All’s not lost
Speedy Tigers can walk tall despite missing out on final, says youngster amirul
IPOH: The Speedy Tigers are keeping their heads high despite failing to enter the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
The national hockey team fell to Japan 2-1 in their fourth fixture of the tournament here at the Azlan Shah Stadium on Wednesday.
Placing them in third place in the table, Malaysia thus missed their chance to defend the tournament title as Pakistan will face Japan in the final.
But the young Malaysian team aren’t letting the fact they will have to settle for the third and fourth-placing match get to them, which will see them play New Zealand.
Youngster Amirul Hamizan Azahar said it’s not about learning how to play for the team but more about the execution on the field.
“All the teams here are in the midst of rebuilding, that’s why most have brought their young players here,” he said.
“For us, it’s not a learning process but more of an execution process.
“We didn’t execute what we had learned and we were punished for it.
“Japan’s discipline is high and their speed is intense, so we couldn’t keep up with them,” said the 24-year-old.
However, he said neither the defence nor the attacking department should be at fault as their performance in the tournament has been going well despite missing the final.
“Overall, we scored 17 goals so far, so we can’t point the finger at the forwards. We won two out of four games, so our defence have been putting in the work as well,” he said.
At the same time, senior player Fitri Saari said the team are aware of their weaknesses before their next campaign at the Nations Cup in Poland from May 31-June 9.
“We have to fix these weaknesses before we go to Poland. I hope our forwards and midfielders can step up to score whenever they get the chance,” said Fitri.
The 31-year-old added that even though the team have been managing to score, they lacked the finishing power during the match against Japan.
“We need to be more clinical inside the circle, that is what will make the difference between a win and a loss.
“We weren’t sharp enough in front of the goal against Japan and it cost us the win,” he said.
The Speedy Tigers have the chance to get one more win in the tournament as they face South Korea in their final round-robin match before the final fixtures tomorrow.