Monday, March 21, 2016

Second Test: Another Australian lesson...

WORLD No 1 Australia beat Malaysia 5-0 in the Second Test in Perth Monday, on the back of a 7-1 drubbing.
  The national team are preparing for the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh in April 6-16, where they will face Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Canada and Japan.
  Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) technical director Terry Walsh said: "Malaysia were much more competitive in this match and had two penalty corners in the second half.
 "One of which hit the post. On the offset, we had three soft goals scored against us which could have been avoided.
 "It was a much more even performance throughout the match as the players had more confidence to play passes and build out of defence.
  "However, we still make careless decisions during critical moments but are progressively getting better," said Walsh who is with the team.
  On the First Test drubbing, Walsh was more supportive of the Malaysian team.
  "The final score (1-7) was a little flattering to the Australians, but the reality is we are a only several steps behind the best team in the world.
  "Their dominance was fairly evident throughout the match. Malaysia only controlled six to seven minutes of the first quarter and small parts of the fourth quarter. 
  "The players will need to believe that they can compete against the best teams in the world. We are still developing as a team and a result like this, albeit painful, will allow us to constantly identify weaknesses in our system of play and training programmes. The objective is to keep improving, in every possible way," said Walsh.
  Third and final Test on Thursday.