KUCHING: Sarawak felt the full force of a strong Perak team when they were thrashed 6-0 at the Sarawak Hockey Stadium in the men hockey opener Saturday morning.
Perak controlled the game in the opening minutes limiting Sarawak to the counter-attacks or from pick-ups but their lack of composure in front of goal ended in a frustrating encounter.
Perak scored from a short corner after nine minutes and then added to their goals in quick succession after the first interval in the first half.
The visitors scored another two goals from open play as they capitalised on Sarawak’s poor defence and their last goal was from a short corner after which they started to slow down their game after 6-0 up.
Coach Dangerouslee Matthew when approached for comments after the game said he had expected Sarawak to put up a good fight.
He said the lack of consistency in their match, losing out in concentration to make mistakes resulted in the big loss.
Another factor was that they faced a strong Perak side which is the top team of the tournament.
“Overall I’m disappointed with the result but I’m satisfied with the fighting spirit in our players who are mostly lacking in experience as 12 of them are newcomers.
“The Perak team is superb and the top team in the tournament. I did not expect my boys to outplay them before the match.
“Inconsistencies in their game and lack of concentration gave away the goals but I’ve told my boys to not give up as they still have chances.
Sarawak will face Perlis in their next game where they hope for a better result to stand a chance of going into the next round which is their target.
