KUANTAN (30 APRIL 2014): World rankings do matter but there will
be an exception to this notion when Malaysian head coach K. Dharmaraj prepares
his boys for a ‘psychological battle’ against New Zealand in the quarterfinals
of the Pahang Hockey Champions Challenge 1 at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium on
Thursday.
Dharmaraj will throw caution to the wind against the Black Sticks, ranked
World No 6, in a mission that could see the Malaysians either make a ‘giant
step forward’ or exit from the tournament with pride still intact.
The Malaysia-New Zealand match will kick-off at 2.45pm and this will be
the first time the host nation will take the field under the blazing sun in
this edition of the Champions Challenge 1.
“As much as we respect New Zealand as the top ranked team in this
tournament, I believe we should also look at gearing ourselves positively for a
good game. They (New Zealand) are a great team, build around experienced
players, and are undoubtedly the favourites here,” said Dharmaraj at a
pre-match press conference today.
“But I would also like to believe that as underdogs, if we can get our
act working cohesively in all departments, we have that chance of beating them.
We have played them in the past and history has shown that we have also beaten
New Zealand before,” added the coach who was pleased with the performance of
the players in the 4-3 victory over Canada on Tuesday.
New Zealand and Korea, the two top-10 world ranking teams in the Pahang
Hockey Champions Challenge 1, and Malaysia, ranked World No. 13, will compete in next month’s World
Cup in The Hague, Netherlands.
But the coveted Champions Challenge 1 Trophy remains top priority for
now as the winner will gain qualification to the 2016 Champions Trophy in
Argentina.
“We created many chances, had our fair share of opportunities at goal
against Canada but we have been very unlucky in our last three matches. We were hoping to avoid New Zealand but
unfortunately we could not get the three-goal difference lead,” he added.
He lamented that the heat may affect both teams in the quarterfinals but
added that two of Malaysia’s six-test matches against China recently were played
in four quarters, and that the players have no qualms over it.
Just like the unpredictable weather in Kuantan lately, Dharmaraj is a
firm believer that Lady Luck will find its way back into the Malaysian side,
beginning with the titanic encounter against the Black Sticks.
New Zealand head coach Colin Batch, a former Australian international
who was instrumental in Belgium’s rise in world hockey, said they have much
respect for the Malaysians, judging from their performance in this tournament.
“Malaysia is a World Cup team. They played very well against Canada and
have been very much motivated to do well at home. This match is definitely
going to be very difficult for us. They play a fast game and I would rate it as
50-50 chance for both teams,” said Batch, adding that the sweltering afternoon
heat may take its toll on his players but having played twice in such
conditions before they would adapt to the situation.
New Zealand will once again be counting on their penalty corner
conversion rates, one of their key elements in earlier wins, against Malaysia.
They have scored a total of 16 goals – of which 11 were field goals and five
penalty corners. Defender Andy Hayward (2), Kane Russell (2) and Simon Child
(1) are Black Sticks main drag-flick specialists.
South Korea team consultant Paul Lissek is also bracing for a ‘stormy’
encounter against neighbouring nation Japan in their quarterfinals clash.
“Japan is a good side. They are fast in the counter attacks here and we
will definitely not take them lightly. In the World League match in Johor Bahru
last year, we took a 3-0 comfortable lead but they came back strongly to level
score at 3-3,” added the German, who had previously coached the Malaysian team
from 2000-2004.
Fixtures - Quarterfinals – (1 May, 2014, Thursday): Malaysia v New Zealand (2.45pm); Canada v Poland (5.00pm); Ireland v
France (7.15pm); Korea v Japan (9.30pm).
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