Malaysia suffer second defeat in Australia

KUALA LUMPUR: The national men’s hockey squad failed to hold on to their two goals lead as they lost 2- 3 to Australia A in their second match of the Australian Tour Series at Perth Hockey Stadium in Australia.

Malaysia who lost 2- 4 to the same squad in the fi rst test match, on Tuesday, took a 2- 0 lead through Faizal Saari in the fourth minute and Muhammad Shahril Saabah in the 19th minute, only to see the home side bounced back with three quick goals within six minutes in the second half. They will play their third test match tomorrow.

Commenting on the second consecut ive defeat , coach Stephen Van Huizen said he was disappointed with the poor display of the backline which conceded three easy goals to the opponents in the second half of the match.

“We are happy with the number of chances created and also managed to prevent them from obtaining any penalty corner in the first half. The match was balanced in the third quarter however, the penalty stroke awarded to them has allowed them to bounce back.

“Another misunderstanding in the backline has resulted in a penalty corner which they equalised with a direct flick. We had a few chances but failed to make it count,” he said.

The Australian Tour Series is the best platform for the national squad to prepare for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, next month.

The Mal ays i an Ho ckey Confederation has set a gold medal target for the national side at the Asian Games to earn an automatic berth to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. — Bernama