Saturday, October 14, 2017

ASIA CUP: Malaysia beat Korea again...

MALAYSIA beat South Korea 2-1 Saturday to cement their spot in the Asia Cup Round Robin with a match to spare in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  On Monday, Malaysia will play Oman while South Korea will meet China in the final Group B matches.
  The Koreans sat back and soaked in the pressure for the first 10 minutes, but still, Malaysia could not find the much needed break.
  Only in the last five minutes of the first quarter did the Koreans break into the Malaysian semi-circle, but stout defending kept them at bay.
  The stakes were high for Korea, as they needed to win and keep their World Cup hopes alive, while Malaysia played with great composure to deny them.
  Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin finally gave Malaysia the break, when he deftly dribbled into the semicircle and won the second penalty corner, for Faizal Shaari to nail the opening goal, and his fourth of the tournament, in the 17th minute.
  Faizal again played a pivotal role when Malaysia won their third penalty corner. This time he pushed to the centre for a set-piece and even though the ball was stopped by goalkeeper Hong Doopyo, Azri Hassan tucked in the rebound in the 19th minute.
  However, Korea came back into the match in the 27th minute when Lee Seunghoon scored a field goal from close range.
  But Malaysia played in the remaining minutes to deny South Korea an equaliser.

ends/