Joe Naughalty’s Late Strike Seals Victory As Wales Comes Through A Malaysian Storm

Wales got their FIH Men’s Hockey series campaign off to a superb start as they beat Canada 3-1 in Kuala Lumpur.

James Carson gave Wales the lead just before the end of the second quarter from a penalty corner in a game which saw the start delayed by 90 minutes due to bad weather.

And three minutes into the second half Luke Hawker doubled the advantage for coach Zak Jones’ side.

Canada, ranked 10 in the world – 14 places higher than Wales – reduced the arrears on 42 minutes through Iain Smythe.

But Joe Naughalty, who plays for Brighton, sealed victory with three minutes left from another penalty corner to give Wales the perfect start.

Wales’ next opponents in Pool A at the Bukit Jalil Stadium are Belarus on Saturday.

Belarus were hammered 5-0 by Austria who Wales will play in the final Pool game on Monday.

Wales’ men’s squad after arriving in Malaysia.

 

Wales cannot qualify for the next stage even if they finish in the top two as it is part of the Olympic cycle so GB will take that slot in the next phase.

But it is still a big tournament for the summer ahead which includes the European Championships in Antwerp when world champs Belgium will await in the group stage.

Coach Zak Jones said: “It’s a bit bizarre as we can’t go any further if we qualify for the top two.

“Normally the top two qualify for the next phase, but because its Olympic cycle then GB will take precedence.

“But the key thing for us is we can earn world ranking points and we need to get as many world rankings points as we can as that can dictate future tournament rankings and points towards Commonwealth Games which are important for that.”