Malaysia gave an exhibition of what it is capable of doing and announced its intention in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (SAS Cup) following a 3-2 victory over New Zealand in a friendly match in Ipoh this evening (Wednesday).
Sarjit Singh’s Speedy Tigers clawed back from two goals down to earn this victory against the Black Sticks at the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Stadium. The Kiwis are competing in the SAS Cup in preparation for the Paris Olympic Games in July.
“As I have said earlier, our preparation is for the long term. So, we will take one game at a time. We will go slowly. Most importantly, we need to guide the team with the right combination of players. And we are getting it,” said Sarjit after the match.
“The only thing is New Zealand played very well and missed many chances. We had four chances and scored three. Our finishing was good,” he added.
The Malaysians had five penalty corner opportunities and scored one. The coach added that both sides played a cautious game and saved the best for the SAS Cup which starts on Saturday.
“The score does not reflect 2-3, The score must be in favour of them. They had a lot of opportunities and missed them. Nevertheless, it was a good match for us.”
“The tempo of the match was very high, which was very good for our players. That is what we want. We need to have a lot of good matches with this kind of tempo.”
“New Zealand is preparing for the Olympics. We need a long time for our players to get into the ‘formation’. I’m only worried about our fitness. We have not done much given the short time we had in training. But the players played well. Commitment was very good,” stressed Sarjit.
He said goalkeeper Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman and Muhammad Zaimi Mat Deris were given equal chances in today’s game against the Kiwis while Zaimi and Che Shahrul Azmi will face the litmus test against South Korea in the friendly on May 2 (Thursday).
