03 Sep Asian Games 2018: Malaysia Confirm Their Semi-Final Berth With Easy Win

Malaysia finally confirmed its berth in the semi-final in the men’s hockey event at the Asian Games after 7-0 win over Oman at the GBK Hockey Stadium.

Malaysia will play tournament top seed India in the crossover semi-final on Thursday and national coach Stephen van Huizen said they had a slow start but it was not a problem for them to worry about.

“We just needed a result and the game was not about goals and I think it was a good result all round and a good number of goals as well.

“Of course, our attention be on India now and it is not going to be easy at all. We wanted the players to be safe and not get hurt against Oman.  Overall, we just need plan our game against them and ensure the players are ready for the match,” he said

The Malaysians managed to score a penalty corner goal for a 1-0 halftime lead and that goal came in the 28^th minute through Muhammad Razie Abdul Rahim. It was his ninth goal of the tournament.

In the second half, the Malaysians were more potent as they started off with two goals.

Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil was on target with a field goal in the 31^st minute while Faizal Saari scored a penalty corner goal in the 33rd minute.

The Malaysians continued to dominate and Muhammad Firhan Ashari scored his third goal of the tournament in the 36^th minute.

Nik Muhammad Aiman Nik Rozemi scored Malaysia’s fifth goal in the 41^st minute and Tengku was on target for his second in the 44^th minute.

Faizal also had a brace in the match with his second field goal in the 47^th minute, taking his tournament tally to seven.