KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia finally beat England in their three-match tour series after a 11-goal thriller at the Wakefield Sports Club in Leeds, England on Sunday.
The Malaysians won the match 6-5, with the winner coming in the 69th minute. Malaysia drew their first match 3-3 and were defeated 5-1 in the second game on Saturday.
Team manager Mirnawan Nawawi said there was improvement in the team play and the finishing was much better than the previous matches.
“As we had no injury problems, all 18 players had a chance to play. The players were determined to win this match and I am glad they came through. It might have been a narrow win but the score line suggested that both teams had plenty of chances at goal,” said Mirnawan.
Mohamed Zulhairi Hashim was the hero for the Malaysians when he scored four penalty corner goals.
Malaysia were 2-0 up after just nine minutes with two almost identical goals from penalty corners converted by Zulhairi in the sixth and ninth minutes.
England pulled a goal back when Sam French finished off well-worked penalty corner routine in the 16th minute.
However, Zulhairi fired in another penalty corner goal in 20th minute for his hat-trick. Rob Farrington made it 3-2 in the 24th minute.
After the break Azrul Hasbullah added to the Malaysian tally in the 53rd minute but that only served to see an English fightback and the lead changing hands.
Three goals in seven minutes from England’s Farrington (57th), Luke Taylor (59th) and Nick Bandurak (63rd) gave the home side a 5-4 lead.
Fortunately for the Malaysians, Zulhairi was in fine fettle as he struck with another penalty corner drag flick in the 68th minute to make it 5-5.
Rashid Baharom then turned hero for Malaysia with the winner a minute later from a field attempt.
The Malaysians return home tomorrow to prepare for the Sultan of Johor Cup.
The Johor Baru tournament will be held from Sept 19-29 and will involve Malaysia, England, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Argentina and South Korea.
For the record, Malaysia, England, Pakistan and South Africa are placed in the same group for the Junior World Cup which will be held in December in India.
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