IPOH, March 30 — Malaysia bounced back from a one-goal deficit to beat Canada 4-2 to finish third in the 28th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament at the Azlan Shah Stadium here today.
This is Malaysia’s second straight win over Canada in two days, having triumphed 3-2 against the same opponents in their final round-robin match yesterday.
In today’s third placing playoff, Canada stunned the 2,000 Malaysian fans and the Speedy Tigers, as the national hockey team are known, by taking the lead in the 14th minute when Mark Pearson scored a field goal.
That was just the wake-up call Malaysia needed as they struck four times in 22 minutes to go 4-1 up.
Nik Muhammad Aiman Nik Rozemi got the equaliser in the 23rd minute off a penalty corner set piece before Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal added the second six minutes later with a field goal.
Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil then made it 3-1 for Malaysia in the 30th minute after a nifty one-two with Norsyafiq Sumantri.
Faizal Saari added some gloss to the scoreline when he netted the fourth off a penalty corner set piece in the 45th minute.
Although Canada pulled one back in the 59th minute when James Wallace sounded the board with a hard shot, it proved too little too late. — Bernama
