Malaysia

Malaysia defeated Belgium 4-2 in their Group F match to move into fourth place in the standings at the Junior World Cup in Rotterdam, Holland yesterday.

With the win our juniors stayed in the fight for the fifth to eight classification matches.

Once again Malaysia had penalty corner specialist Zulkifli Rejab to thank for as he scored a hat-trick against the Belgians. Yesterday's goals were his 10th in three matches and his 11th in the tournament.

The Malaysians will now play Pakistan in their last group match today and all they need is a draw to make the cut for the playoffs.

Zulkifli put the team ahead with a penalty corner goal in the 11th minute and midfielder Kelvinder Singh added the second goal in the 22nd minute.

The Belgians pulled one back in the 35th minute through Jerome Truyens and Maurice Dubois then found the equaliser in the 46th minute.

Zulkifli had the final say when he scored two more goals in the 55th and 60th minutes to give Malaysia their first win in the second round.

Earlier Australia became the first team to book their place in the semi-finals after thrashing Germany 7-1 in another Group F match.

The 1997 Junior World champions have a match in hand but with the win they have accumulated an unassailable 10 points. They play Argentina in their last group match today.

Australia took the early lead in the fourth minute when Ian Burcher scored with a drag flick from their first penalty corner of the match.

They then added two more goals in the 18th and 26th minutes through Eddie Ockenden and Colin Hennessey to take a healthy 3-0 first half lead. Ockenden's goal was a field attempt while Hennessey scored from a penalty corner rebound.

The Australians again started off the second half strongly as they scored their fifth goal just three minutes into the half through Hennessey. It was Hennessey’s 12th goal on the tournament and the forward has maintained his record of scoring in every match thus far.

The Germans managed to score in the 50th minute through Timo Witthaus but Tom Cleghorn, Des Abbot and Ockenden made sure their team stayed ahead when they increased the lead in the 53rd, 55th and 61st minutes respectively.

In another Group F match, Pakistan drew 1-1 with Argentina to virtually go out of the reckoning for a semi-final berth. They still have a match to go but will not be able to make it even if they beat Malaysia today.

After a goalless first half, Pakistan took a 58th minute lead through Mohamed Khalid Mohamed from a penalty corner set-piece move. But the Argentines equalised in the 62nd minute. They also scored from a penalty corner attempt with Lucas Vila finding the net with a drag flick

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