South Korea edge past Malaysia 4-3 in maiden Asian Champions Trophy – Hockey Update
It was a tremendous show from the South Korean Men’s hockey team that trounced Malaysia 4-3 in the second fixture of the Asian Champions Trophy and improved their position in the tournament at the Yijinhuoluo Hockey Stadium in Ordos, China.
The Koreans obtained their second consecutive victory in the tournament which increased their chances to earn a spot in the title-match. In the first competition, the Koreans edged out Japan by 3-2. On the other side, the Malaysians, who were runners up
in the Asian Games, lost the first two games and have little chances to finish the podium at second. They lost their first game at the hands of Pakistan 3-2.
Stephen van Huizen, the Manager of the National Team expressed great disappointment over the failures. He was of the opinion that there will be more pressure in the third game. After losing the first game at the hands of Pakistan, the Malaysians were expecting
a victory against Korea that would help them to end the tourney on a positive note.
The manager added, “We are hugely disappointed with the results from the two matches. I feel we could have earned at least a point in either match. The players did well but we let our guard down at some crucial points. Of course, at this stage, after two
matches, there will be added pressure on the team as we have to really buck up to get a win next.”
The game between Korea and Malaysia was opened with a great fervour as both wanted to establish their dominance onto the scoreboard. However, neither team could score a goal in the first 12 minutes of the match. It was the Korean side which drew first blood
in the 12th minute in the hands of Jang Jung-Hyun. He managed to take the ball inside the D-line and volleyed a powerful shot into the goal to put his side ahead at the scorecard.
However, the lead did not last for long and Malaysia tied the knots soon after the four minutes. Izwan Firdaus marked a goal from the field and made the score even at 1-1. After an end-to-end play, the same score continued in the concluding seconds of the
first half. Mohd Amin Rahim converted a short corner in the last minute of the first half and earned a lead 2-1 at the half-time.
In the second set of play, the Koreans earned goals in the hands of Kang Byun-keon, Kang Ju-hun and Cho Suk-hoon respectively in the 38th, 59th and 63rd minutes. Though Izwan scored another goal in the 70th minute
but to no avail and they lost the game 4-3.
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