Star : Peillat turns hero for Argentina in friendly against M’sia
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia got off to a limp start in their preparation for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament after losing 3-2 to Argentina in a friendly match.
Argentina, ranked No. 2 in the world, snatched an early lead through Lucas Vila in the 19th minute at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
The national team equalised in the 31st minute through an effort by Nik Aiman Nik Rozemi.
The Malaysian goal however, almost started a fracas when Argentina’s Juan Lopez furiously claiming that Nik Aiman’s goal was not valid.
Both teams were boiling with Argentina’s goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi and Malaysia’s Nabil Fiqri going head-to-head before the referee intervened to cool things off.
When the match resumed after half-time, it was Argentina who took charge again through the efforts of Gonzalo Peillat.
The 26-year-old penalty corner specialist put the South Americans back in the lead through a penalty corner flick in the 46th minute.
Peillat, who starred for Terengganu in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) earlier this month, then added his second goal two minutes later through a swift counter-attack.
Azri Hassan pulled one back for Malaysia in the first minute of injury time (60+1) but it was nothing more than a scant consolation.
The defeat is now Malaysia’s third straight loss to Argentina.
They were beaten 5-2 in the group stages of the World League Round Three and then 2-1 in the semi-finals last year.
It is certainly not the best preparation for the Sultan Azlan Shah meet from March 3-10 in Ipoh and national coach Stephen Van Huizen has a lot to work on when they take on Argentina in a second friendly at the same venue today.
Argentina, ranked No. 2 in the world, snatched an early lead through Lucas Vila in the 19th minute at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
The national team equalised in the 31st minute through an effort by Nik Aiman Nik Rozemi.
The Malaysian goal however, almost started a fracas when Argentina’s Juan Lopez furiously claiming that Nik Aiman’s goal was not valid.
Both teams were boiling with Argentina’s goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi and Malaysia’s Nabil Fiqri going head-to-head before the referee intervened to cool things off.
When the match resumed after half-time, it was Argentina who took charge again through the efforts of Gonzalo Peillat.
The 26-year-old penalty corner specialist put the South Americans back in the lead through a penalty corner flick in the 46th minute.
Peillat, who starred for Terengganu in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) earlier this month, then added his second goal two minutes later through a swift counter-attack.
Azri Hassan pulled one back for Malaysia in the first minute of injury time (60+1) but it was nothing more than a scant consolation.
The defeat is now Malaysia’s third straight loss to Argentina.
They were beaten 5-2 in the group stages of the World League Round Three and then 2-1 in the semi-finals last year.
It is certainly not the best preparation for the Sultan Azlan Shah meet from March 3-10 in Ipoh and national coach Stephen Van Huizen has a lot to work on when they take on Argentina in a second friendly at the same venue today.
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