Great Britain suffer late fightback in Malaysia

25th May 2012

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Great Britain’s men found themselves pegged back in the stifling
final stages of their opening match at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in
Malaysia as the hosts scored twice in the final three minutes to
draw 3-3. Great Britain had stormed into a 3-1 lead at the
break thanks to goals from East Grinstead pair Glenn Kirkham and
Ashley Jackson and one from Surbiton’s Rob Moore. And there
were further chances to extend the lead in the second period before
Malaysia hit back late.

Things began well for Great Britain, who welcomed back Surbiton’s
Matt Daly to the side after a long term injury kept him sidelined
for much of the year.

An early clash of heads saw Loughborough Students’ Richard Smith
receive treatment before Great Britain hit their stride with Glenn
Kirkham weaving his way into the circle after good work by
Hampstead & Westminster’s Dan Fox on the right. Kirkham
worked his space well to fire home the opening goal as GB’s Sultan
Azlan Shah Cup campaign got underway.

Cheered on by the Sultan himself and a partisan crowd on the blue
and pink turf in Ipoh, the hosts fought back, winning a penalty
corner that Azlan Mizron, the corner injector, flicked beyond James
Fair as the ball came back to him from the top of the circle.

Ten minutes later GB went ahead again. Ashley Jackson will
not have scored many simpler goals in his career than the one he
hit low and hard to put GB 2-1 up midway through the half.
Finding himself in acres of space after being played through
the heart of the Malaysian defence the East Grinstead midfielder
took time to pick his spot before lashing home low into the bottom
left corner. It was Jackson’s 70th international goal.

Surbiton’s Rob Moore then threatened as he too found space at the
top of the circle but his shot was palmed over the crossbar.
Two minutes later though Moore had his goal as he executed a
well struck volley that flew beyond the Malaysian goalkeeper into
the net for 3-1.

Before the break, there was still time for Jackson to test the
goalkeeper from a penalty corner but the 24 year old’s flick was
cleared well.

Cannock goalkeeper James Fair was called upon early in the second
half as he kept out an early penalty corner before a British
onslaught began. GB captain Barry Middleton came closest to
extending his side’s lead when he robbed a defender in the circle
before attempting a superb chip that beat the goalkeeper, only to
come back off the crossbar.

There were further opportunities for Daly and Jackson, both of whom
came close, before Malaysia’s fight back began. The hosts won
a brace of penalty corners, both of which GB survived, only to see
Faisal Saari score with a sublime reverse stick shot with just
three minutes remaining.

The match seemed to turn on that goal and with the crowd and
momentum behind them Malaysia netted again just 60 seconds later. A
bouncing ball found its way through the British defence and Saari
made no mistake to equalise from point blank range.

Afterwards, Head Coach Jason Lee said, “We’re pleased with how we
played in the first half and we had enough chances in the15 minutes
after half time to put the game beyond Malaysia but as expected in
the dying minutes the heat became a factor. In the end the
game was five minutes too long for us.”

Great Britain’s next match is on Sunday against India, whom they
recently beat twice at the Visa International Invitational Olympic
Test Event.

British sports fans have another opportunity to cheer on the GB
women’s team at the forthcoming Investec London Cup in Chiswick
from 5-10 June. Tickets are still available by visiting
www.greatbritainhockey.co.uk/investeclondoncup.

Great Britain had stormed into a 3-1 lead at the break thanks to
goals from East Grinstead pair Glenn Kirkham and Ashley Jackson and
one from Surbiton’s Rob Moore. And there were further chances
to extend the lead in the second period before Malaysia hit back
late.

Things began well for Great Britain, who welcomed back
Surbiton’s Matt Daly to the side after a long term injury kept him
sidelined for much of the year.

Cheered on by the Sultan himself and a partisan crowd on the
blue and pink turf in Ipoh, the hosts fought back, winning a
penalty corner that Azlan Mizron, the corner injector, flicked
beyond James Fair as the ball came back to him from the top of the
circle.

Surbiton’s Rob Moore then threatened as he too found space at
the top of the circle but his shot was palmed over the crossbar.
Two minutes later though Moore had his goal as he executed a
well struck volley that flew beyond the Malaysian goalkeeper into
the net for 3-1.

Before the break, there was still time for Jackson to test the
goalkeeper from a penalty corner but the 24 year old’s flick was
cleared well.

Cannock goalkeeper James Fair was called upon early in the
second half as he kept out an early penalty corner before a British
onslaught began. GB captain Barry Middleton came closest to
extending his side’s lead when he robbed a defender in the circle
before attempting a superb chip that beat the goalkeeper, only to
come back off the crossbar.

There were further opportunities for Daly and Jackson, both of
whom came close, before Malaysia’s fight back began. The
hosts won a brace of penalty corners, both of which GB survived,
only to see Faisal Saari score with a sublime reverse stick shot
with just three minutes remaining.

Afterwards, Head Coach Jason Lee said, “We’re pleased with how
we played in the first half and we had enough chances in the15
minutes after half time to put the game beyond Malaysia but as
expected in the dying minutes the heat became a factor. In
the end the game was five minutes too long for us.”

Great Britain’s next match is on Sunday against India, whom they
recently beat twice at the Visa International Invitational Olympic
Test Event.

Great Britain suffer late fightback in Malaysia

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