KUALA LUMPUR — Brendon Carolan has urged the Speedy Tigers to quickly put their disappointing Hockey World Cup campaign behind them and shift their focus to the Asian Games, where he wants Malaysia to deliver a stronger performance.
The national men’s head coach admitted that Malaysia’s final position was far from what the team had targeted, but believes there were encouraging signs in the way his charges performed throughout the tournament.
Malaysia ended up as the wooden spoon after Wales held the Speedy Tigers to a 2-2 draw in their classification match before prevailing in the penalty shoot-out on Friday (Aug 28).
Carolan told Scoop the result was disappointing, particularly given Malaysia’s ability to compete against stronger opponents and show greater consistency during the campaign.
“Of course, we wanted to finish much higher in the standings. Nobody is happy with finishing last, but if you look at the three draws we had, I think we showed that we were more consistent and capable of competing against some very strong teams.
“The frustrating thing is that once again we conceded a soft goal at a crucial moment when we were leading. Those are the details that can decide a match, and they are areas we need to improve on quickly,” he said when contacted.
Malaysia had several opportunities to secure victory against Wales but failed to capitalise on their chances, particularly during a period of sustained pressure late in the match.
The Speedy Tigers earned six or seven consecutive penalty corners but could not convert any of them into goals, allowing Wales to remain in contention and eventually force the match into a shoot-out.
“From a performance point of view, I thought we were good. We created enough opportunities and had some very clear chances to strengthen our position, but we simply did not take them.
“When you have six or seven penalty corners in a row, you have to make those opportunities count. At this level, you cannot dominate a period of the game and come away without scoring,” said Carolan.
The South African acknowledged that Malaysia’s failure to convert chances into goals had been one of the key shortcomings during their World Cup campaign.
However, he believes the team can take valuable lessons from the tournament and use them to prepare for the Asian Games, which will provide the Speedy Tigers with another opportunity to prove themselves on the international stage.
“It is important for us to become better over the next two weeks. In terms of the results, clearly this is not what we wanted, but in terms of our performances, I think we have improved as the tournament progressed.
“Now we have to take that improvement and turn it into results. The Asian Games will be another big challenge, and we have to make sure we learn from what happened here rather than dwell on the disappointment,” he said.
Carolan also stressed the need for his players to improve their composure in crucial moments, particularly when they are in front or have clear opportunities to put matches beyond their opponents.
“We have shown that we can compete, but competing is not enough. We have to be more clinical in front of goal, manage matches better and punish teams when we have the advantage.
“That is the next step for this group. We have to learn from these experiences, improve the areas that let us down and make sure we are a stronger and more effective team when we go into the Asian Games,” he added. – August 31, 2026