Hosts lose 3-0 against Malaysia
Bangladesh conceded a 3-0 defeat against Asian powerhouse Malaysia in their first match as the Hockey World League Round 2 got underway in Dhaka yesterday.
The hosts, ranked 32nd in the world, conceded the first two goals by the 19th minute, before stepping up a gear and staving off the visitors till the 54th minute, with the third goal capping off a rather comfortable victory for Malaysia at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium.
There were comfortable wins for China, Oman and Egypt too as China thrashed Ghana 7-3, Egypt outplayed Sri Lanka 6-2, and Oman blanked Fiji 7-0.
The Malaysians, the top-ranked side and pretournament favourites, came into this tournament without several of their key players. So they were not quite the cut-throat Malaysia the world hockey is used to watching, but proved good enough to settle the issue against a Bangladesh side, seemingly low on confidence and cohesion.
The men in black and yellow took the lead in the fifth minute, with Jalil Marhan cleverly changing the direction of the ball into the back of the board from a sudden attack. The lead was doubled 15 minutes later when Razie Rahim turned in the team's second penalty corner with relative ease.
Bangladesh put some pressure on the opposition towards the end of the second quarter, earning their first penalty corner, but Ashraful Islam's push was well blocked by the Malaysian keeper. Malaysia continued to dominate possession, despite taking their foot off the gas a bit, and earned four more penalty corners but failed to convert any of those.
Bangladesh, too, had their moments, with two penalty corners and a few good counter attacks, but a lack of communication among the forwards meant there was not much to cheer about for the hosts. Goalkeeper Zahid Hossain though, was excellent under the bar, and even though he conceded a third goal six minutes before time, his performance meant the margin of defeat was not any larger.
Bangladesh's head coach Oliver Kurtz was rather satisfied with the scoreline. “Malaysia are the 13th ranked side in the world while we are ranked 32nd. So I believe a 3-0 defeat is not bad,” the German said after the match. “Our players seemed to lack confidence in the opening two quarters. But after that they played well. And we had chances too from which we could have scored.”
Bangladesh will play their second match of the tournament against 44th ranked Fiji today. A total of two teams from two pools of four teams each will qualify for the semifinal round which will be held in England in July this year.
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