Hockey team have their work cut out for Asian Games

KUALA LUMPUR: The national men’s hockey team are not up to their mark for the Asian Games, which begins in two weeks.

National coach Stephen van Huizen men made the same defensive errors in the five-match playing tour in Perth.

Australia did not parade their full squad but still chalked up four impressive wins (4-2, 3-2, 3-0, 6-1) and drew one (2-2).

Malaysia’s backline led by the experienced Muhd Razie Abdul Rahman conceded 18 goals in five matches and it clearly shows that they need to buck up or will face a difficult task in the Asian Games.

Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) have set a target for the team to win the gold medal and qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Stephen admitted that his team were punished by world champions Australia for making silly errors in defence.

“I am disappointed with the fifth match we played today (yesterday) as we conceded six goals in 22 minutes. It shows that our players lack focus in defence.

“This is one area we really need to rectify as we will face some tough opponents in the Asian Games,” said Stephen.

He added that Australia did not field their full squad in the five matches but they were very sharp in the semi-circle.

“Some of the Australian players are fighting for places in their national team but they still play a high-level game and are fast in creating chances,” said Stephen.

Stephen was also unhappy that his team had failed to earn enough penalty corners in five matches.

“We earned a total of 10 penalty corners in five matches and converted three. We need to earn more penalty corners with the hope of converting more goals in matches.

“We will regroup to review our weaknesses. We have only two weeks left to rectify our mistakes in defence and also need to have more option in penalty corners set-pieces for the Asian Games,” said Stephen.

Three players Muhd Nik Aiman Nik Rozemi, Meor Mohamad Azuan Hasan and Mohd Marhan Mohd Jalil are down with injuries in the playing tour and Stephen said that he would assess their injuries before finalising the 18 players for the Asian Games.