A stroke of brilliance from T. Naaveenesh Panicker, Ammar Qusyairi Abd
Halim and Muhammad Danish Irfan ruffled New Zealand as the Malaysian
Young Tiger squad romped to a 4-2 victory in the Sultan of Johor Cup at the
Johor Hockey Stadium today.
The victory came at a time the Malaysians needed the best of luck to
advance further in the tournament after falling back following a 2-7
devastating defeat against Pakistan last Saturday, and rose to great heights
to hold two-time champions Australia to a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
Naaveenesh, who was named Man of the Match, fired the Young Tigers
ahead with a brace in the 16 th and 19 th minutes, Ammar extended the lead
to 3-0 in the very next seconds to give the local fans a rousing roar at the
end of the first half.
The Kiwis, who had defeated the Malaysians 3-2 at the 2024 edition,
reduced the deficit through Javahn Jones (44 th ) and Rocco Ludolph (47) in a
space of three minutes.
However, as the clock ticked away with three minutes remaining towards the
end of regulation time, Muhammad Danish made the best of opportunities
by placing the ball into an empty goalmouth following New Zealand coach
Mike Delaney’s decision to opt for power five minutes earlier.
An elated Malaysian head coach Nor Saiful Zaini said: “We planned the
game, and execute well. The players are quick to learn in this team. And
then, there were things that we didn’t expect to happen. For example,
leading 3-0, we missed some opportunities. And then we saw New
Zealand’s resurgence at that time.”
“That’s something I think we need to learn. We don’t want to be defending
throughout the whole quarter. We would lose the ball, then defend again.
They scored two goals while we were under pressure. We need to learn to
control the game.”
Man of the Match, Naaveenesh, echoed: “Obviously, it’s a big achievement
for me. And, something that I’ve always wanted. And scoring two goals is
not easy against New Zealand or any other international teams. So, it’s a
great achievement for me and I am looking for me,” said the 20-year-old
Naaveenesh, who aspires to further his studies at Uniten.