KUALA LUMPUR – Ireland squashed the dream of the Speedy Tigers to advance to the final after winning 3-0 in the semifinals of the 2022 Nations Cup in South Africa today.
After a scoreless first half, Ireland finally broke the deadlock in the third quarter when Benjamin Walker’s field goal put them ahead 1-0 in the 40th minute in Potchefstroom.
The Malaysian men’s hockey team suffered another setback when Jeremy Duncan scored the second goal for the team from Europe through a field goal two minutes later.
Duncan then compunded the issue for the national squad coached by A. Arul Selvaraj when he scored his second field goal in the 51st minute to seal victory for Ireland and book a ticket to the final tomorrow.
Ireland will face either South Korea or hosts South Africa, who will face off in another semi-final today.
Malaysia’s challenge is not yet over at the tournament as the Speedy Tigers are scheduled to play in the third-fourth placing match, also tomorrow.
Arul, in a video shared by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation to the media, was clearly disappointed with the defensive line that failed to control the ball adeptly.
“We also did not play our usual game. We still lacked effort and energy,” he said.
He hoped that his men would quickly shake off the disappointment to emerge as the third-best team in the tournament tomorrow. – Bernama, December 3, 2022
