M'sia open SEA Games campaign with narrow win over Brunei
Published on: Tuesday, August 15, 2017
SHAH ALAM: Malaysia scrambled to a 2-1 win over minnows Brunei in their opening Group A match at the Shah Alam Stadium Monday night to kick off their Kuala Lumpur SEA Games (KL2017) campaign in unconvincing fashion.Malaysia, despite playing on home soil and in front of about 8,000 fans, failed to capitalise on the many chances created after having taken the lead as early as the 4th minute through a spectacular volley by Muhammad Safawi Rasid.Undaunted by the home crowd and having conceded the lead early, Brunei fought back to score the equaliser in the 12th minute through Mohamed Zulkhairy Hady and looked menacing until Adam Nor Azlin's 60th minute header ensured Datuk Ong Kim Swee's side all three points.
ADVERTISEMENT
Malaysia had numerous chances to extend the lead but poor finishing led to hurried shots over the bar or well off target.After sharing the spoils in the first half, Malaysia dominated the second half but despite breaking through the Brunei defence, the strikers failed to find the target. The win saw Malaysia move into second place in Group A behind Myanmar who had earlier beaten Singapore 2-0.Malaysia face Singapore on Aug 16 before taking on Myanmar on (Aug 21) and Laos on (Aug 23).All matches involving Malaysia would start at the Shah Alam Stadium at 8.45pm.
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, the netball squad began their campaign in style by sweeping past Thailand 73-30 in their opening round robin match at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara, here, Monday.Malaysia, winner of the silver medal at the 2015 Singapore SEA Games and 2001 gold medal when hosting the Games in Kuala Lumpur, are out on a mission to capture the gold medal in front of the home fans although Singapore will have other ideas as the defending champion.
ADVERTISEMENT
The squad under Aussie coach Tracey Robinson started the match on a cautious note but still took a comfortable 18-10 lead in the first quarter before adding another 17 points compared with Thailand's five. The Malaysian girls added another 17 points in the third quarter and 21 points in the final quarter to walk away with a commanding lead while Thailand managed six and nine points in the third and fourth quarters.Malaysia take on Brunei at 5.15pm Tuesday and face arch rival Singapore on Aug 16, before completing their round robin fixtures against the Philippines on Aug 18.Five countries are taking part in the netball competition, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and the Philippines. "I'm happy with their performance...but I hope they can perform better by learning from this first game," Robinson told reporters after the match.Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin who was among the spectators was also happy with the win.Shooter An Najwa Azizan, easily the most prolific goal scorer Monday, described the win as a motivation for the team to continue playing consistently throughout the competition."The entire team played well today and we will perform better tomorrow. Our main target is to wrest the gold medal that we lost to Singapore in 2015," she said.In another match played at the same venue Monday, defending champion Singapore started their title quest by defeating Brunei 62-37.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
