Sultan of Johor Cup hockey live: India beat Malaysia 3-0 to claim their first title

Runners-up from last year, India beat hosts Malaysia 3-0 in the final of third edition of the under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament at Taman Daya Syadium in Johor Bahru. Catch all the match updates, as they happened:

 

Manpreet Singh (64th minute), Yousuf Affan (54th minute) and Amon Mirash Tirkey (22nd minute) were the goal-scorers for India.

19:41 (IST) That's it! India complete a resounding 3-0 win. No letups from the visitors against the anxious hosts Malaysia.

19:34 (IST) Finally a drag-flick works for India as skipper Manpreet Singh (64th minute) flicks it hard and straight into the net, dodging the Malaysian goalie. India lead 3-0 with 6 minutes left.

19:28 (IST) Another PC for India as Malaysian defender fouls against Amon Tirkey. A Malaysian defender's stick deflects the flick from Sukhmanjit Singh. It's still 2-0 for India.

19:27 (IST) With just over 10 minutes to full-time, India playing sensibly and continuing to attack rather than resting on a 2-0 lead. Remember, Malaysia came back into the contest yesterday with 10 minutes to go and hammered 3 goals.

19:22 (IST) Wonderful rally by Ramandeep and Yousuf Affan and the latter nets it in the 54th minute. India make it 2-0 over Malaysia.

19:18 (IST) Second penalty corner for Malaysia. And Harjot does it again, standing like a brick wall, he literally thwarts the flick away. The frustration continues for Malaysia.

19:13 (IST) India keeper Harjot Singh makes the big save. Excellent work by him as he kicks the ball after lying flat on the ground.

19:12 (IST) PC for Malaysia this time, Indians protest but to no avail. India must be on guard.

19:09 (IST) Another PC for India, direct drag flick taken, but the Malaysian goalie deflects it wide.

19:06 (IST) Indians earn another penalty corner, their first in the second half. A week drag-flick is negated by the defenders.

19:00 (IST) Second half starts. Malaysians eager to draw level.

 

18:55: (IST) First half stats - Shots on goal: India 6 Malaysia 2. Circle Penetrations: India 8 Malaysia 2. Penalty corners earned: India 4 Malaysia 0.

18:50: (IST) It's 1-0 for India at half-time. The visitors have more pressure on the Malaysians, who seem to have been hard done by the referee's decision to give India an extra PC.

18:46 (IST) India earn another penalty corner in the dying moments of 35th minutes. India can't make it count but claim another PC. Another drag-flick attempt is foiled, this time my Malaysian goal-keeper.

18:40 (IST) Both teams playing tight hockey but India are starting to attack more after taking the lead thanks to Amon's opening goal. About 5 minutes to go for half-time.

18:33 (IST) Amon Mirash Tirkey gives India 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute. Indians built the pressure from left-flank and Amon's sharp stick-work results in a field goal.

 

18:25 (IST) India skipper Manpreet Singh gets a green card and has to wait on the sidelines for two minutes. Referee found him 'elbowing' the Malaysian player near the base line.

18:20 (IST) Satbir earns India's first penalty corner. But India fail to make it count as Malaysian defenders fend off the Indian drag flick.

18:15 (IST) Indians make first penetration into the Malaysian circle, in the 6th minute. The hosts are sharp enough to stop any Indian shot on goal. It's 0-0.

18:11 (IST) Malaysians look more determined in the field, moving swiftly. India will have to guard against any complacency.

18:04 (IST) Teams take centrestage as national anthems are sung.

 

FACTOID: Muhammad Shahril Saabah of Malaysia is the tournament's highest goal scorer with 8 goals. Second comes Pakistan's Muhammed Dilber, who ended up with 7 goals. India's forward Ramandeep Singh is third - 6 goals.

17:35 (IST) Latest news from Johor Bahru - Argentina beat Pakistan 3-0 on penalties to claim third spot.

In the first match on Sunday, Korea hammered England 6-0 to claim fifth spot.

India vs Malaysia preview

India and Malaysia played out a 3-3 draw in the final pool game which was the dress rehearsal for the final. Both India and Malaysia finished with 13 points and were unbeaten in the round robin stages but the Indians managed the top position on account of a better goal difference.

With their final spots already sealed, both the teams lacked urgency and did not go all out in the match.

The Indians dominated the early exchanges and took the lead in the 10th minute when Satbir Singh slammed in from a rebound after Amit Rohidas' initial attempt from a penalty corner was blocked by Malaysian goalkeeper Mohd Hazrul Ahmad Sobri.

Malaysia earned a penalty corner in the 25th minute but wasted the opportunity as they failed to stop the push.

India doubled their lead in the 33rd minute through Ramandeep Singh who scored from an acute angle from the right to notch up his sixth goal in the tournament.

India, however, did not look impressive at the change of ends as they seemed content with the two goal lead.

Malaysia were the better side on display in the second half as they created more scoring opportunities but goals eluded them till the last 10 minutes of the game. (Read full match report)

India are runners-up of the previous edition in 2012. Malaysia won the inaugural edition in 2011, beating Australia 3-2 via golden goal.

Squads:

India: Amit Rohidas, Amon Mirash Tirkey, Harjeet Singh, Harjot Singh (GK), Imran Khan, Jarmanpreet Singh, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Mohammad Amir Khan, Pardeep Mor, Prabhdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Satbir Singh, Sukhmanjit Singh, Surender Kumar, Sushant Tirkey (GK), Talwinder Singh, Yousuf Affan.

Malaysia: Azwar Abdul Rahman, Faiz Helmi Jali, Kavin Kartik Govindasamy, Meor Muhamad Azuan, Mohamad Izad Jamaluddin, Mohamad Syamim Mohd Yusof, Mohd Hazrul Faiz (GK), Mohd Zulhairi Hashim, Muhamad Hafiz Zainol, Muhammad Azri Hassan, Muhammad Firhan Ashari, Muhammad Hafizuddin  Othman (GK), Muhammad Haziq Samsul, Muhammad Rashid Baharom, Muhammad Shahril Saabah, Muhd Fitri Saari,
Nor Aqmal Abdul Gaffar, Shazril Irwan Nazli.

Road to the final: India

Beat England 2-1: Talwinder Singh and Ramandeep Singh score for India. Sam French netted for England

Beat Argentina 3-2: Ramandeep Singh scored a brace, Yousuf Affan struck once for India. Carlos Ibarra scored twice for Argentina

Beat Pakistan 4-0: Sukhmanjit Singh's brace and a goal each by Ramandeep and Imran Khan take India though.

Beat Korea 6-1: Amit Rohidas, Satbir Singh, Talwinder Singh, Amon Mirash Tirkey, Ramandeep Singh, Yousuf Affan scored for India. You Seung Ju struck for Korea.

Draw Malaysia 3-3: Satbir Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Yousuf Affan scored for India. Muhammad Shahril Saabah nets a brace and Muhammad Rashid Baharom strikes once for Malaysia.