Malaysia vs New Zealand Hockey

Netherlands and England topped their groups, booking their quarterfinals spots, while Malaysia, New Zealand, India and Spain now move on to the crossovers.

Akashdeep added a second stunning goal at the start of 4th quarter to give India the lead back and Harmanpreet finally opened his account in the final minute of the game as India won a penalty corner after Wales had taken their keeper off for an outfield player. The second half started with an Indian goal by Akashdeep early in the 3rd quarter, but as India searched for more goals, Wales got a chance to launch counters of their own and as the 3rd quarter came to a close, Wales scored twice to stun the crowd and go into the final 15 minutes on level terms. That would be the only goal India would score in the first half as hopes of topping the group faded for the hosts. The final quarter saw New Zealand score twice through Phillips and Lane to temporarily move into the 2nd place on the Pool table, but Malaysia grabbed the lead back with less than 2 minutes left, as Faizal Saari scored his second of the game to get Malaysia the 3 points and 2nd place in Pool C. Spanish players’ shoulders started to drop in the second half as they kept missing from great scoring opportunities and when they got shots on target, English keeper Oliver Payne showed why he is one of the best in the business pulling off a string of impressive saves to maintain England’s run of clean sheets at the World Cup. Malaysia and New Zealand played the first game with Malaysia needing a win to overtake New Zealand for the second spot in the group, while New Zealand just needed a draw to stay ahead of Malaysia on goal difference. The second half saw Netherlands turn up the pressure, scoring 6 goals in the 3rd quarter and 3 more in the final quarter. Malaysia were the first to score as Faizal Saari got a slight touch on a ball into the circle that took it past an onrushing Dixon giving Malaysia a crucial lead. The final match of the day was between hosts India, playing their first match in Bhubaneswar against the plucky Welsh team that had nothing to lose. Malaysia though did manage to score a winner with two minutes left on the clock to seal the win and grab the second spot in Pool C, with New Zealand finishing 3rd. The second half followed a similar pattern, as Spain’s scoring touch deserted them, while the English defence withstood all the pressure and launched counter-attacks that helped add two more goals in the second half for an emphatic 4-0 win. Spain started the game brightly, but failed to find their scoring touch, while England made the best of their opportunities, scoring twice before the half.