IPOH: Malaysia failed in their double mission to exact revenge and maintain their best finish in the Asia Cup hockey championship when they went down 1-3 against Pakistan in the third/fourth placing playoff at the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium here Sunday.
The first was to avenge their 1-4 defeat to the Asian hockey powerhouse in the group stage and the second to repeat their best ever performance in the prestigious meet, third place, which Malaysia achieved in the 2007 edition in Chennai, India.
Malaysia, coached by Paul Revington, began aggressively in the rain-hit match and in the very first minute came close to scoring but Muhammad Razie Abdul Rahim’s shot bounced off the post.
Malaysia’s first goal only came in the 34th minute through a field effort by prolific stiker Faizal Saari.
However, Malaysia’s joy did not last long as Abdul Haseem Khan replied for Pakistan also through a field goal just a minute later.
In the second half, Muhammad Imran put Pakistan ahead in the 54th minute from a penalty corner before Abdul Haseem sealed victory for the three-time champions in the 56th minute.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah was clearly disappointed with the outcome.
“They (Malaysian players) did their best by going after the Pakistani goal but were let down by poor finishing,” he told reporters.
He added that a post-mortem would be done on the national squad’s performance towards putting them on the right track for their World Cup campaign in The Hague next year. — BERNAMA