| Malaysia get the better of Japan 2-0
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September 4, 2007
Malaysia 2 Japan 0
Malaysia beat Japan 2-0 in a crucial Pool A encounter here at the 2007 Asia Cup on Tuesday. Malaysia now has nine points from three wins. Japan’s defeat was its first in the Asia Cup and it puts the Pool A figures into a tizzy. All three teams, Malaysia, Japan and Pakistan have a chance of going through to the semi-finals. For Pakistan, in their match against Malaysia, on Wednesday, it’s a do-or-die situation. They have to beat Malaysia to remain alive in Pool A. Japan has Singapore to beat and they would be looking at the Pakistan-Malaysia match with a lot of interest. Japan didn’t show the fluency or the fire they showed in beating Pakistan 3-1 in the pool match earlier in the tournament. But to Malaysia’s credit, there goalkeeper Kumar Subremamaniam had a good game keeping the Japanese forwards at bay. Malaysia marked the Japanese forwards quite effectively and it was a huge credit to their defence that they kept out Japan’s captain Yamabori from scoring any goals. Malaysia took the lead in the opening minute when Ismail Abu converted a field attempt. Japan, under pressure, fought back but couldn’t dent the Malaysian defence. At the break, Malaysia led 1-0.
In the 41st minute, Misron Azlon trapped the ball in the Japanese striking circle after a flurry of brilliant passes between the forwards to flick in past the Japanese goalkeeper and increase the lead to 2-0. Malaysian coach Sarjit Singh, said, “I am happy with the way the players responded to the challenge. They marked them well and we are confident going into the crucial match with Pakistan on Wednesday.” Upon being asked what he had up his sleeve against Pakistan who are not at their best, Sarjit said, “Pakistan are not looking good but that doesn’t mean you under-estimate them. They are former champions and we will put up our best display to enter the semi-finals.:
Score Sheet:
Ismail Abu (1st, FG) 1-0
Misron Azlon (41st, FG) 2-0
| Schedule |
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Final Standings :
1. India
2. S Korea
3. Malaysia
4. Japan
5. China
6. Pakistan
7. Bangladesh
8. Hong Kong
9. Sri Lanka
10. Singapore
11. Thailand
Sunday's Matches  |
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| TEAM A | TEAM B | Playoff | TIME | RESULT | |||
| S Lanka | SPore | 9/10 | 08:00 | 6-0 | |||
| Ban | HKG | 7/8 | 07:00 | 3-1 | |||
| China | Pak | 5/6 | 09:30 | 3-2 | |||
| Malaysia | Japan | 3/4 | 16:00 | 5-3 | |||
| India | S Korea | 1/2 | 18:30 | 7-2 | |||
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Saturday's Matches |
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| TEAM A | v | TEAM B | TIME | RESULT | |||
| Singapore | v | Thailand | 08:00 | 4-0 | |||
| Pak | v | Ban | 07:00 | 10-0 | |||
| China | v | HongKong | 09:30 | 6-1 | |||
| S Korea | v | Malaysia | 17:00 | 2-1 | |||
| India | v | Japan | 19:30 | 4-1 | |||
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SCORE TABLE |
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| POOL A | |||||||
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| Malaysia SF | 4 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 4 | 10 | |
| Japan SF | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 9 | |
| Pakistan | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 7 |
| Hong Kong | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 3 | |
| Singapore | 4 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 0 | ||
| POOL B | |||||||
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS |
| India SF | 5 | 5 | 46 | 2 | 15 | ||
| S Korea SF | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 8 | 10 |
| China | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 6 | 10 |
| Bangladesh | 5 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 22 | 6 | |
| Sri Lanka | 5 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 46 | 3 | |
| Thailand | 5 | 5 | 1 | 67 | 0 | ||
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 A team should be ready to play anyone. Of course, more |
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