Hosts
Malaysia got off to a resounding start when they defeated Singapore 11-0 in a
World Hockey League match at the Kuantan Hockey Stadium.
It
was an effortless win by the Malaysians who ran rings around a relatively young
Singapore side that had eight players from the Junior Asia Cup squad promoted
to senior ranks.
Singapore
even fielded 14-year-old Neo Yu Shan in the starting eleven and she gave a good
account of herself and this can only augur well for the islanders in the
future.
Still
it was obvious that Malaysia were going to win the match right from the first
whistle and they did not stretch themselves, with a key match against
Kazakhstan probably at the back of their minds.
Malaysia
made good off the penalty corners awarded to them, scoring 8 goals from the 17
that they awarded.
“I
could not have asked for a better start and the performance was outstanding.
Our penalty corners worked and that attributed to half our tally today,” said
Malaysian coach Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim.
“Now
we have to prepare for Kazakhstan and from what I saw of them today, they are a
strong physical side that play robust hockey, using their physical strength to
the maximum.
“We
need to be patient and make use of the chances that come our way as I expect
them to try catch us on the counter where they can prove to be devastating.”
Malaysia
opened scoring in the 5th minute through Siti Rahmah Othman who
slotted home after the ball deflected of a defenders stick and left her with
the easiest task of slotting it past Singapore custodian Cookie Tan Koon Khim.
That
boosted the confidence of the Malaysian girls who added a second through
another penalty corner goal, this time A. Kannagi netting home at close range
after the initial attempt by Siti Rahmah was well saved by Cookie who was
hapless to prevent the goal in the 14th minute.
It
was all Malaysia after that as they pinned the Singaporean defence into their
own half and scored at regular intervals with Nor Hidayah Ahmad Bokhari scoring
a brace in the 15th and 35th minutes with Siti Rahmah
finding the back of the net in the 24th minute for a halftime score
of 5-0.
Though
Singapore offered initial resistance in the second half, they crumbled under
the Malaysian onslaught as goals by Fazilla Slyvester Silin (47th
and 67th minutes), Kannagi (53rd minute), Siti Rahmah (58th
minute), Siti Noor Amarina Ruhaini (61st minute) and Juliani
Mohammad Din (69th minute) for the resounding win.
