PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will have to brace themselves for the worst when they wrap up their Group A fixture in the Inter-Continental Cup Under-23 football tournament against classy Nigeria at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya tonight.

The Nigerian’s preparing for the Beijing Olympics in August have not come with their full team but still stamped their authority when they tamed gritty Ireland 3-1 in their opening game on Saturday.

Malaysia will face their biggest test in the tournament after having gone down 1-3 to the Irish Under-21 side in their opening game on Thursday and snatching a narrow 1-0 win over Iraq on Saturday.

National coach B. Sathianathan said that his players would have their hands full to contain the skilful Nigerians.

“I saw them play (against Ireland) and they are a very, very good team even without their best players,” he said.

“If there is one thing that impresses me most about the Nigerians, it is their composure on the ball. They are a delight to watch.”

Sathianathan wants his men to rise to the occasion and show what they are made up.

“This game will show me the real character of my players. How they are going to handle themselves against classy opponents? We have no star players and games like this would mould them into better players,” he said.

National striker Mohd Safee Sali, who has two goals in two matches, is their best hope upfront. The other attacking players include Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak, Amirulhadi Zainal and Mohd Khyril Muhymeen.

The biggest test will be for skipper Mohd Shukor Adan and company in the engine room is to stop the Nigerians dictating terms.

“If we are to match the Nigerians we should not give away balls,” said Mohd Shukor.

The Nigerians will be counting on their front-runners – Ani Jeremiah, Okorowanta Bernard and Okoro Moses.

The passage to the semi-finals will depend on the Ireland and Iraq match played simultaneously. Nigeria will play their last game against Iraq on Wednesday.

Article source:

TheStar Sports

KUALA LUMPUR: Forward S. Selvaraju will get the chance to get his scoring act right again in the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament, which begins tomorrow in Ipoh.

The Perak-born player has given inconsistent performances in previous tournaments. He scored three goals in the Champions Trophy in Kuala Lumpur last December and expectations were high on him to deliver the goods in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Japan last month. But he fired blanks.

Coach Sarjit said that he was disappointed with Selvaraju’s performance in Japan but has decided to give him a chance to bounce back on the goal-scoring trail.

“I have included him in the team because he is an experienced player and I hope he will be sharp in the tournament in Ipoh,” said Sarjit.

Off target: Selvaraju failed to score during the Olympic qualifying tournament in Japan last month.

Selvaraju thanked Sarjit for keeping faith in him.

“I was really disappointed with my game in Japan and I promise to play much better and deliver the goals in the Sultan Azlan tournament,” he said.

Selvaraju made his national senior team debut in the tournament in Ipoh last year but failed to put his name on the score sheet.

The Tenaga Nasional employee said that he would definitely go all out to end his goal drought in the tournament.

“I will be playing in my home state and the pressure will be on me to perform. My only fear is aggravating my hamstring injury, which I suffered early last year,” said Selvaraju, who has 27 international caps to his credit.

The other forwards in the team are Chua Boon Huat, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Ismail Abu and Mohd Amirullah Abdul Aziz.

The national team will have two days of training in Ipoh before they take on Pakistan in the opening match tomorrow.

The other teams in the fray are Argentina, Canada, Belgium, India and New Zealand. Four of them – Pakistan, Canada, Belgium and New Zealand – will feature in the Beijing Olympics in August.

In last year’s tournament, Malaysia were beaten 1-3 by Australia in the final. The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) have set a target for the team to reach the final again.

Article Source:

http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2008/5/7/sports/21169071&sec=sports