IPOH: Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal fired a hat-trick against Pakistan, but it was still not enough.
Malaysia ended up losing 5-4 in their Sultan Azlan Shah (SAS) Cup hockey opener in Ipoh on Saturday.
Azrai's three goals saw the Speedy Tigers leading 3-1, but things went south for the Malaysians in the final quarter.
Nonetheless, Azrai, 24, said there are plenty of positives to take from the match, and that fans should believe in the national team's rebuilding process.
Azrai, who has 23 goals from 70 appearances for Malaysia, said "tough matches and losses" will be a good learning curve for the youngsters in the team.
The newcomers in the team - Syarman Mat Tee, Alfarico Liau, Azimuddin Kamaruddin, Shafiq Hassan, and Muhajir Abdu Rauf - have a combined 50 international caps.
"This is a new team, and we have several young players. It was a good match for them. For some, it was their first international at senior level.
"They had played at the junior level, and this is a step-up. They now know how high the standards are at international senior level. This experience will be good for them to develop their confidence and their understanding with other players.
"We need to keep motivating the youngsters. We cannot press them down when there are mistakes.
"It's not the end of the world (losing to Pakistan. The SAS Cup is a preparatory stage for the team who will be competing in the Nations Cup in Poland next."
On the loss to Pakistan despite his hat-trick, Azrai quipped that he needs to score more goals to win their upcoming matches in the SAS Cup.
"It's disappointing to lose, but it's the first game and we all played well. Sometimes we need luck, and we need to know how to win the game," said Azraai, who was the Malaysia Hockey League's top scorer with 32 goals this season.