Faizal comes to Malaysia’s rescue with late equaliser
KUALA LUMPUR: Forward Faizal Saari scored a late goal to salvage a 3-3 draw for Malaysia in the second hockey Test against New Zealand.
With Malaysia heading for a defeat, the 26-year-old converted a penalty corner in the 59th minute to snatch the equaliser.
Earlier, Sam Lane had give the Kiwis the lead in the 19th minute after blasting a penalty corner past goalkeeper S. Kumar.
But Mohamed Marhan Mohamed Jalil restored parity three minutes later when he blasted home a penalty corner rebound.
Fitri Saari then gave Malaysia the lead for the first time with a field goal in the 53rd minute.
New Zealand, however, scored two quick goals though Stephen Jennes in the 55th min- ute and Nik Ross in the 56th to lead 3-2.
But New Zealand’s hopes of a win after an 8-2 thrashing in the first Test on Sunday went up in smoke when Faizal came to Malaysia’s rescue.
Malaysia coach Stephen van Huizen was pleased with his team’s fightback.
“We made some good moves. We rested some players so that the others can have some time on the field.
“But we need to cut down the errors. We also missed many sitters,” said Stephen.
For Kiwi coach Darren Smith, the draw was a satisfying result.
“We did better in this game. There were some soft goals given away but overall it was a much better effort,” said Smith.
Both Malaysia and New Zealand are preparing for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which begins in Ipoh on Saturday.
The other countries competing in the six-nation tournament are defending champions Australia, Britain, India and Japan.