The national hockey team braved the storm as they defeated Pakistan 1-0 to climb to fourth place in the standings of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at the Azlan Shah Stadium yesterday.
This was Pakistan’s fourth consecutive defeat, after losing 5-1 to India, 4-0 to Australia and 3-1 to Canada. However, the Green Shirts performed much better defensively this time.
Team captain Razie Rahim scored the only goal of the match on the third minute of the tie. The 28 year-old is currently the topscorer of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with five goals.
“We played well in patches,” Head coach Stephen Van Huizen said as quoted by The News.
“We scored from one penalty corner and maintained the lead,” he concluded.
The win now places Malaysia in a good position to play for the bronze medal. They will face India in the last group stage match tomorrow before possibly facing India again on Sunday.
New Zealand beat Canada 2-1 to move one step closer to the final, whereas Australia won Japan 3-1 to ensure a 100% record in the group stages.
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