Conceding early costs Malaysia dearly as they miss last-eight spot

Going all out: Malaysia’s Faris Harizan (right) vying for the ball with Australia’s Cooper Burns during their Group A match. — MHC

KUALA LUMPUR: The spectre of conceding early goals came back to haunt the Malaysian junior hockey team again.

The team coached by Amin Rahim found themselves 0-3 down to Australia in the first quarter of their last Group A match in the Junior Hockey World Cup and despite mounting a fightback, could not overturn the deficit and ended up losing 2-5 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.