Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal (middle) celebrates after scoring his second goal against New Zealand in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh. - RONNIE CHIN/The Star
IPOH: Malaysia defeated Olympics-bound New Zealand 6-4 to get their second win at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup today (May 7).
It didn’t take long for the Speedy Tigers to draw first blood as striker Faizal Saari found the back of the net after just two minutes at the Azlan Shah Stadium here.
Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal then doubled the lead for hosts in the fifth minute after tapping the ball in from close range.
Just a minute later, 19-year-old Azimuddin Syakir Kamaruddin scored his second goal of the tournament, making it 3-0.
Before the end of the first quarter, a stunning assist from Shello Silverius set Azrai up to make it four for Malaysia. It was Azrai’s sixth goal of the tournament.
In the second quarter, The Black Sticks found the back of the net in the 19th minute through a field goal from Jake Smith.
The Kiwis then scored their second through a penalty stroke by Jonty Elmes in the 28th minute.
Goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman then denied Smith’s second penalty stroke attempt right before half-time, keeping the margin at two goals.
In the final quarter, Muhajir Abdu Rauf extended Malaysia's lead to 5-2 in the 52nd minute through an assist from Azrai.
New Zealand then got a penalty corner opportunity in the 58th minute, and Isaac Houlbrooke converted the shot to make it 5-3.
Azrai then gave Malaysia the icing on the cake as he scored a field goal with just 30 seconds left on the clock, completing his hattrick for the night.
With just seconds left on the clock, Houlbrooke converted another penalty corner to finish the game 6-4.
