Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal struck the late winner to give Malaysia a 3-2 victory over Canada as they picked up their first win in Group B of the FIH Hockey Men's Nations Cup 2022 that was played this evening in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Following yesterday’s narrow defeat to Korea in their opening game, the Malaysian lads know that they needed to beat Canada for them to have a chance to make the cut to the next round.
“Today, we were trailing twice but the players once again showed a lot of guts and fighting spirit to get back into the game. I am very proud of that,” said Malaysia head coach A. Arulselvaraj.
“But our marking and sense of urgency are still not there. We need to work on this swiftly.”
The Malaysians showed plenty of drive early in the game to get into Canada’s D-Zone but just could not get the last touch with Faiz Helmi Jali and Azrai Aizad’s attempts going astray.
While Malaysia continued much in the same vein into the second quarter, it was Canada who grabbed the lead in the 19th minute with a Sean Davis’ Field Goal that took a deflection before sailing into goal.
With Muhamad Ramadan Rosli unable to connect to a cross from Faizal Saari in the 27th minute, the score would stand at 1-0 to Canada.
Into the second half and Malaysia finally drew level in the 33rd minute when Muhammad Firhan Ashaari pounced on a rebound after Malaysia’s third Penalty Corner was blocked to put the score at 1-1.
It took Canada just seven minutes to nail their second goal and regained the advantage when Gordan Johnston flicked in a Penalty Corner to the top right of the Malaysian goal.
But the Malaysians did not give up.
And after coming close yet again, Malaysia finally broke through with the second equaliser in the 50th minute when Azrai Aizad latched on to a cross to take advantage of a chaotic situation in Canada's goal.
As Canada squandered three Penalty Corners on a trot, a long pass from Muhammad Razie Abd Rahim in the 58th minute saw Man of the Match Azrai Aizad dragging the ball in for the well-deserved winner.
Malaysia will now have to wait for two days for their crucial game against Japan in Group B to decide which team will join already-qualified Korea in the semifinals of the FIH Hockey Men's Nations Cup 2022.
Korea confirmed their slot to the next round after picking up their second win over Japan today.
