Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia completed the preliminary round at the 2017 Men's Hockey Asia Cup by mauling minnow Oman 7-1 in the final group B match in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday.The victory saw Stephen Van Huizen's side emerging as Group B champion with a maximum nine points, after securing back-to-back victories in two previous matches by whitewashing China 7-1 on Oct 12 before upsetting the defending champion, South Korea 2-1, two days later.In Monday's match, Malaysia took a comfortable 5-1 lead at half-time via Faizal Saari in the 16th and 26th minutes, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abd Jalil (18th and 23rd minutes), Muhammad Shahril Saabah (20th minute) but Oman managed to reduce the deficit via Salmeen Al Nofali in the 25th minute, according to Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Facebook page.
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The national senior squad wrapped up the match by adding two more goals in the second half via two youngsters – Muhammad Amirol Aideed Mohd Arshad and Muhammad Najmi Farizal Jazlan in the 40th and 42nd minutes, respectively.Speaking afterwards, Van Huizen was full of praise for two youngsters – Marhan Nabil Asri Joel and Muhammad Aideed who performed well in Monday's match despite the absence of experienced midfielder, Mohd Fitri Saari who was forced to returned home, late Sunday to look after the latter's son who was reportedly in critical condition.
"Faizal has done very well so far by scoring in every game and also a few other players who worked hard for the team so far."We started a bit casually in today's match, knowing we had qualified to the semi-final but once we picked up the tempo, I think we created enough chances to score a comfortable win," Van Huizen said via Whatsapp. – Bernama
