Lissek ready to name names

08/07/2003

MALAYSIA beat China 3-1 in the last friendly at the Tun Razak Stadium
yesterday.
And now that coach Paul Lissek has seen all his players in action, the
selection for the Champions Challenge will be finalised on Friday.
Malaysia, preparing for the Champions Challenge in Randburg, South
Africa on July 19-27, started the friendly on a shaky note and were held
2-2.
In the second, Malaysia scraped through to a 1-0 win but won 3-1 in both
their last two matches.
China will head for Pakistan today for a 10-day playing tour and coach
Khwaja Junaid was glad he played Malaysia first.
"China had plans to send the team to Europe, but they would have been
slaughtered there. Playing a Malaysian selection which is preparing for
the Champions Challenge was a better option, because my boys could pick
out some pointers here.
"We did not play the full Malaysian side in any of the matches as the
German coach was still trying out all his players. This was good for team
morale, because it would have become very difficult to recover from a
drubbing," said Khwaja.
Lissek benched K. Gobinathan and tried out Chua Boon Huat for the second
time at the back-line - where the only Chinese in Malaysian hockey looked
most comfortable.
Madzli Ikmar was on the starting line-up after a long break as he was
recovering from a fractured finger, but gave a good account of himself.
"The metal plate is here to stay, but I am gradually coming to terms
with it. The reverberation (after hitting a ball) still stings a little,
but otherwise, I have recovered," said Madzli.
Lissek said Madzli has made a strong comeback: "It is not easy to make a
strong return in the first match after a long lay-off, but Madzli showed
no signs of pain and did not hold back today (yesterday)," said Lissek.
While the first 11 could be named today, Lissek will have a tough time
selecting the rest.
"Overall, after the four matches, most of the players gave a good
account of themselves. Winning three matches against a physically fitter
team like China is not an easy task and a lot of work was put in by the
boys.
"I have the Champions Challenge team, roughly, in my mind, and only need
to discuss the fate of a handful of players with the team management and
coaches before the final 18 can be named," said Lissek.
RESULTS
MALAYSA..............3 CHINA..........1
Riduan Nasir (24th) Xiang Fei (53rd)
Tajol Rosli (61st)
Amin Rahim (64th)
(END)