period for Pakistan hockey, which recently saw Pakistan’s withdrawal from the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy. The week’s one bright spot on the national teams front has been Pakistan’s T20I series win against Sri Lanka in cricket.
What happens next
Malaysia sit top of the standings with nine points from three wins and, The Sun reports, have booked their place in Saturday’s final. They still face Canada on Friday, a match that now decides only whether they finish top.
Pakistan and Japan both have six points, and their final group fixture on Friday works as a knockout for the second final berth. After Wednesday’s collapse, Pakistan must regroup fast: beat Japan, and they join Malaysia in the decider. Lose, and the tournament is over. Follow PakMirror’s section for the latest Pakistan sports news ahead of Friday’s decider.
