Congrats are in order for Tai Beng Hai and his players for the outstanding result against the Aussies last night. And before the critics want to create any doubt, Australia fielded their first team, the only exception being Jamie Dywer but then again Malaysia were without keeper S. Kumar and played with 10 men on two occassions, when Jivan Mohan and Baljit Singh were sent to the sin bin. So it is a teriffic result.
Our last win over the Aussies was achieved in the 1994 Azlan Shah Cup held in Penang where the current Assistant Coach Nor Saiful Zaini scored a hattrick. Malaysia won 3-1 and the team were, believe it or not, was coached by Volker Knapp.
While not wanting to take anything away from Beng Hai and his team, the stark reality is that Australia will be there in New Delhi for the 2010 World Cup, while we will struggle in the qualifiers this November and more then likely not make it to the Indian shore next March.
Still the win is worth savouring and hopefully some good will come out of it in the Quad that the team will play in commencing on July 29.
