KUALA LUMPUR, 28 May 2005 — Unfancied Korea gave title favorites Australia a scare before settling for a 3-3 draw against the Olympic champions with a last gasp goal in the 14th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup here at the National Hockey Center yesterday.
Striker Hyu Sik You struck with a splendid field goal in the 69th minute through a reverse flick to give Korea a point from the match which was led by the Asian Games champions 2- 0 till the 51st minute.
The Koreans dominated their opening game of the tournament during the most of the first session before the Aussies displayed their firepower with three goals within a span of 11 minutes to avoid a shock defeat.
India also staged a major second half recovery producing two desperate goals to hold dangerous New Zealand 2-2 in an earlier match of the day.
The Indians, who managed a 2-1 win over South Africa the other day, have a tougher time against the Kiwis who led 2- 0 until the 41st minute of the match.
New Zealand produced a double strike within four minutes through Darren Smith and Bevan Hari as India struggled to find their momentum in the first half.
The Indians were more purposeful in the second session and finally managed to open their account through Rajpal Singh in the 42nd minute. They continued to attack and were finally rewarded for their persistence when seasoned striker Prabhjot Singh connected an indirect short corner attempt five minutes from the final whistle.
“Mine is a young team which is why I won’t say that it is a bad result,” said Indian coach Rajinder Singh (Jr). “We are not among the title contenders here but I am hopeful my boys would improve in the coming matches,” he said.
The Australia-Korea match was by far the most dramatic of the tournament yet with both sides producing some delightfully attacking hockey.
Korea accumulated a 2-0 advantage by the 28th minute with striker Eun Seong Hong scoring both the goals.
The Aussies recovered to their brilliant best in the last quarter of the match and scored a flurry of goals through Luke Doerner, Micheal Mc Cann and world player of the year Jamie Dwyer. Dwyer, however was sent off for a foul three minutes from time and that helped Korea score the equalizer in the dying moments of the match.
Meanwhile, Pakistani officials were busy calling a late night team meeting after watching Korea’s surprisingly good performance against the best-rated team of the competition.
The national team management had underestimated the Koreans, whom Pakistan play today, but were forced to sit back and notice the Koreans making their presence felt in their opening game of the tournament.
“We were not expecting Korea to do so well,” admitted Tahir Zaman, Pakistan’s coach. “This result would certainly force us to take them a lot more seriously tomorrow.”
Pakistan, three-time champions, struggled to beat New Zealand 2-1 in their opening game the other day and are looking forward to another positive result against Korea to remain in the hunt for the title.
