KUALA LUMPUR – Four matches played. Four defeats. 18 goals conceded. No goals scored.
That’s the abysmal record of the national men’s hockey team in their four-match international test series against Australia in Perth but, as far as head coach A. Arul Selvaraj is concerned, it was a good learning experience.
Arul Selvaraj, in looking on the bright side, felt that the Speedy Tigers now had an idea of what is needed – mentally and physically – to give a fight to the likes of Australia.
He described the test series as being crucial for his team’s improvement and that playing against the world number one side was exactly what the Malaysian players needed to test their mindset and capability to remain in competition mode.
“When we return home, if we can continue to improve, then surely the players will head for the Asia Cup (to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from May 23 to June 1) with more confidence and belief in themselves,” he said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) today.
Malaysia ended their four-test series with a 3-0 loss to Australia today, with all three goals conceded through penalty corner set pieces.
Although the Kookaburras failed to break the deadlock in the first half, they turned on the style after the break to score three penalty-corner goals through Jeremy Hayward (34th minute) and Ky Willott (37th, 54th minutes).
Commenting on the match, Arul Selvaraj said the Speedy Tigers still had a lot of work to do in terms of defending.
“In our last game today, we lost 3-0 and all the goals were from penalty corners, with the Australians earning 12 in total. We learned a lot of things and there is also a lot that we need to improve on, such as mental and physical strengths, if we are to match them,” he said.
Meanwhile, in today’s final shootout, Australia gunned down Malaysia 4-3.
Malaysia began the test series against Australia with a 3-0 loss on April 23. A day later the Kookaburras hammered the Speedy Tigers 7-0 and then, on Tuesday (April 26), Australia won 5-0.
The national team will leave for home tonight and are expected to arrive tomorrow morning. – Bernama, April 29, 2022
