AUSTRALIA stopped short of scoring their ninth, in their 8-0 drubbing of the Malaysian men in the International Super Series Hockey 9s at the Perth Hockey Stadium in Australia yesterday.
The Malaysian women were no better, as they were hammered 10-1 by Argentina, with Siti Noor Amarina scoring the consolation off a 29th minute penalty corner.
And in the first match on Thursday, the Malaysian men took the lead but lost 5-3 to Pakistan, while the Malaysian women were whipped 8-0 by Australia.
Today, the Malaysian men wrap up their pool fixtures against Argentina, while the women play Canada.
The Malaysian men are making their debut in the tournament, which has a totally different format than regular hockey.
Teams are only allowed to field nine players, instead of 11, the goalpost is wider, and the match is played in 20-minute halves instead of the usual 35 minutes.
On Thursday, it was only 20 seconds into the match, when Nabil Fiqri deflected in the lead, but they could not maintain the fast pace and precision passing needed in the 9s format. The other Malaysian goals were scored by Azlan Misron and Sharun Nabil.
Coach Paul Revington picked a motley crew, and fielded some players who have not seen action in any tournament this year, to give them a fighting chance to make the grade for the 2014 World Cup training side.
