MALAYSIA HOLD THE KIWIS TO A DRAW

New Zealand drew 2 - 2 with Malaysia in Napier tonight.

The Black Sticks scored first two seven minutes into the match with an Andy Hayward penalty corner drag flick variation.

Several minutes later Malaysia later counter attacked and equalised in the 19th minute through S. Selvarajoo. Mohd Amin Rahim converted a penalty corner in the 33rd minute and Phil Burrows drew the Kiwis level before half time.

In the second half no major chances presented either side, although NZ went close twice on corners with Petherick going over top and several Hayden Shaw attempts saved. Kyle Pontifex also did well in goal thwarting a couple of good attempts.

For the Black Sticks Ryan Archibald was a class above working his way out of tight spots, dirbbling well and giving great passes that should have resulted in more.

The final match of the series is in Taupo on Sunday. New Zealand lead with two wins and a two draws.

THE NUMBERS GAME

The Razak Cup Tournament continues to set record of sorts. If you think that development of hockey players is the aim of holding such a tournament, then read on and you will be truly amazed as to how "high" the development aspect is. Perhaps we are the only country in the world that develops veteran players.

One is even older than the tournament itself, for the Tun Razak Cup is in its 47th edition and Derek Fidelis turns 51 on October 14 this year. Derek, or known these days as Muhamad Fariez Fidelis is the oldest player in the tournament, representing Negri Sembilan.

Infact Negri Sembilan is fielding a veteran side in the tournament as Derek's younger brother Gary Fidelis a.k.a. Muhamad Rafiq Fidelis is 45 years old, having celebrated his 45th birthday on February 17 this year.

But there is a plus factor, it is the participation of the Project 2013 team, that has helped the law of average and reduce the figures to a certain extent. For they have several youngsters in the side, some that will turn 17 this year, with the youngest being Faheed Saifullah Shahrom Jamil, who will turn 17 on 11th December 1993.

SECOND DEFEAT FOR INDIA

India's perennial habit of conceding last minute goal undid all the good work and the visitors went down 4-5 in their third and final hockey Test against Spain as a last minute strike from Albert Sala turned the tide in Spain's favour Wednesday night.

India did well to bounce back from a 0-4 deficit with strikes from Vikram Pillay (54th, 57th), Sardar Singh (28th) and Sandeep Singh (66th min).

Xavi Ribas (8th), Eduard Tabau (12th), David Alegre (25th), Alex Fabregas (27th) and Sala (70th) where on target for Spain.

The hosts began aggressively with constant raids on the Indian defence by Eduard Tabau and Xavi Lleonart supported by strong midfield overlaps.

In the eighth minute, India conceded a penalty corner when the ball struck skipper Sandeep Singh's foot. Ribas made no mistake in shooting past goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza.

The nervous Indians soon conceded another soft goal as Tabau breached the defence of Sandeep and Sardar Singh and beat D'Souza in the 12th minute.

Rattled by these early setbacks, the Indian defence and mid-field started playing well but forwards Prabhjot Singh, Gurvinder Chandi and Rajpal Singh were unable to penetrate the Spanish defence.

Spain increased the lead after encashing on a counter attack which won them their second of four penalty corners. David Alegre converted from an indirect set piece.

The Spanish domination in first half was complete as Alex Fabregas picked up a loose ball in the centre and bang home in the 27th minute to give them a 4-0 lead.

A minute later, India found their first goal through Sardar Singh after a good move orchestrated by Dhananjay Mahadik and S.V. Sunil.

In the second half India came back with well coordinated onslaughts.

They reduced the margin in the 54th minute after a combination sortie by Shivendra Singh and Chandi and Pillay slotted past Cortes.

Pillay struck again three minutes later and converted a penalty stroke as India reduced the margin to 3-4.

Sandeep struck the last goal for India in the 66th minute after a good move from Rajpal and Arjun Halappa.

In the last minute of play, Sala struck to give Spain a 5-4 win.

India now travel to Amsterdam for the final leg of their European tour where they will play two matches against the Netherlands.

DIV ONE RAZAK CUP - JAAP SHOCKED

It was a rude awakening for Dutch coach Jaap Suyk who made his coaching debut on the Kuala Lumpur bench for the Tun Razak Cup.

The Dutchman saw his charges succumb to a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Project 2013 in their opening match at the Tun Razak Stadium. It was not the defeat that would have shocked Jaap as at one stage his team was trailing 5-1 and scored three goals in the final ten minutes of the match.

"They took too long to settle down and we had many chances but failed to make use of them,"contends Jaap.

"Credit to the Juniors as they played well but we made several defensive mistakes to hand them some easy goals. Fitness was not the problem as evident when we scored in the final minutes of the match.

"We opted to play long balls and rather then build on the lead, we handed the initiative to the opponents and play simple hockey and not make things difficult."

Kuala Lumpur took the lead in the first minute through Mohd Faizal Daud.But that was all they had to show for the next hour or so as the Juniors ran rings around them.

The Juniors were on level terms in the 31st minute when Muhamad Firhan Ashari scored.

In the second half the Juniors were all over the city side and went 5-1 ahead via goals from Shazril Irwan Nazli (38th minute), Amir Farid Ahmad Fuzi (41 and 44th minutes) and Mohd Zulhairi Hashim (49th minute).

KL scored three goals in a space of three minutes as Tajol Rosli Mohamad(68th and 69th minute) and Mohd Fairuz Ramli (70th minute) but ran out of time to force an equaliser.

