Hockey: Malaysia loses to Canada in semi-final

Malaysia lost to Canada 4-5 on penalties in the semi-final of the Champions Challenge 1 Hockey Championship, here Saturday night.

The match played at Indera Mahkota Hockey Stadium ended 2-2 at full time.

Malaysia began brightly when Faizal Saari opened the scoring as early as the 3rd minute via a penalty corner.

Ismail Abu provided more cheer for the local fans when he netted the second goal in the 15th minute.

However, Canada hit back when skipper Scot Tupper converted a penalty corner in the 21st minute .

Tupper again came to Canada's rescue when he scored from a penalty corner in the 60th minute to put the score at 2-2.

In the penalty shootout, Malaysia converted four via Faizal Saari (2), Faiz Helmi Jali and Mohd Fitri Saari.

Canada's five penalties were converted by Mark Pearson (2), Gordon Jahnston (2) and Adam Froese.

Coach Muhammad Dharmaraj Abdullah described the collapse to poor fitness following the elimination of favourites New Zealand in the quarter-final match.

Malaysia shocked New Zealand to win 3-2 via penalties after the match was tied at 4-4.

"Our players were tiring fast in the final 20 minutes. This allowed Canada to bounce back with two goals and then won the penalty shootout.

"I am satisfied with the players performance although we failed to reach the final as set by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC)," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, skipper Azlan Misron said the defeat was a reminder to correct small mistakes before the World Hockey Championship in The Hague, Netherlands form May 31.

"The loss shows that it is dangerous to relax although Malaysia were leading Canada 2-1.

"In hockey, the score can change very fast. Hopefully, the players have learned a valuable lesson from the loss," he told reporters after the match.