JOHOR BARU – The national Under-21 hockey team finally earned a point after holding Japan to a 2-2 draw in their fifth outing in the Sultan of Johor Cup (SoJC) at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here tonight.
Both teams failed to break the deadlock in the first half and it was Japan who finally drew first blood in the third quarter through a Kobayashi Masato penalty corner goal in the 33rd minute.
However, national forward Muhammad Amirul Haniff Mamat proved that he too could do what Masato did when he netted the equaliser five minutes later off a penalty corner set piece.
The national juniors then went 2-1 up when Shahmie Irfan Suhaimi added the second goal also off a well-worked penalty corner set piece.
But the Malaysians’ joy was shortlived when Japan, coached by Watanabe Hiroki, made it 2-2 through a Saeki Ikumi penalty corner goal four minutes later.
Despite gaining their first point, Malaysia, who are coached by Muhammad Amin Rahim, remain rooted to the bottom of the six-team standings, having previously lost to Great Britain, South Africa, Australia and India.
Earlier, India and Great Britain dished out an exciting 10-goal thriller to draw 5-5. – Bernama, October 28, 2022
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