KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia are not ready to face Austria’s attacking prowess and robust gameplay in today’s seventh-eighth play-off at the Nations Cup in Gniezno, Poland.
National hockey head coach Sarjit Singh shared his views on the upcoming match after the Speedy Tigers’ 4-3 defeat to South Korea in last night’s fifth-to-eighth-place classification match.
Speaking to Scoop from Gniezno, Sarjit admitted that facing the world number 19 team would be their toughest test yet.
The 61-year-old coach said that Austria, dubbed the Goldjungs, could exploit any weaknesses in Malaysia’s defence to score goals easily.
Austria, whose squad boasts an average age of 27, finished third in Pool A with six points, while Malaysia secured the same position in Pool B with four points.
The two teams have met three times since the 2009 Hockey Champions Challenge II, with Malaysia holding a higher winning percentage of 66.67%.
Their last encounter ended in Malaysia’s favour with a 3-1 victory at the 2019 FIH Men’s Series Finals.
“The upcoming match against Austria is by far going to be the toughest match we will face in the tournament.
“The team look deadly with their high-tempo gameplay and they were unfortunate to lose 1-3 on penalties in their recent fifth-to-eighth place classification match against Canada.
“The Austrians are very robust and their physical gameplay is also something that we need to be aware of. They can be really smart with their challenges, which means the umpires are less likely to give them a card, as they make their challenges very efficient.
“I have to accept that my boys are not yet ready to overcome their physical prowess. They are known for their ability to press for the ball in their opponents’ backline, and I always tell my players to be more structured and disciplined on the backline.
“Many of the Austrian players are world indoor hockey champions and they can capitalise if we give them the opportunities to score. It is not going to be easy, but we will push ourselves,” said Sarjit when contacted.
Despite scoring 12 goals in five matches against Pakistan, France, Canada and South Korea, Malaysia have conceded 13 goals.
Faizal Saari leads the scoring for Malaysia in the Nations Cup with four goals.
“We are scoring goals, but I am disappointed that we are not taking our chances when they matter the most.
“In our latest game against South Korea, I was a bit disappointed with Akhimullah Anuar Esook for missing an open goal, and blunders like these have to be avoided.
“Since the team are still new, they are still learning, hence they need more time to learn from their flaws. I believe they will improve in time,” Sarjit added.
Sarjit hand-picked 18 players from a pool of 30 for his revamped squad, which recently finished fourth in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
The Speedy Tigers currently hold 12th spot in the world rankings with 1,919.58 points. – June 9, 2024