Match 22 - Malaysia v Thailand
6th Asia Cup Women’s Hockey Championship - Malaysia v Thailand (3:1)
5th & 6th place playoff. Malaysia vs Thailand
Final Score: Malaysia 3 Thailand 1
Malaysia was just that bit too strong for a very determined Thailand to win by 3 goals to 1 in the playoff for 5th and 6th places of the 6th Asia Cup Womens Hockey Championships played today , Sunday, at the Kings Park Hockey ground. Certainly the result made a mockery of the world rankings, Malysia 24 and Thailand 55.
The win did not come easy as the Thai’s who have improved with every outing in the tournament put up a strong defence and then relied on break outs in attempting to score goals at the other end. And despite being outclassed in every department by the vastly more experienced Malaysians, the Thai’s certainly made a game of it.
With the Malaysians running the ball at Thailand more frequently as the game progressed, the Thai defence ably marshalled by Dokkoon Seedee at the back became more stretched. And with Juliani Mohamad Din and Chitra Devi Arumugam running the ball at pace into the Thai circle from wide out, the defence started looking a bit shaky.
The inevitable Malaysian score came in the 25th minute when Nadia Abdul Rahmam latched on to a pass inside the Thai circle and slammed home the opening goal.
Just three miutes later Arumugam scored Malaysia’s second goal following a melee inside the Thai circle to make the score 2-0 as the teams went into the half time break.
The second half remained scoreless for over ten minutes as the Thai defence held out the attacking Malysians.
And then a determined break out led by Kannika Lewrungrot saw Thailand force a penalty corner in the 48th minute that was converted by Ompimol Kititeerasopon when the Malaysian defence failed to clear the ball inside the circle to make the score 2-1 to Malaysia.
But Thailand just could not add to that score and Malaysia then made certain of the win when Nadia Abdul Rahman converted a penalty corner just four minutes from full time to give Malaysia the 3-1 victory for 5th place in the tournament.
Result: Malaysia 3 : Thailand 1 (Goal scorers: Malaysia - Nadia Abdul Rahman 2, Chitra Devi Arumugam; Thailand - Ompimol Kititeerasopon)