World champions Australia thrashed Pakistan 5-1 Monday to boost their chances of reaching the final at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia, while Great Britain surged to the top of the table. For Pakistan, the heavy defeat - their second loss in successive days after they went down 3-2 to Great Britain on Sunday - saw them overtaken in the standings by Australia, who are on seven points having played a game less.
Great Britain went top of the table with an easy 3-1 win over New Zealand. Pakistan, who have six points after four matches, suffered in the humid conditions and it was the Australians who took their chances, forcing errors from their opponents in a fast-paced and open match. Australian coach Ric Charlesworth said the win was a welcome relief after his side laboured to a draw against India, adding that his players were coming into better form.
"No doubt that this performance was an improvement form the previous day but we are still not there yet. The Pakistanis did play well but our attempts at goal was much better and paid off," he said. The Australians looked dangerous from the start with Glenn Turner, Jason Wilson and Simon Orchard testing Pakistan's goalkeeper Imran Shah early in the first half.
Australia took the lead through a disputed penalty in the 23rd minute with Orchard finally finding a way beyond Shah to give Australia a 1-0 lead. Pakistan drew level in the 28th minute when Sohail Abbas converted a penalty corner, but they were unable to find further momentum.
Poor defending by Pakistan allowed Jason Wilson to collect the ball at the top of the circle and send it crashing beyond Shah in the 34th minute to give Australia a 2-1 first-half lead. Australia continued to dominate in the second-half, with goals from Orchard, Christopher Ciriello and Wilson handing them full points as the Asian champions continued to make mistakes.
Pakistan had their chances, with a couple of penalty corners offering a way back into the game, but they lacked ideas to convert opportunities into goals. Britain have nine points from four matches and hold a two-point advantage over second-placed Australia. New Zealand have only one point after three matches and their chances of a top-three finish are fading fast.
Great Britain coach Jason Lee was surprised at finding his team top of the standings. "I hope we can keep up the good work. The players are still coming to grips with the humidity and today they played much better structurally," he said. India turned up the heat to beat hosts Malaysia 5-2 to keep their hopes of a final berth wide open.
The Indians lost in the semi-finals of the Asian Games in November to Malaysia and the win here was sweet revenge for that defeat. Indian coach Harinder Singh was not a happy man despite the big win. "We did well in the first-half and played badly in the second-half. You cannot lose your concentration in a match or play well for 50 or 25 minutes. It must be for 70 minutes and we didn't do that," he said. Tuesday is a rest day for all the teams.