Defeat Against Japan A Big Dissappointment For Wallace Tan

JOHOR BAHRU (Johor, Malaysia) Nov 5 (Bernama) -- National junior hockey coach Wallace Tan was disappointed with the outcome of their match against Japan Friday. He said although Malaysia stood no chance to defend third place just like last year's edition, this did not mean the white flag should be raised. "We will do the best we can to win the match against New Zealand tomorrow (Saturday)," he told reporters after Malaysia lost 1-2 to Japan in their fourth day match of the Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) 2016 hockey tournament at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here Friday night. However, Tan was satisfied with the performance of his players who worked hard throughout the tournament. "All in all, I'm satisfied with the players as they managed to keep the ball well and created a lot of goal scoring chances," he said. Meanwhile, team captain Muhammad Amirol Aideed Mohd Arshad regarded the lack of compatibility among the players and the fact that most of them were new to the team, proved to be costly. "Maybe that (factors) was a reason for our many mistakes and failed to seize the opportunities," he said, adding that the coach was not to be blamed for the defeat. Malaysia will play against New Zealand Saturday at 8.30pm. -- BERNAMA