PETALING JAYA: The gulf between Malaysia and the world’s top teams is becoming increasingly evident after the Speedy Tigers suffered another heavy defeat at the World Cup.
World No. 14 Malaysia blew their chance to finish in the top 10 after going down 7-4 to Ireland in the ninth-16th classification playoff in Wavre, Belgium, on Friday (Aug 21).
The Speedy Tigers will face South Africa today as they look to keep alive their hopes of finishing at least 11th.
Head coach Brendon Carolan admitted that the result was a letdown and their defeat against World No. 9 Ireland showed where they stood.
"We are disappointed with the result against a top 10 team in the world and it showed where we are at the moment," said Carolan.
"We expected a lot more from this group. Unfortunately, conceding many soft goals early took the game out of reach too soon for us."
Ireland’s Jonathan Lynch had a field day in Wavre as he scored a hattrick before half-time as his side made it 4-0 with another goal from Matthew Nelson.
Azimuddin Syakir Kamaruddin, Amirul Azahar, and Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal managed to reduce the deficit in the third quarter, but Ireland kept the goal fest going with another two goals through John McKee and Nelson before the final 15 minutes.
Benjamin Walker made it seven for Ireland in the 54th minute before Faizal Saari scored the final goal of the night a minute later.
Added Carolan: "We have to improve the standard in our performance. Defensively, we aren't good enough."
