It is still not too late to crack the whip, MHF

05/04/1999

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) must check the rot in the national
hockey team fast if they want to see results as hosts of the 2002 World
Cup.
After two matches - against New Zealand and Canada - in the Azlan Shah
Cup, several glaring shortcomings have been exposed. If the MHF do not do
anything at this stage, it would be embarrassing for Malaysian fans to sit
in the stands at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil in 2002.
The MHF argument that they are still in a stage of team rebuilding does
not hold water when the players cannot even master the basics of the
sport.
The present batch of youngsters do not have the basics to be called
hockey players. Making dead stops and accurate passes should not be a
problem once a player dons national colours but, sad to say, this is not
the case right now.
More training hours must be alloted to instill these basics because it
made the task of scoring field goals impossible.
The two goals which Malaysia have scored so far were off a penalty flick
and a penalty corner. Attempts at field goals proved futile because once
the players reach the semicircle, they tend to lose the ball due to poor
passing and stopping.
Pakistan players have learnt the basics to the hilt, resulting in the
ball glueing itself to their stick with magnetic force.
Perhaps the young South Korean side can provide some answers. During
Saturday's match against Pakistan, their team management's no-nonsense
attitude was greeted with a standing ovation by the majority of Pakistan
supporters.
Muhammad Sarwar, who dribbled the entire South Korean defence with one
hand on the stick, made first choice goalkeeper Lim Jong Chun look like a
puppet when he pushed the ball between his legs.
Although Lim had made about five fantastic saves before this blunder, he
was promptly replaced by No 2 Lee Myung Ho.
Lee came in and played his heart out because he knew his hockey career
depended on how he stopped the speedy Pakistanis. And he did well to keep
the scoreline down.
On the other hand, Malaysian defender Chua Boon Huat, whose mistakes
cost us two goals against New Zealand, was given a second chance late in
the first half against Canada.
Chua played like a champion for five minutes but then decided he had won
over the coaches and took things for granted. His poor clearance in the
55th minute, a replica of what got Malaysia into trouble against the
Kiwis, doomed a fighting Malaysian side when Ken Pereira scored the
equaliser.
If Chua was with the Korean team, he would have been sent home on the
first available flight. It is harsh, but MHF must let the players know
that mistakes will no longer be tolerated.
Another Korean lesson is their never-say-die attitude. The Pakistan team
ran circles around them but whenever they found half a chance to go
forward, the whole Pakistan team were made to backpedal and jam their
semicircle to stop them from scoring.
Even when they were down 2-6 with three minutes of regulation time
remaining, the Koreans never stopped attacking. The feeling was that all
11 players still believed they could score five goals in three minutes and
beat the Pakistan team.
This is strangely lacking in the Malaysian side. Psychologically, we are
very weak. After taking a one-goal lead against Canada, the team played as
though they had won the tournament. And when Canada equalised, they hung
their heads even though there was ample time left.
Korean coach Jeon Jae Hong summed it up when he said: "If I had Mirnawan
Nawawi in my young side, even the Australians will be no match for us."
One man does not make a team, he can only make it better.
The most important lesson can be learnt from Anderson School of Ipoh.
Their manager Thasleem Mohamed has four teams under his wings and at any
given time, he has 80 players to choose from to field a team.
Right now, MHF have 45 players in the national pool but at any given
time, only about five players are ready for national callup. It is time to
expand the pool to 100 players and have two solid national sides at any
given time for international assignments.
(END)