National hockey coach, Stephen Van Huizen is determined to claim at least one point in their next Sultan Azlan Shah Cup (SAS Cup) fixture against Canada.
Van Huizen said, the upcoming match for The Speedy Tigers will be a crucial one as it will determine the squad’s fate in the competition.
“Canada performed well against Japan. I believe the match against them tomorrow will determine the direction of our team in this competition,” he told Utusan Malaysia.
Van Huizen said, despite Canada being ranked 14th in the world, it does not denote the true capability of the Canadians.
“I admit, it is a tough job to collect all three points. One point is more than enough. I hope my players will be determined to exhibit their true potential in the match,” he added.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
Canada sits one spot above Malaysia in the table with a total of 4 points. Malaysia share the same points with Canada but with one added advantage – a game in hand. If Malaysia manages to claim three points against Canada, The Speedy Tigers will take over the 4th place with a total of 7 points, which is in line with Malaysia’s hopes of securing a top-4 finish.
Looking at Malaysia’s performance this year in their SAS Cup campaign, they have been pretty decent. Sharing a point each with title defenders New Zealand and claiming a dramatic victory against Japan, shows that The Speedy Tigers are keeping up to expectations. The 5-1 thrashing against Australia wasn’t a surprise but if Malaysia can recover from that defeat, the draw against Canada is imminent.
Other posts by Lekshman Subramaniam
