IPOH, March 16 -- Malaysia drew 2-2 with South Korea in their second match in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament held at the Azlan Shah Stadium, here tonight.
The match between Malaysia and South Korea was witnessed by the Regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah.
"We were the underdogs and we knew how crucial this match was. We had no intention of going head on with them in the first half and wanted to save our energy for the second half," said Malaysian coach Muhammad Dhaarma Raj Abdullah.
In the first half, Oh Dae Keun had the entire Malaysian defence napping as he steered the ball into goal in the 10th minute and took the lead.
Oh once again turned out as the villain for Malaysia, as he steered a free hit from outside the 16 yard into goal, five minutes before the rest.
Two goals late in the second half kept Malaysia in the hunt for a place in the final of the tournament.
The Malaysian goal came after a penalty corner was not stopped cleanly and Shahril Saabah weaved his way into the D and with his reverse stick slammed the ball for the first goal.
The goal in the 58th minute turned out to be the tonic for the Malaysian team.
They continued to pile in the pressure and earned another penalty corner in the 65th minute that was executed with perfection by Faizal Saari.
Not contended with the equaliser, the Malaysian squad surged forward looking for a winning goal in the closing minutes but missed the chance.
They will be meeting Canada in their next assignment tomorrow.
"We have to win the game, after a win and a draw, we have to win it in order to keep our chance alive to enter the final," said Muhammad Dhaarma Raj.
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