-->
Malaysia
booked a spot in the second round of the World League by outclassing Kazakhstan
11-1 at the Kuantan Hockey Stadium.
With
two teams moving into the next round, there was never a doubt that Malaysia
would take one of the spots. And despite being apprehensive earlier on with
regards to the strength of Kazakhstan, Malaysia showed their class in hammering
them into submission, taking a 6-0 lead in the first half.
And
the match against Sri Lanka tomorrow will be a sheer formality for Malaysia to
complete the fixtures. What is remarkable is that Malaysia has
“Honestly
I never expected this scoreline as Kazakhstan has an experienced side. Perhaps
they were tired playing two matches on consecutive days. Still I will not take
the credit away from my players who played a high tempo match, keeping the
opponents backpedalling,” said Malaysian coach Mohd Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim.
“It
is good to book our spot with a match to play but we will not take things for
granted against Sri Lanka though I might give some fringe players a starting
eleven chance.”
It
took Malaysia only three minutes to be on the scoreboard through a penalty
cornerr as skipper Nadia Abdul Rahman sent a delightful scoop over the keeper
Natalya Gataulina to send the crowd into sheer delight.
That
set the tone for the first half as Fazilla Slyvester Silin added the second,
also a via a penalty corner in the 6th minute.
Siti
Rahmah Othman, who scored a hattrick against Singapore the previous day, made
it 3-0 in the 15th minute and the shoulders of the Kazakhstan
players dropped, knowing that they were in for a hard night.
Nadia
scored her second and Malaysia’s fourth in the next minute before goals from
Fatin Naimah Zaki (18th minute) and Siti Noor Amarina Ruhaini (22nd
minute) gave Malaysia a 6-0 halftime lead.
It
took Malaysia only two minutes upon resumption to increase their tally, this
time through Rabiatul Adawiyah.
With
strong support from the terraces and Malaysian Hockey Confederation President
Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah urging the team on, Malaysia kept on pressing
and were rewarded with two more goals via Norazlin Sumantri (44th
minute) and Nur Hidayah Bokhari (49th minute).
Kazakhstan
reduced the deficit in the 59th minute through Gulnara Imangaliyeva.
But that was as far as they got as Malaysia added goals through Norazlin (64th
minute) and Raja Norsharina Raja Shahbuddin ( 65th minute) for a
11-1 win.
