Malaysia get another shot at securing a place in the semi-finals of the FIH Series, Kuala Lumpur when they take on Wales in a crossover playoff tomorrow at the National Hockey Stadium, KL Sports City, Bukit Jalil.
Hosts, Malaysia having lost 4-2 to Italy yesterday in their final Pool B match which denied them an automatic spot in the last four, get a second chance to redeem themselves in front of their home fans when they take on Wales, who finished third in Pool A.
The omens look good for Malaysia, ranked 13th in the world, as they beat World No 24 Wales, 2-0 in a warm-up match in Bukit Jalil prior to the tournament.
Malaysia’s head coach Roelant Oltmans was quick to admit that his men had under-performed against the Italians and will have to buck up if they hope to progress to the semi-finals tomorrow.
“I can well believe that fans are unhappy. I too am unhappy and shocked at their performance (yesterday),” said Oltmans.
“Their performance was well below the level they are capable of. Hopefully, we will sit here (media conference room) again with a different story to tell after the match against Wales.
“In our practice match (against Wales) last week we won but we have seen how they can play. They upset Canada so it won’t be easy.
“The rankings do not tell the whole story which means we will be wary of them in our match tomorrow,” added Oltmans.
For the Welsh Dragons, just qualifying for the knockout phase is seen as a fantastic achievement considering they were not expected to go far based on their world ranking.
Nevertheless, coach Zak Jones is not about to rest on his laurels and is plotting to take down the Malaysian Tigers to achieve their semi-final dream.
“Based on our world ranking, we were not expected to go far but now we have a good chance of making it to the semi-finals,” said Jones.
“Each game has been open so far. We beat Canada who are ranked 10th in the world and now we face Malaysia. We will do all we can to try and progress through to the semi-finals,” he added.
A win for Malaysia will see them proceed to the last four where they take on Austria. In the other playoff, China play Canada, with the winner to meet Italy in the semis.
