Penalty corner nightmare sinks Bangladesh

Bangladesh's defensive weaknesses were ruthlessly exposed as Malaysia scored five penalty corner goals to hand them a 6-1 defeat in their third round-robin match of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy in Jalandhar on Friday.

It was Bangladesh's third consecutive defeat in the tournament following losses to India and Japan, with their inability to defend set-pieces once again proving costly against a more experienced opponent.

Malaysia took the lead in the 14th minute when Abu Kamal Azrai scored from a field move before doubling the advantage with a penalty corner conversion in the 22nd minute.

Bangladesh briefly threatened a comeback when Amirul Islam converted a penalty corner in the 26th minute to make it 2-1. However, Akhimullah Anuar restored Malaysia's two-goal cushion with another penalty corner goal in the 29th minute.

The game slipped further away from Bangladesh early in the third quarter. Azimuddin Kamaruddin converted Malaysia's third penalty corner in the 32nd minute before Shello Silverius struck from a swift field move barely a minute later to make it 5-1.

Aiman Rozemi completed the rout in the 50th minute, converting another penalty corner to seal a comfortable victory for Brendon Carolan's side.

Despite the heavy defeat, Bangladesh captain Ashraful Islam insisted his team were heading in the right direction; their failure to convert chances was the main difference between the sides.

"I think we are on the right track. We played several practice matches in China and also faced them at the Asian Games. We created a number of chances in this match but failed to convert them, while Malaysia took their opportunities. I think that was the main difference between the two sides," Ashraful told Daily Sun.

He also defended Bangladesh's attacking effort, saying they had created enough opportunities to trouble their opponents.

"In hockey, it is possible to score three goals in a minute. We created chances and attacked them. They converted their opportunities, while we could not. They play in the World Cup and Olympics, while we are not yet at that level. But I believe the result could have been different if we had taken our chances," he added.