Malaysia loses to Argentina in the FIH Champions Challenge I
The Malaysian men’s hockey team went down by 5-2, after enjoying a 1-0 lead at halftime in its final Pool B fixture of the FIH Champions Challenge I, contested at the Randburg Hockey Stadium, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 29.
Argentina landed in the field with an upper hand over the rivals. The South American team has one victory and a draw to its credit while the Southeast Asian team lost one game besides managing a draw in the second fixture.
The Malaysian team completely enjoyed its dominance in the early part of the game. However, it failed to uphold its control in the second period.
Right from the beginning minute of the match, the Malaysian team started playing aggressively. Although the Argentinean players accomplished attacks, they failed to pose any serious threat in the first part of the game.
Azlan Misron was the Malaysian player who drove the ball into the defensive circle of Argentina. After dodging a couple of defenders, he sent the ball right into the cage in the 19th minute mark.
Juan Manuel, the Argentinean goalie failed to judge the ball, that past between his legs. Despite many counterattacks, the Malaysians held on to the 1-0 edge until the breather.
However, the entire scenario changed in the second half of play. It seemed that the Argentinean players returned all charged up with energy that helped them in earning the lead.
The Malaysians wilted under pressure in the very early part of the second period.
Firstly, Pedro Ibarra made the results even through a penalty conversion in the 44th minute while his teammate, Alejandro Mazzilli, put Argentina ahead of Malaysia with another short corner, in the 51st minute of play.
The Malaysians became confused with abrupt changes on the scoreboard and became defensive to avoid any further goals.
In a matter of one minute, Rodrigo Nicolas Vila notched another goal, expanding the Argentinean lead up to two.
In the 58th minute mark, Mazzilli accounted for his second notch of the game that further demoralised the Malaysian team. A well-played drag flick from Amin Rahim did nothing in favour of Malaysia.
Ibarra registered an insurance goal in the final minute of the game, sealing the victory for Malaysia by 5-2.
Malaysian will meet India while Argentina will play against Poland in the Quarter-final stage of the Champions Challenge I.
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