Hockey World Cup: Confidence oozing, but Arul wants calm and focus before Spain encounter
SINAR DAILY REPORTER20 Jan 2023 12:48pm
Malaysia celebrate a stunning 3-2 victory over New Zealand at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar
Having come from behind twice to beat Chile 3-2 and a late winner by Faizal Saari earning them a 3-2 victory over New Zealand to secure second spot in Pool C yesterday, Arul knows his players now have the belief to overcome tough situations but will take it one step at a time.
"It was our second victory and as far as what we wanted to achieve in the group stage in each match, it has all gone as planned. The win was what we really needed to provide the boost and elevate the confidence in the players," said Arul.
"Against New Zealand, our boys were very calm and patient, but also very confident.This is how we got the two early goals, but in the third and fourth quarters we were short of players due to card suspensions and this allowed New Zealand to get back into the match.
"But as I said, our boys had the confidence and belief and we managed to get the winning goal. Overall, we were also happy that we managed to convert a penalty corner, as this was what we had been working on in training. We will continue to work on this to ensure that we capitalise on penalty corners in the coming matches."
Arul also noted that the team was growing in confidence as the tournament progressed and was especially pleased with the defence led by captain Marhan Jalil.
"Our defence with Marhan Jalil and Razie Rahim, as well as goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman deserve praise for the discipline and defensive structure throughout the match and also in attack, especially in reverse pressing, when we were without the ball, our players worked really hard," said Arul.
"Marhan, especially, as a captain and a leader at the back produce a performance that earned him the Man of the Match award. So we hope this continues and we will build on this."
Malaysia will now face Spain, who finished third in Pool D, looking for a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, but Arul first wants his players to focus on recovery and calm their minds in order to fully focus on Sunday's big match.
"Our focus now is on recovery and I don't want the players to be thinking too much about the next match yet. We will have a day off tomorrow (today) so the players can relax and take their minds of the competition for a moment and calm themselves," he said.
"We will have a meeting late in the night to review the last match and plan for the next match against Spain. We will have one training session tomorrow to prepare our tactics for that match," said Arul.
