The Saari siblings – Faizal and Fitri, scored all three goals as Malaysia secured a 3-2 victory against Belgium ‘B’ side in the third friendly match today at Sportentrum Wilrijkse Plein (Sports and Leisure venue) in Antwerp.
The Speedy Tigers, thus, concluded their first leg of the Europe tour in Belgium on a triumphant note. They won two matches and lost one against the Red Lions.
Faizal stunned the Belgians in the first minute with a field goal an extended the lead to 2-0 in the 16th minute from similar a move. Fitri then slotted in the third goal in the 29th minute from open play as the Malaysians went on to grab a 3-0 lead going into the second half.
It was Faizal’s fifth goal and Fitri’s second against the Belgians in three matches.
Belgium pulled two goals back in the 44th and 57th minutes, via a penalty corner conversion and a field goal, to set the stage for a tense finish.
National team head coach Sarjit Singh, said: “We had a good start in this third match by taking a 3-0 lead at half time. There were also several changes to field positions. For instance, Marhan (Jalil) is a defender but today I moved him to midfield.”
Sarjit added that he was satisfied with the outcome of all three matches.
“My overall opinion and view are that the players had a valuable experience playing against the Belgium ‘B’ side. There are also players who featured in the FIH Pro League that played against us today. Credit to our players for giving a good performance,” said Sarjit.
The Malaysians will travel to Mochenglabach, Germany on July 6 for the second phase of their Europe tour.
They will play a test match on July 7 against the Germans, ranked World No 5, at the Glabach Hockey and Tennis Club (9.0pm Malaysian time), and followed by a friendly match against Mochenglabach Hockey Club on July 9 (1.30am Malaysian time – 10th July).