It was exciting to see the stadium filled to the brim but by the end of the match fans left disappointed after the home team went down 5-1 to top-notch Australia in Malaysia’s third match on Saturday, April 9.
Malaysia’s only goal was scored by the captain himself, Razie Rahim in the 24th minute through a penalty corner. Goalkeeper Hairi Abdul Rahman was doing an excellent job throughout the first and second quarter until Jacob Whetton equalised barely two minutes after Razie’s opening goal.
The whole stadium felt the heat in the third quarter, when the Kookaburras scored three goals in a span of one minute. Second goal was scored by Flynn Ogilvie, followed by Matt Gohdes and then Flynn himself again. Despite the hopelessness, the home crowd never stopped cheering.
Hairi let Hafizuddin manned the goal in the last quarter. However, he came under relentless attack. The Aussies attempts paid dividends when Thomas Craig scored their last goal five minutes before the match ended.
Stephen Van Huizen, Malaysia’s coach complimented his boys saying that they were good and that they never defensive the whole time. “I think we can play some good hockey,” he added.
“We expect Malaysia to keep coming throughout the 60 minutes. That’s what happened here. That’s how they played and that’s why we came here to play,” said Australia’s coach, Graham Reid.
Having that comment from a first-ranked team, I hope it will motivate the Tigers to greater heights.
Flynn Ogilvie’s outstanding performance won him the “Man of the Match” accolade.
Results of the other matches are: Canada defeated Japan 3-1 while New Zealand overcame Pakistan 5-3.
Game fixtures for today, Sunday, April 10: Japan vs New Zealand at 4.05pm, Australia vs Pakistan at 6.05pm and Canada vs India at 8.35pm.
Khaleeja
