Malaysia endure high suspense to edge Wales and reach semis

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia can heave a sigh of relief after they redeemed their battered pride by edging Wales 2-1 win to qualify for the semi-finals of the FIH Series Finals hockey tournament.

Malaysia, who were stunned 4-2 by world No. 32 Italy in the group match on Monday, were under pressure against Wales.

Roelant Oltmans’ men, who were criticised for their poor performances in the tournament, played well in patches and were lucky to escape with a win in the crossover match.

World No. 13 Malaysia will face world indoor champions Austria in the semi-finals tomorrow while world No. 10 Canada will take on Italy (32nd), the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, in the other last-four tie.

Wales, who will not feature in the Olympics (Britain will compete as a team), gave the Malaysian defence a torrid time.

Forward Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil had a golden opportunity to give Malaysia the lead in the very first minute but he muffed the chance.

In the 11th minute, Malaysia earned their first penalty corner but Muhd Razie Abdul Rahim’s pass was deflected into the side netting by Muhd Fitri Saari.

Malaysia earned another penalty corner in the 20th minute and again they failed to get it right. But seven minutes later Tengku Ahmad managed to give Malaysia the lead. He collected a loose ball before firing it past goalkeeper James Fortnam.

Wales had the chance to draw level or even steal the lead after winning two penalty corners in a row in the 36th minute but keeper Muhd Hairi Abdul Rahman did well to save the attempts.

And four minutes later, Malaysia increased the lead via a well-taken reverse-stick attempt by Faizal Saari which hit the top net.

Malaysia, however, were caught offguard in the 56th minute as Rupert Shipperley’s through pass from outside the semi-circle was deflected into goal by Jones Hywel.

The pressure was on Malaysia to maintain the lead and they endured anxious moments before reaching the last four. Malaysian captain Muhd Sukri Abdul Mutalib was a relieved man after the win.

“We managed to counter all their strengths in the match. We also stuck to the game plan of coach Oltmans and it worked well as we managed to take a 2-0 lead.

“We also defended well as Wales failed to score from the three penalty corners they earned in the match,” said Sukri.