Malaysia and Scotland delivered a sizzling start to the FIH Men’s Hockey Nations Cup in Cape Town on Thursday, with the Asian side eventually taking control to claim a convincing 5-2 victory.
The second match of the day at Hartleyvale Stadium between Korea and Japan proved equally dramatic, ending in a 1-1 draw. Japan were denied a last-gasp winner after a video review determined that the final hooter had sounded before the ball crossed the line.
Japan manager Jung Min Jang felt his side had reason to be encouraged despite the disappointment.
“At least we got one point,” he said. “We didn’t start well and it wasn’t a good first half, but we were much better in the second half.
“Going forward, we want to improve our attacking phase and create more opportunities to score goals.”
The opening day of the tournament, which concludes on July 20, continues with Ireland facing the United States before hosts South Africa take on France in the evening fixture.
In the tournament opener, Mohammad Abu Kamal Azrai starred for Malaysia with a hat-trick as they took a 3-1 lead into halftime and repeatedly responded whenever Scotland threatened to fight back.
Malaysia stretched their advantage to 4-1 in the third quarter, and although Scotland reduced the deficit to 4-2 through Andrew McConnell, Azrai completed his treble to ensure there would be no late nerves.
Malaysia’s South African-born coach, Brendan Carolan, was pleased with the result, although he admitted the contest had been closer than the final scoreline suggested.
“We were fortunate to come through that 10-minute yellow-card period without any damage, and it helped that our penalty-corner defence was very good,” he said.
“If they had converted more of their penalty corner opportunities, it would have been a lot closer.
“But it’s good to get a win in your first game and we know we have some tough matches ahead, including Japan on Friday.”
Scotland captain Robert Field acknowledged that missed opportunities had proved costly.
“We had some good chances early on and they just didn’t fall our way,” he said. “They managed to score at key moments that pegged us back, and that was the story of the game.
“We were chasing the game for long periods, but there are some good building blocks for us to take forward. We know it’s going to be tough, but the boys are really motivated, and we’ll take a lot of confidence from some of our play today.”
The early results were:
Malaysia 5 (Mohammad Abu Kamal Azrai 3, Aiman Niik Rozemi, Mohamad Esook Anuar); Scotland 2 (Andrew McConnell, Jamie Golden).
Korea 1 (Dohyun Lim); Japan 1 (Tsubasa Tanaka).
