England beat Malaysia 4-1 to dash WHL final hopes

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia lost 1-4 to England in the third-fourth playoff at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre to end their World Hockey League (WHL) London Semifinal in fourth spot and missed out on an automatic qualifying spot for the World Hockey League Final.
The squad under coach Stephen van Huizen had hoped to overturn a 3-7 defeat to England in the preliminary stages and qualify for the WHL Final in December but found the going tough when the host raced to a 3-0 lead by the third quarter.
However, despite finishing fourth, Van Huizen's boys can walk with their heads held high as making it to the semifinal had already earned them a place in the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar, India.
The WHL Final will be held in Odisha, India in December and only the top three teams in London earn automatic qualification.
England who had lost to Holland in the other semifinal yesterday, went on the offensive right from the start and took the lead by the 5th minute through Harry Martin's penalty corner strike and by the 9th minute England were 2-0 up when David Ames added the second while Martin made it 3-0 just two minutes before half time.
Malaysia managed to reduce the deficit through Faizal Saari's 53rd minute goal but Phil Roper restored the three goal advantage in the 59th minute to end any hopes of a late fightback. — Bernama