Hockey: M’sia end Argentina stint with victory

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia finally ended their losing streak by defeating the reigning Olympic champions, Argentina 21 in their final hockey test match in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Friday (Saturday Malaysia time).

The national men’s senior hockey squad which never secured a victory against the home side in the last five matches, took a commanding lead in the match via a field goal from Muhammad Shahril Saabah in the 18th minute before striker Muhammad Haziq Samsul doubled the advantage, also from a field goal, four minutes later, according to the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Facebook page.

Argentina, better known as Les Leones (The Lions), managed to reduce the deficit via Pedro Ibarra who converted the penalty corner in the 41st minute.

Speaking on the victory, national head coach Stephen Van Huizen was delighted with the maiden victory, failing to score a victory in the last five matches.

Malaysia lost 0-1, 1-6, 2-7, 1-2 in first four matches in Mar Del Plata before sharing a spoils in a 1-1 draw in the fifth test match in Buenos Aires.

“They tried every trick and pushed us to work very hard for the win. Our physical condition is much better after the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the tempo of the games was very high,” Van Huizen said.

“All the hard work the last three weeks has helped the players to play till the end,” he added.

The test match is part of Van Huizen’s task to form a formidable national squad to prepare for the 2018 JakartaPalembang Asian Games in August where the national side is hoping to win the gold medal and booked an automatic slot to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Bernama