Malaysia Suffer Third Consecutive Defeat After 1-6 Loss To New Zealand

From Nursyabiha Sukri GLASGOW (Scotland), Aug 1 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian national men's hockey squad suffered their third consecutive defeat in the Commonwealth Games after losing 1-6 to New Zealand at the National Hockey Stadium in Glasgow, Thursday. Malaysia who had already lost 1-8 to England and Trinidad and Tobago 2-4, conceded the first goal against New Zealand as early as the third minute through Andy Hayward's strike. Bradley Shaw made it 2-0 in the 28th minute before both teams went into the dressing room for the break. The Kiwis came back from the dressing room with renewed vigour and pumped in four goals in the second half through Nick Haig (41st), Hugo Inglis (44th), Hayward (47th) and Shea McAleese (48th min). Leading 6-0, New Zealand eased the pace, allowing Malaysian skipper Muhammad Razie Abdul Rahim to score a consolation goal in the 58th minute. National hockey coach Muhammad Dhaarma Raj Abdullah when met after the match remained calm despite the National squad being heavily criticized for their inept performance in the Commonwealth Games. Dhaarma Raj urged the critics to study the hockey calendar and the number of major events that the squad had participated since December last year. There was the 2013 World Junior Hockey championship, Champions Challenge, Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, the World Cup in The Hague, Holland and now the Commonwealth Games, he said. After the Commonwealth Games, the squad will be involved in the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, next month and the Sultan Johor Trophy in December. "It is not easy for any coach when fielding a team of young and inexperienced players. In addition we trained and played during the Ramadan month (Muslim's fasting month) and Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid ul-Fitr) celebrations. "I did not bring the full squad so the prospect of heavy defeats cannot be ruled out because teams like England are fielding their World Cup team," he said. Malaysia started off the Commonwealth Games campaign on a high after beating Canada 2-0 but the victory was overshadowed by the 8-1 drubbing by England while the team came under heavy fire after the embarrassing 2-4 defeat to unknown Trinidad and Tobago. --BERNAMA