Speedy Tigers lose to Surbiton Hockey Club

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 -- The national men's hockey squad's wish to record their maiden victory in their 2021 United Kingdom Tour Series did not materialise when they lost 1-2 to Surbiton Hockey Club on Tuesday.

The second match of the Speedy Tigers which took place at the Surbiton Hockey Club Stadium saw the home team lead the match with two goals within four minutes, in the 22nd and 26th minutes respectively.

Stunned by the setback, the national team upped the ante and finally broke the deadlock with Muhammad Najib Abu Hassan scoring a field goal in the 47th minute.

Head coach A. Arulselvaraj praised the performance of national goalkeeper, Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman who performed well and said that there were still some mistakes that needed to be corrected by his men.

"What needs to be improved is positioning and performance in the opponent's area in attacking and defending our own area as well as the need to be more agile to win the ball in 50/50 chances," he said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation today.

Meanwhile, national player, Muhammad Razie Abd Rahim explained that he and his teammates will analyse the match to identify mistakes that need to be corrected ahead of the two more games against club teams before playing against Ireland, Wales and France.

"”For today's match (yesterday), although we lost there are positive things we got compared to the first match including correcting mistakes (made) in the previous match.

"Besides that, we also need to correct individual mistakes and reduce such errors," he said.

On Sunday, Malaysia recorded a 2-2 draw against Old Georgians hockey club in a friendly match at St. George's College in the first action of the tour series.

The national squad will next be up against club team Hampstead & Westminister H.C on Thursday (September 30) at 2.30 am Malaysian time.

-- BERNAMA