Hockey World Cup 2018: 3 Reasons why Netherlands won against Malaysia

#1 Hertzberger's brilliance beats Kumar's resilience

Kumar Subramaniam was weakened by the ineptitude of the Malaysian defenders

One of the all-time greats of Malaysian Hockey, Kumar Subramaniam has been instrumental behind the team's impressive string of performances in recent times.

With the Tigers placed in the most difficult group in the World Cup, the experienced goalkeeper has become even more crucial to their cause. This time around, he was rendered helpless by the persistent Jeroen Hertzberger.

Having run rings around the Malaysian defence, Hertzberger and the Dutch attackers fired one shot after another on target from close ranges.

The 29-year old's distinct awareness at getting into promising positions meant that Kumar really had no chance under the bar.

The rapid pace at which Hertzberger operated aggravated Kumar's woes. With the Malaysian backline floundering at the first sight of offence, all he had to do was to push their veteran goal-keeper to the brink. The Rotterdam star did exactly that by scoring three field goals.

Head to Sportskeeda to check out the Hockey World Cup schedule for the upcoming matches