Malaysia got out of jam to notch first victory

The Malaysian players listening to the instructions given by A. Arulselvaraj during their friendly match against Beeston. - Photo by Malaysia Hockey Confederation

PETALING JAYA: A traffic snag did not hinder the national hockey team from getting their first win in England.

The Malaysian Tigers beat English Hockey Premier Division club Beeston 3-1 at the Nottingham Hockey Centre, which is almost 200km away from their training base Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre on Friday.

Their travel was delayed by an hour due to heavy traffic but it did not dampen their spirit.

In fact, it fuelled the fire in Razie Rahim to score three goals in the 12th, 35th and 42nd minutes, all via penalty corners which had coach A. Arulselvaraj smiling from ear to ear.

“It was supposed to be a two-hour journey but it took more than three hours due to the traffic but the team played well,” said Arulselvaraj.

“We had four penalty corners and scored three while Beeston had five.

“We controlled the game well and we were much more organised than in previous games.

“We have played four high-quality matches against top English clubs which will surely help us in the test matches.”

The game against Beeston was their final friendly game against English clubs before they play against Ireland (Oct 5, 6), Wales (Oct 9, 12) and France (Oct 15,18).

In the other matches, Malaysia were held by Old Georgians (2-2), Hampstead and Westminster (5-5) and lost to Surbiton (1-2).

The Tour is part of the national team’s preparations for the 2022 Asia Cup and 2023 World Cup qualifiers.