National head coach Stephen van Huizen has called on his players to continue the momentum in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and not be intimidated by Australia’s reputation when two sides meet on Saturday.
The Malaysians, admitted Van Huizen, face a tough task against the World No 1 who brushed aside India 5-1 in their opening match on Thursday and are favourites to reach the April 16 final.
Malaysia currently tops the table standings with four points following a 3-3 draw with New Zealand and 4-3 victory over Japan. But that lead may just be momentarily if the Australians have their way.
“We have a chance this morning (yesterday) to do recovery work. The most important aspect in this phase of the tournament is we have got four points. I think that is one area we can improve and we are improving,” said Van Huizen.
“I don’t think there is any pressure on us against Australia as we know we are playing against the No 1 team in the world. We know we are against them and we are not the favourites in this game.”
“So in terms of our preparations we are prepared to play as a team to match them. It is not a game like against Japan where we know the three points are important so going into this tournament we know Australia is the favourite to enter the final and we are there to get as many good games and points in this tournament,” said Van Huizen.
He added that should the Malaysians fail to get on top in their own game, it could be catastrophic for the host as the Kookaburras will very likely be striking the right chords.
World champions Australia have yet to feel the ‘heat’ in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh despite soaring temperatures here which has taken its toll on six other teams including hosts Malaysia.
The Australians dominated against India and go into action against Malaysia on Saturday bracing for more excitement but under the floodlights this time.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium has been a second home to the Australians having won the cup for a record eight times since 1983 and nothing is going to change their mood against Malaysia in front of an estimated 10,000 local fans rooting for a miracle to take place.
As head coach Graham Reid said: “The 5-1 score against India was very flattering but we didn’t create as many opportunities as we might normally. Playing Malaysia in Ipoh is going to very challenging indeed. They always play much better in international tournaments than test matches recently.”
“Further more they can be excellent playing in front of own fans and turn the tide around,” said Reid. “Every team here is strong and we will not underestimate their ability irrespective of world rankings,” added Reid.
Pakistan head coach Mohammad Khawaja Junaid has been analysing the Black Sticks last two games and is confident of the five-time champions emerging as victors going into a crucial encounter against the Kiwis.
“We have a chance of defeating New Zealand as they drew their matches against Canada and Malaysia. We defeated Canada and this gives us lots of confidence,” said Khawaja, adding that the Kiwis will need to win their last four matches to be assured of a place in the final and that too perhaps by big margins.
But New Zealand head coach Colin Batch has brushed aside the rumour mill that predicts a Pakistan victory.
“Yes, we drew in our last two matches but we are still very much in the game against Pakistan. We had a poor performance in the first half and allowed Canada to dominate us. We looked tired effects from our first game but we need to get better at handling this kind of situations,” he said.
New Zealand, ranked World No 8, sorely missed the services of their top drag-flick specialist Andy Hayward, who has 81 goals in 197 tests, but was not selected in the 2016 squad while Kane Russell and Nic Woods have stepped into that position. They had 21 penalty corners in the first two games here but could only convert two.
Rio Olympic-bound Canada, still buoyant from the 1-1 draw with New Zealand, will be looking towards bouncing back for their first win in the tournament against Japan on Wednesday.
“It’s important for our confidence and the remainder of the matches here. Japan played well against India in the first game and made a great comeback against Malaysia in the last few minutes. So that means we have to take our chances early in the game,” said head coach Anthony Farry.
