The Hindu : Sport : Koreans rally to beat the Kiwis

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 03, 2005

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Koreans rally to beat the Kiwis

S. Thyagarajan

Kuala Lumpur: Sluggish and surprisingly unsystematic in defence and attack, the Koreans struggled right through to get the better of New Zealand in the Azlan Shah hockey tournament here. That Korea managed to emerge winner 6-4, with the last goal coming nine seconds before the hooter conveys the oscillating fortunes in the contest.

The win gives Korea an outside chance to figure in the final depending on the outcome of the matches involving Pakistan and the defending champion Australia. Former champion, Pakistan heads the table with 13 points, while Australia has 11 followed by Korea with 10. New Zealand finished its programme with seven points.

Stunned by the two early goals though Phil Burrows and Geredh Brooks within five minutes from the start, the Koreans knew they had a battle on their hands. The Kiwis, with the mid-field working delectably under the leadership of Simon Towns, were far more constructive than the more famous Koreans whose defence in the match on Thursday was awful.

Initiative with Kiwis

A goal out of a solo run by Jong Ho Seo put some life into the Koreans, but the initiative was with New Zealand which enlarged the margin through the goal by Bryce Colin. A neat penalty corner by Jong Hyo Jang narrowed the lead by half-time (2-3). Another penalty shortly after the break culminated in Byung Hoon Kim finding the equaliser. A quick sally by Seo was intercepted by Simon Towns, but umpire Javed Sheikh awarded a stroke much to the chagrin of the Kiwi defenders.

Kyung Seok Kim put the team ahead only to see Brooks making the best of a penalty corner skirmish to level 4-4.

A draw was on the cards as the Kiwi goalkeeper Paul Woolford brought off a few lovely saves leaving the Koreans desperate. Yellow cards to Burrows and Jong Hyun Jang heightened the tension briefly before Hyo Sik You moved up unchallenged to slot the winner. The Kiwis made a last ditch effort to force a draw but only ended up conceding another goal through Jon Ho Seo.

India faces Australia

There are smiling faces and appreciative nods in the Indian camp after the sensational fightback against Pakistan in the second half. Apart from providing some consolation that the team, at last, had found its touch, the outcome was of no help to improving the rating on the table. With four points from five matches, India faces another formidable opponent in Australia on Friday.

Assuming that the matches against the Aussies have always proved lively — the last meeting at Athens where the Aussies won 4-3 in the final minute — an interesting tie is on the cards. But it must be emphasised that the Australians are a different kind compared to Pakistan which plays open hockey providing enough space for the forwards. But the Aussies, combining the virtues of the Asian aesthetics and European athleticism, are hard tacklers not giving much room for the rivals.

India is left with no option but to go all out and salvage a point just to prove that it has the inherent strength to do so, however ill-balanced the squad may be. All the excitement and rewards were possible on Wednesday mainly due to the functioning of the forwards. Now that Deepak and Sandeep have found themselves among scorers and with Rajpal providing some thrust there is hope that the team would do well against the Olympic champion. India has just one victory in its five contests with Australia in this tournament. Overall, the record is anything but striking. India has just 15 victories in the 81 matches played, losing 52.

The result:

Korea 6 (Jong Ho Seo 2, Jong Hyun Jang, Byung Hoon Kim, Kyung Seok Kim, Hyo Sik You) bt New Zealand 4 (Phil Burrows, Geredh Brooks 2, Bryce Colin).

Friday's matches: Korea v South Africa (1-35 p.m.); India v Australia (3-35 p.m.); Malaysia v Pakistan (5-35 p.m.).

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