The national hockey team successfully recorded a 3-2 win over New Zealand in their second Test match at the Blake Park in Tauranga, New Zealand yesterday.
Despite losing 4-1 in the first test match, Stephen van Huizen’s men seemingly learned a thing or two from the loss as they played with heart against Colin Batch’s squad.
“We started the game well with dangerous movements. Team captain Razie Rahim played an important role when he scored our first goal in the second minute of the game.
“The first goal allowed us to fully control the game, but we had many wasted opportunities.
“However, what I noticed is that the players are constantly showing an improvement in the level of their performance, especially in midfield,” the coach said as quoted by Harian Metro.
Malaysia scored the first goal through skipper Razie Rahim on the second minute, before New Zealand levelled the game on the 21st minute with a strike from Hugo Inglis.
Joel Samuel van Huizen regained Malaysia’s lead early in the second half, but once again, New Zealand equalized through Cory Bennett eight minutes later. However, a late penalty corner saw Razie Rahman’s strike win the game for the boys in yellow.
They will face each two more times as a build-up for the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
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