KUALA LUMPUR – National Men’s Junior squad head coach Muhamad Amin Rahim lamented the lack of defensive qualities when facing penalty corners, especially with the Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) just around the corner.
He added that the weaknesses need to be rectified before facing Australia in the opening match of the SOJC next week.
Amin said during the friendly match against the team from Oceania at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today, the juniors lost 1-4, with all the goals scored due to lapse in defence during penalty corners.
He added that the quality of the juniors was lacking when compared with the hockey powers.
“Whatever happened I must still give credit to the team because only four players from the squad have played at international level. The boys managed to buck up and compete against the Aussies during the third and fourth quarterS.
“If we review the match, we can see that all four goals scored by Australia was through penalty corners. The players need to dash out quickly to stop the opponents from making clear attempts at goal. We must go back and review the mistakes quickly since we have another friendly match tomorrow,” he told reporters after the match.
The four players with a bit of international exposure are Muhammad Amirul Haniff Mamat, Alfarico Lance Liau Jr, Muhammad Syawal Abd Razak and Muhammad Faris Harizan who played in the World Junior Championships.
The National squad will play against Great Britain at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Bahru, tomorrow.
The 10th SOJC will be held from Oct 22 to 29, in Johor Bahru.
Malaysia open accounts against Australia on Oct 23, before taking on South Africa on Oct 25, Great Britain on Oct 26 and Japan on Oct 28.
Malaysia won the first edition of SOJC in 2011. – Bernama
