Malaysia started their Johor Sultan Cup campaign on a disappointing note as they went down 2-4 to Great Britain at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium yesterday.
The national side started well, with Muhd. Haziq Samsul testing Britain’s Chris Wyver early in the match.
But quick goals from captain Luke Taylor and Robert Gleeson put Britain 2-0 ahead, with Malaysia failing to cope with their opponent’s counter attacking style.
Shocked by the lead, Malaysia came back fighting and equalized with two goals in the space of a minute, through Muhd. Azwar Abd. Rahman and Muhammad Shahril Saabah.
That comeback proved worthless as Taylor completed his hattrick with a double in the 61st and 69th minute to dampen Malaysia’s hopes.
“The mood, energy and tempo was good when we got the equalizer goal but then poor defense let us down and changed the game,” said national coach Arul Selvaraj, as quoted by Johor Sultan Cup official website.
Najib Hassan, Malaysia team captain also had few words to say regarding their poor performance.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t win today but we will recover from this loss in the next game.”
“There were some players who didn’t fulfill their roles well, which is the main reason we lost.”
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