The City side have themselves to blame as they created enough chances in the course of the match but missed several sitters. And they have an off day tomorrow to reflect on what went wrong.

Meanwhile Negri Sembilan, who were runners-up last year had the heavens to thank for preventing them from being further humiliated by Johor.

With the rain still pouring after the 45 minute wait, Johor were declared winners with a 5-0 margin, the score as it stood when the match was stopped in the 42nd minute.

Mohd Nor Hafiq was the toast of the Johor side as he hammered in three penalty corners, in the 3rd,21st and 39th minutes with skipper Robert Alacantra (1st minute) and Mohd Fikri Bassar (42nd minute) being the other goal scorers.

Negri will take on the Project 2013 side tomorrow while Johor play pre-tournament favourites Malacca.

DEFEATED YET AGAIN

The Black Sticks Men downed Malaysia 3- 0 tonight in Napier in the third test of their five test preparation for the Oceania Cup in 10 days time.

Simon Child opened the scoring with a well taken field goal in the 14th minute.

New Zealand's next goal did not come until the second half when Hayden Shaw nailed a penalty corner drag flick into the left hand corner.

The Black Sticks' final goal came with seven minutes to go when local boy Shea McAleese finished off some nice buildup work by Ryan Archibald and Nick Haig.

Overall the New Zealanders weremore patient on the ball than the Malaysians who showed pace but less control than the Black Sticks, each looking to cement his place in the team for the Oceania Cup in Invercargill from 25 August. Standouts included Kyle Pontifex, Blair Hopping and Simon Child.

The next test is in Napier again, tomorrow night.

PREVIEW NZ V MALAYSIA

History shows winning wars isn't all about what happens only in the frontline of battlefields.

A lot of time and effort go into the logistics of what the enemy's characteristics are, pertaining to their previous encounters.

That's the mindset, Black Stick Shea McAleese reckons, the New Zealand men's hockey team must adopt to gain the upper edge on the Malaysians.

The tourists' results against Australia before they arrived in New Zealand suggest it's important to hit them first, hard and early.

"The main thing is you need to score first and make them play some hockey," he tells SportToday before tonight's (6.30) third test at the Kelt Capital Hockey Stadium, in Park Island, Napier.

He dismisses suggestions the Malaysians are adapting to New Zealand conditions and warming up to the task after a 3-0 loss in the opening clash and a 1-1 stalemate in Palmerston North. Countering that theory, he believes Canberra's colder climes would have prepared the tropical dwellers for anything here, weather-wise.

The Sticks, he says, started poorly in Palmerston North on Tuesday night, enabling the Malaysians to settle in.

"They scored early in the first five to 10 minutes and defended well," he says, emphasising that it is wiser for top-eight countries to play against lower-ranked nations in that style.

The 16th world-ranked Malaysians, he says, are outstanding defenders and their tactic is to score early, then close shop. That was reflected in their 1-0 win against the Aussies. When the Australians scored first the tourists lost by margins of 9-1 and 11-3.

"That means when you score against them first they are forced to push up the field to score and that opens up their defence on the other end."

Implementing a New Zealand game plan of applying pressure from the first 20 minutes will see Malaysia play into their hands tonight. He claims a host of things unsettled the Sticks in Palmerston North in their last match. The lengthy national anthems, coupled with a school haka, meant they cooled down after a rigorous warm-up session.

"We were standing around for seven to eight minutes after warming up."

McAleese accepts the Sticks have been in similar situations and the next two nights in Napier won't be an exception.

"So we'll meet again and do a couple of shuttles and have a chat."

Another pivotal part of the Sticks' culture is the individual and team analyses to lift standards. They are "clipped" during matches. They then sit down with coach Shane McLeod to reassess performances.

"For example, every time I touch the ball it's clipped. If I have 30 touches, then we look at how many of those were successful ones.

"As individuals, we always strive for perfection. It's part and parcel of wanting to be better."

The 78-test veteran midfielder reiterates his eagerly awaited chance tonight to play for the first time in front of a home crowd and his sponsors.

"It's almost a dream come true, so it'll be awesome."

He doesn't think there'll be any more pressure to perform at home.

Having represented his country in the Beijing Olympics Games is the highest level of pressure, so McAleese doesn't envisage any problems.

RAZAK CUP DIV TWO - DAY ONE

The 47th edition of the Tun Razak Cup got underway today, with no scoreboards for the morning matches at the KLHA Stadium.

In Division Two, Group A of the Tun Razak Cup played at the KLHA Stadium this morning, Singapore defeated Brunei 7-0 with goals from Harjeet Singh (9th and 45th minutes), Chen Shunting (57th and 70th minutes), Hazmi Mohamad Ibrahim (29th minute), Mohd Farhan Mohd Suhaili ( 38th minute) and Noorkhairi Mohd Samsuddin 59th minute).

Singapore are coached by former Malaysian international Lim Chiow Chuan and have the services of former Pahang skipper Sunil Prasad Eyamo.

PDRM came back from a two goal deficit to hold Sabah to a draw. The East Malaysian side raced to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Indiran Naidu (12th minute) and Rozaimy Amir (13th minute). PDRM pulled a goal back through the efforts of J.Jeyarajan who converted a penalty corner in the 31st minute.

Mohd Adam Ab Halim scored the equaliser for PDRM in the 40th minute to share the points.

In the match played in the afternoon, Selangor defeated Pahang 6-2 while Kedah edged Perlis 1-0.