The
Australian Super 9's tournament, to be held in Perth from October 17-20 will be
a totally new experience for the national hockey team.
But
coach Paul Revington is looking towards to improve and build the consistency of
Malaysian playing fundamentals in offense and defense, and believes the Super
9's offers a tournament opportunity for the players to prove this performance
consistency.
Malaysia
will up against Australia, Pakistan and Argentina in the four day tournament.
And they will also play a friendly against Argentina on October 15 followed by
two matches against Australia A on October 22 and 23.
“It
will be a good challenge for the players to combine 11-a-side and 9-a-side hockey
in one Tour and especially as we are including players who have not had much
hockey since two weeks prior to Asia Cup,” said Revington.
“All
players have undergone a challenging initial two weeks having returned from a
break. This phase (Sept-Dec 2013) is one where we must use the time to grow the
quality of our player base and keep improving our physical base for a busy 2014
schedule.”
On
what he is looking for in the three matches played on the sidelines of the
Super 9’s, Revington said that it will give him a chance to evaluate the
players and decide who will make the trip to Kakamighara for the AHF Champions
Trophy that is scheduled from November 2-9.
“When
in a training phase it is always good to play matches and get onto the
"match pitch", added Revington.
“These
matches, (Argentina and Australia A) is terrific for our team as all players
get an opportunity to perform and fight for a place in the 2014 squad against
high quality opponents.”
