Women: Malaysia 0 England 3

THE upset that national coach Yahya Atan was hoping for failed to materialise as the Malaysian women lost 3-0 to England in their final Group B match at the Dhyan Chand Stadium yesterday.
Malaysia, who had beaten Canada 3-2 in their opening match before falling in two matches, had to win yesterday to keep their faint semi-final hopes alive.
The women were beaten 5-0 by New Zealand and 2-1 by Wales and kept England at bay for the better part of the first half yesterday.
England, who needed to win to ensure progress to the semi-finals, finally broke through in the 33rd minute through a Nicola White field goal.
Five minutes into the second half, England went further ahead when Alex Danson sounded the board and victory was sealed in the 46th minute when Georgie Twigg converted a penalty corner.
Malaysia will now play in the fifth-eighth classification playoffs with the target of bettering the sixth-placed finish in the 2006 Melbourne Games.
The men, meanwhile, face world champions Australia in their final Group A match today after having registered their first win of the Games by beating Scotland 2-0 on Friday.
The Aussies beat Pakistan 1-0 yesterday, meaning Malaysia still have a mathematical chance of advancing but even if other results go in their favour, they still have to beat Australia today.
The likelihood is that the winners of today's India-Pakistan cracker, which is set to fill the stadium to capacity, will accompany the Australians to the last four while Malaysia must prepare for the fifth-eighth playoffs.