Lissek: I could strangle 'em

15/10/2001

By Jugjet Singh in Hobart

HOBART: National senior's coach Paul Lissek simply could not understand
why Malaysia failed to beat Scotland in the classification match of the
Junior World Cup at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre yesterday.
But he was clear about one thing, throughout the match, he had a strong
urge to strangle some of the players and kick skipper Chua Boon Huat in
the backside, because they could have easily won the match but ended up
sharing points.
"There are no excuses for the way the team played today. I have told
them time and again to play on the right side of the field and after the
first 15 minutes, they started attacking from the left and the middle.
They have all the skills and fitness to become great players, but they
don't have it up there (pointing to the head) to win matches," said Lissek
after Malaysia drew 1-1 against a weak Scotland side.
"I even stood on the right side of the pitch so that they will get the
signal and have a better chance to score. In hockey, the right side is the
easiest to play on and score goals but K.Logan Raj, Jiwa Mohan and the
rest preferred to let their back stick do the work and the Scotts had an
easy time stopping them."
And after the first goal, the Juniors started attacking in numbers
because most of the time there were seven upfront while three were left to
guard the back.
"What were they trying to do? In their haste to score more goals they
left the back wide open for Scotland to equalise. Chua played as a
fullback, which is what he does best, but after the goal, he too went
forward to try and get his name on the score sheet.
"It was really bad hockey and a bad tactic, because against a team like
Scotland, we could have defended the one goal we had and walked off as
winners. Scotland do not have good strikers, Malaysia made them look good
by giving them too much of space to run riot at the back," said Lissek.
The German also lamented on their short-term memory.
"When I show them videos and point out what they are doing wrong, they
seem to understand and follow my instructions. But after 20 minutes of
play, they always go back to their own style and forget everything that
they have been taught. Against Scotland, I told them not to hold on to the
ball too long and attack from the right. But after a few minutes of play,
they started playing on the left and everybody held on to the ball longer
than it was necessary."
Lissek feels that the Juniors were exposed to hockey at a late stage in
their lives so it is very difficult to change their style of play.
"It is no use pounding them right now because the basics should have
been taught to them in the primary schools itself. It is too late to
change things when the players reach 16. Maybe we should concentrate on
younger players in the future."
Just like Malaysia, the rest of the teams in the Junior World Cup have
also been preparing for the past three years so the standard is pretty
much the same among most teams and the only thing that separated the top
eight from the bottom eight was the power to assess a situation and make
the most of it.
"Most people do not understand the German style of play, they see it as
boring, but I see it as winning points with the least amount of trouble.
If Malaysia had defended after the goal, like the Germans would have done,
they would have won three points instead of sharing it with Scotland."
Lissek expects the 2002 World Cup in Kuala lumpur to be equally
challenging: "The public will expect the team to make the semifinals but
it is not going to be easy. Before I left for Germany and then Tasmania, I
conducted a fitness test on the seniors and while some passed it, some did
not make the grade. But there is nothing to worry about, because right now
they are following a rigorous programme and should be ready for the 2002
World Cup.
"The World Cup brings out the best in most teams, so even those who are
termed as weak have an equal chance to do well. We can only prepare the
team, when they are on the pitch they make the decision weather they want
to play for a win or throw away the match," said Lissek.
The German cooled down a little after saying his piece, but tonight he
is sure to give the Juniors hell for throwing away three points. Jugjet@nstp.com.my SECOND ROUND RESULTS
GROUP E
GERMANY 2 SPAIN 1
ENGLAND 5 SOUTH KOREA 3 GROUP F
INDIA 2 ARGENTINA 2
HOLLAND 4 AUSTRALIA 2 LOSER'S POOL
GROUP G
FRANCE 1 IRELAND 0
CANADA 2 N ZEALAND 1 GROUP H
MALAYSIA 1 SCOTLAND 1
SOUTH AFRICA 3 CHILE 2
(END)