PETALING JAYA: National hockey team head coach Brendon Carolan is pleased with his players’ performance in their South Africa Tour despite several senior players being sidelined by minor injuries.
The Speedy Tigers drew 2-2 and 3-3 against the South African national team in their recent matches on Friday and Saturday in Durban after losing 1-3 and 1-2 in their first two games last week.
Carolan was happy to see the team fight back strongly in the two draws despite the absence of captain Marhan Jalil, Faiz Helmi Jali, and Nik Mohd Aiman Nik Rozemi due to injuries.
“The injuries are not so serious, but it allowed the other players to seize the opportunity and perform, especially the young ones who gained good experience at the international level,” said Carolan.
“This competitive atmosphere also creates a good learning environment for the team and strengthens the depth of the squad.”
Meanwhile, in Japan, the junior team also showed promise after beating the Japanese Under-21 team in three out of their five test matches.
The Young Tigers started slowly with 0-5 and 0-3 losses, but fought back to win the last three matches 2-1, 3-0, and 2-0.
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