Hosts Malaysia fell to a humbling 8-0 defeat to Australia in their second Sultan of Johor Cup match at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru today. Looking to improve on a 5-1 defeat to the same Australian team in a friendly on Tuesday, the Malaysian under-21 squad started off well, matching the Australians stride-for-stride in a goalless first quarter. Goalkeeper Mohamad Rafaizul Mohamad Saini's goal was only breached from close range by Liam Hart, who latched on to a rebound from a block by the goalkeeper to slot home in the 19th minute. However, it all fell apart fopr the Malaysians in the second half. Cooper Burns bagged the first hattrick of the tournament as the Australians ran riot with seven goals in the second half. The 19-year old Burns' scored in the 44th, 55th and 58th minutes to bring his tally in the tournament to four goals to top the standings, while a brace from teammate Hart in the 19th and 47th minutes earned him the Man of the Match award. Australia's other goals came through Jack Holland in the 49th minute, Jake Lambeth in the 36th minute and Brodie Foster in the 59th minute. It was second defeat for the Malaysians after falling 5-2 to India in their opening match yesterday and they sit bottom of the six-team table, while the Australians moved clear at the top with a 100 percent record. Malaysian coach Muhamad Amin Rahim said the team had started well and executed their game plan to the tee in the first quarter where they managed to keep the Australians at bay. "However we then began making lots of mistakes especially in defence in the third and fourth quarter and were punished by the Australians. Physically we saw our weakness was our inability to sustain performance over 60 minutes," said Amin. "I hope the players will bounce back and not feel too disappointed or ashamed because in a short time we had managed to produce good hockey, especially in the first half." This is the first international tournament for the under-21 squad, who begin their preparations for the Junior World Cup to be hosted by Malaysia next year and it comes after two years of inactivity due to the Covid-19 pandemic, thus Amin said the team should look to build from here on. With the tournament having a rest day tomorrow to allow for Deepavali celebrations, Malaysia will now have to look ahead to their next match against South Africa at 8.30pm on Tuesday. The South Africans caused an upset today when they surprised India 5-4 in an earlier match, while in another match Japan stunned defending champions Great Britain 2-1 in a repeat result of when the two teams met in the 2019 edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup. Tuesday also sees Great Britain take on Australia in the 4pm match, while India play Japan in the other match at 6pm.