IPOH – National hockey head coach Sarjit Singh believes that the Speedy Tigers’ upcoming match against Paris Olympic-bound New Zealand will be their most difficult in the ongoing Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Sarjit’s revamped side has so far scored a total of 10 goals and conceded seven goals in their two opening matches against Pakistan and Canada.
Malaysia and New Zealand have clashed 26 times since the 1975 Kuala Lumpur Hockey World Cup, with New Zealand having a higher winning percentage of 50%.
The last time both sides met was during a friendly match before the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, which ended with a 3-2 win for Malaysia.
The 61-year-old coach, hired by the Malaysia Hockey Confederation on a two-year contract, said that New Zealand will be doing their best to put on a commendable performance after losing their second group match against Japan yesterday.
New Zealand fell to a shocking 4-1 defeat at the hands of the world number 16 Japan.
“New Zealand is a very complete side. It’s going to be a really difficult match for us as we need to be ready to take on their attacking prowess.
“It’s by far going to be one of the toughest matches for us in this tournament. However, I look at it as an opportunity for our players to play in games like this to prepare for tougher fixtures and tournaments in the months to come.”
“We have recently assembled the team and we don’t have enough time to concentrate on our physical training yet, so games like these are needed for us to get better,” said Sarjit in a post-match conference yesterday.
At the same time, New Zealand head coach Greg Nicol said he hopes that his charges will learn from their mistakes in their last match and show up against the home side.
“In tournaments like this, it’s going to be tough for any team when they go against a team that’s strong in front of their home fans.
“Hence, we need to move on from our previous match, learn from our flaws and perform better than what we did in our last match against Japan,” said Nicol.
New Zealand, known as the “Black Sticks” by their fans, have made 14 appearances in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and won the tournament twice (2012 and 2015) since its inception in 1983. – May 6, 2024