Junior :: Defensive blunder denies Juniors victory over England

A late defensive error dashed the National Juniors’ hopes of a victory over England in the four-nation invitational hockey tournament in Seville on Friday.

The match ended 3-3.

Malaysia have one point from two matches, having lost 1-2 to hosts Spain on Thursday.

Against England, forward Faisal Saari drew first blood for Malaysia in the 23rd minute with a field goal but England equalised in the 40th minute.

Nine minutes later, the Juniors went ahead again through Mohd Izzat Mohd Rahim off a penalty corner. England hit back to draw level again in the 57th minute.

Forward Izwan Firdaus gave the Juniors the lead with six minutes to go but a defensive mistake in the 67th minute allowed England to snatch a point.

National Juniors coach K. Rajan said they should have collected full points against England.

“My boys played better compared to the game against Spain. We took our chances well and victory was in our grasp,” he said. “But a defensive blunder denied us a win.”

Rajan hopes his defenders will buck up when they face favourites Germany next.

“The Germans are the team to beat as they outplayed Spain 5-1,” said Rajan.

Spain and England are in the same group with Malaysia for the Junior World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore from June 7-21. The other teams in Malaysia’s group are South Korea and the United States.