We keep losing at mind games

11/10/2001

NEW ZEALAND coach said that he knew the Malaysian juniors better than
coach Yahya Atan and team manager Arifin Ghani put together. In fact, one
day before the match Timesport reported that Anthony Thornton knew the
juniors like the back of his hand, and yesterday everyone found out that
he was not kidding.
He knew that most of the Malaysian players had a short fuse and if his
boys could discreetly prod them without getting caught by the umpires, he
had a better chance of walking away with three points.
After the match, most of the Malaysian juniors reported being poked with
the hockey stick at their backs especially if they are in the semicircle
and this made them lose concentration and the ball as well.
Losing the match is not the problem here, the problem is with attitude
and temper.
And of all the boys in the team, Chua Boon Huat and Jiwa Mohan should
know better and should have avoided the trap set by the Kiwis. Instead,
they were the ones who were flashed with the yellow cards and for the last
seven minutes, Malaysia had to play with nine players and could have lost
by a bigger margin if not for some sterling running and defending by those
who were left to do battle on the pitch after the suspensions.
Robust play should have been expected by all as before the match, the
New Zealand team did a splendid hakka and teased the Malaysian juniors
with their "act of war."
The hakka is actually to show respect and admiration to the enemy but
for those who do not understand, the dance looks like an insult and
temperatures can rise as a result.
But Chua, wearing the skipper's armband, should have been more aware of
this tactic because he has played in the senior ranks where pushing and
shoving are part and parcel of the match. And the only thing a player can
do is to avoid close marking and try to avoid falling into the trap
because matches have been lost before by teams who lost their cool after
being constantly harassed.
In the end he not only lost command of the team in the crucial seven
minutes before the whistle but also let the team down by getting suspended
for a match. Against Argentina today, he will be warming the bench while
the rest of the team suffer because he lost his cool for a few seconds.
Jiwa Mohan, the other senior player who received the yellow card, should
have also held back a little and not let emotions get the better of him
after seeing his younger brother Jivan being hit on the face with a hockey
stick for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
He should have taken revenge on the Kiwis by scoring a hat-trick instead
of becoming carried away by pushing and shoving New Zealand players. Jiwa
played a superb match in the first half by scoring two goals but he too
got trapped by New Zealand's tactic and was no longer in the thick of
action when the second half resumed.
The damage has been done, the juniors in Hobart today are the future of
Malaysian hockey and if they can learn from the mistakes they made against
New Zealand, they will become better players when they join the senior
ranks in a few year's time. If not, the Kiwi lesson would go to waste and
the future would look bleak for Malaysian hockey.
Former national team manager K. Kali Kavandan, down in Hobart to support
his son K. Logan Raj, made another observation worthy of mention.
He noticed that the team played better in the last seven minutes
although they were only playing with nine players after Chua and Jiwa were
suspended. They were in total control of the match and even won a penalty
corner in the last minute but because the two flickers were warming the
bench, they were a little lost and could not do the damage.
Why didn't they play like that from the first whistle. Why wait for a
handicap to wake up. Why start scoring after being a goal down and why
relax when the team only has a one-goal cushion?
The match against New Zealand has shown many shades of the juniors and
it is not too late to mould them into better players because they are
still very young and receptive towards change.
On the umpires, not much can be done there and even if they did close an
eye when the Malaysian players were being harassed, it should not be the
issue because they come in many colours and shapes and are only human and
make mistakes.
So, the Malaysia Hockey Federation should start working on attitude
because we already have a well rounded team in the juniors and forget
about match officials and umpires because it is out of our hands.
Only time will tell if the Kiwis did Malaysia a favour yesterday with
their polished display in Tasmania.
(END)