MJWC: Malaysia Go Down Fighting To Argentina
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| Malaysia |
June 30, 2005 
Bernama
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R. Lakshimi Devi
ROTTERDAM, June 30 -- Malaysia went down fighting 1-0 to Argentina in the 8th Junior Hockey World Cup tournament at the Rotterdam Hockey Club here Thursday.
The last edition's silver medallists, Argentina broke down Malaysia's defence as early as the second minute itself when Pedro Ibarra flicked a low ball that beat Malaysian goalkeeper Kairul Nizam Ibrahim.
The setback caused the boys to lose focus for a while before they mounted back attacks and were duly rewarded with two penalty corners, but Zulkiffli Mohamed Rejab and Mohamad Sufian Mohamad attempts were saved by Argentina's goalkeeper Juan Espinosa.
The Argentinians then stepped up a gear and began pressuring the Malaysian side but Kairul Nizam proved to be a major stumbling block and refused to let in anymore goals.
The first half ended 1-0 in favour of the Latin Americans.
The second half saw Malaysia hardly getting any chances to test Argentina's goalmouth.
An opportunity finally came at the very last minute but a free hit taken by Zulkiffli that met Mohamed Shukri Abdul Mutalib's stick bounced off the side pole and was promptly cleared to safety by an Argentinian defender.
"The defence was a bit shaky, and the forward line totally out today.
"We had chances to score but missed them all. Argentina played a very tight game and our players were well marked and I think credit should be given to their goalkeeper for saving our attempts," said Malaysian coach Sarjit Singh.
Malaysia's first 11: Kairul Nizam Ibrahim, Mohamad Sufian Mohamad, Megat Azrafiq Megat Termizi, Mohamad Sallehin Abdul Ghani, Zulkiffli Mohamad Rejab, Engku Abdul Malek Engku Mohamad, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil, Mohamed Shukri Abdul Mutalib, Ismail Abu, Kevinder Singh, Norikram Sulaiman
Argentina's first 11: Matias Rey, Ignacio Bergner, Lucas Argento, Pedro Ibarra, Facundo Callioni, Lucas Rossi, Agustin Corradini, Lucas Vila, Juan Espinosa, Matias Recabarren, Tomas Argento.
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