Goal galore: Pakistan players celebrate after beating Malaysia in Johor.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia endured a tough start to their Sultan of Johor Cup campaign after being thrashed 7-2 by Pakistan at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru on Saturday (Oct 11).
Malaysia, under the guidance of Nor Saiful Zaini, were caught off guard early when Sufyan Khan converted a penalty corner in the third minute.
The hosts drew level in the second quarter through Ammar Qusyairi Halim in the 20th minute, but Pakistan restored their lead just a minute later, with Sufyan once again finding the mark from another penalty corner.
From there, Ashraf Kamran’s side ran riot, punishing Malaysia’s defensive lapses with a flurry of four goals in just five minutes.
Hannan Shahid started the onslaught in the 30th minute, followed by strikes from Nadeem Khan and another two from Sufyan, who completed his hat-trick.
Azimuddin Shakir Kamaruddin pulled one back in the 35th minute to make it 2-5, but Malaysia’s fightback faded in the final quarter as Pakistan added two more goals through Nadeem and Fayyaz Hamza to seal a comprehensive 7-2 victory.
Malaysia will next face Australia on Sunday.
"This is our first match since I took over the team six months ago, so we tried to play an open game against Pakistan," said Nor Saiful.
"We wanted to test ourselves by playing open, one-on-one international hockey. From what I observed, most of our players struggled in that aspect - except for Andy (Walfian Jeffrynus), who plays for the national team and looked more comfortable.
"When we play open hockey, the field becomes wide and there’s less group support.
"Pakistan, on the other hand, have the advantage because most of their players are part of their national setup." he added.
