The Malaysia men’s hockey team put up a discipline and focused performance to oust South Korea 1-0 in their third Pool A HERO Hockey World League Semi Final match at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, London earlier today.
With both teams needing a win to preserve their chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals and an automatic berth to next year’s Men’s Hockey World Cup, the Koreans were the first to hit the ground running by forcing a great save from Malaysia’s goalkeeper S.Kumar as early as the first minute.
Kumar was called upon again at the end of the first quarter when he had to move swiftly to put a stop to a slick Korean attack as the World’s No. 12 team held most of the possession till the half-time whistle.
The Speedy Tigers, who never led in their first two matches in London took the lead against the run of play through a well worked Razie Rahim penalty corner in the 35th minute.
Razie who plays for the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) in the Malaysian Hockey League stepped up to coolly slot home the first real sight of goal for Stephen Van Huizen’s men.
After the goal, the Koreans continued to barrage Malaysia’s defense especially through the flanks and were rewarded with two penalty corners in the final nervy minutes of the match but failed to utilize them thanks to the heroics of veteran stalwart Kumar.
“We are pleased with this win although it was not our best match so far but my boys showed their determination and desire to fight and put their bodies on the line to defend our lead. Praise has to go to Kumar, our defense and Razie who scored the only goal of the match. We now need to get a result against China tomorrow to make sure we qualify for the quarter finals” commented Stephen after the nicking the win.
This valuable win puts Malaysia ahead of South Korea in Pool A and now only need a point in their last match against China tomorrow (Wednesday, 21 June at 1.00 a.m. Malaysian time) to advance to the knock-out stage.
