KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — National men's hockey team head coach Sarjit Singh was clearly crestfallen with the performance of his men when they were beaten 10-1 by Germany in a 'test match' of the European Tour series in Monchengladbach yesterday.
He did not expect the Malaysians to concede so many goals and admitted the failure of the players to control the defence as the reason the national team was badly mauled in the match.
"To be honest, I did not expect this number of goals. The team defence structure completely collapsed, thus giving space to the opponents to run wild in the Malaysian half.
"We are also not very clinical in Germany’s D area. A rather disappointing result," he said in a statement shared by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation today.
Despite the loss, Sarjit still praised his team's performance in the match, which was not afraid to play an attacking style against higher-ranked opponents.
"From a positive point of view, the players are actually capable of taking on the German team, but they are not very consistent, and many things need to be improved. They also dare to play attacking hockey.
"The coaching staff hopes that the players can rise and improve the weakness that happened in the match against Germany. It is a big responsibility for the coaching staff to improve the team," he said.
In the match, the national team managed to get a consolation goal through Mohd Fitri Saari who scored through a penalty corner in the 47th minute.
For the record, this is Malaysia's second defeat in four matches after losing to Belgium B in the action that took place in Antwerp on Wednesday.
The Speedy Tigers will now rest for a day before going into action at Gladbach Hockey and Tennis Club against Monchengladbach Club on Wednesday (July 10).
— Bernama
