Monday, March 5, 2012

Malaysia 0 Wales 1

MALAYSIA went down 1-0 to Wales in their second acclimatisation match in Cardiff on Sunday.
The national team played a totally different game than the earlier 3-1 win over the Welsh, as they battled the cold and damp conditions leading up to the Dublin Olympic Qualifier on March 10-18 in Ireland.
In the first friendly, Malaysia took a 3-0 lead before letting in a 69th minute goal, while on Sunday, they had their hands full trying to stop the Welsh from scoring.
But with five minutes remaining on the clock, the defenders went into sleep mode and allowed a shot from the top of the semi-circle to crash into their goal-mouth.
The match was live on twitter @HockeyWale and the damning revelation was that “Wales kept the ball well and forced the Malaysian’s to play their game!”
Malaysia never won any penalty corners but had to defend a handful, with goalkeeper S. Kumar pulling off some stunning saves to save the blushes.
For the record, Malaysia are ranked 13th in the World while Wales are No 27, 14 rungs below.
Malaysia will open accounts against World No 26 Chile on March 10, after which they meet World No 20 Russia and then World No 29th Ukraine.
And after the three winnable matches, as they square off against World No 6 South Korea and finally hosts Ireland who stand at No 16.
Ireland, on the other hand, scored a massive 9-0 and 4-0 wind against Czech republic, No 23, in their final friendlies before the Qualifier.