Brunei Darussalam and Hong Kong players in action during the Women’s Asian Hockey Challenge. – FADHIL YUNUS
BRUNEI Darussalam’s national women hockey team began their campaign at the 3rd Women’s Asian Hockey Challenge in a disappointing 8-0 defeat to Hong Kong at the Hockey Stadium of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex yesterday.
Brunei, who plays hosts in the third edition of the tournament, endured a tough start despite only conceding a field goal in the seventh minute of the first quarter through Sze Sze Chuen.
Hong Kong doubled their lead in the 17th minute of the second quarter through a ferocious shot by Tiffany Chan after connecting from a penalty corner before adding her second of the game with a neatly converted field goal in the 21st minute.
Sze Sze Chuen sent a firm drive into Brunei’s territory as Pui Sze Lau provided the telling touch to make it 4-0 as Hong Kong flexed their muscle in the tournament.
Melvina Cheng got on the act after lashing an effort through an accurate delivery being originated from a penalty corner before Man Yi Chan piled more misery in the 51st minute of the fourth quarter.
Chi Chan connected with a good shot in the 57th minute after the ball had rebounded off the Brunei’s goalkeeper before Hong Kong concluded the annihilation with a fine team move which illustrated their undoubting qualities.
Ching Nam Chan and Man Yi Chan enjoyed good chemistry and the final goal illustrated the strength that Hong Kong boasts.
Ching Nam found Man Yi Chan in acres of space with a nice pass before the latter burst forward and avoided the challenges of the Bruneian defence to slide home the final goal of the game.
Brunei Darussalam national coach Fauzi Awang shared his disappointment after the heavy defeat adding that he had hoped to run the Hong Kong side close.
“I was hoping a tight game but for today’s game the score tells. Nevertheless, we will still be making efforts to improve the result today,” said the coach in an interview with the Bulletin.
“I think the game that they showed today was quite disappointing. Unfortunately, we lacked strength and we didn’t expect Hong Kong to improve this much,” continued the coach.
He added that their opponents were well prepared and also acquired new faces to the side compared to the previous team when they last faced each other in Bangkok in 2015.
Asked on how determined his charges are to bounce back from the disappointment, he replied: “We will continue making efforts to create something and eventually we’ll bounce back. We’ll keep the team, keep the good spirits and keep the motivation. They (the girls) want to do better than today,” concluded the coach.
Meanwhile, Fauzi’s opposite number Hong Kong coach Arifali expressed his delight after a strong performance despite a slow start to the game.
“We started slow but we expected that. What we want to achieve is progress in the game. I think we finished the game very strong so I’m very happy about it,” said the coach.
Asked if the players who he had assigned performed their roles to perfection, the head coach was rather reasonable in how they conducted themselves during the win.
“I don’t expect them to do everything right from every second and every minute but they learnt their mistakes in the game. They gradually get better and better so I can see they gain more confidence.”
The Hong Kong coach will be looking forward to their next match against Pakistan whom they play next today.
“It will be a very tough game. We will go there and give our best and hopefully we’ll win. The win (against Brunei) was positive for us and we also have confidence.”
“We will also have to be aware of the mistakes that we’ve done today so we have to make sure it will not happen tomorrow,” concluded the coach.
The three teams will play their opponents twice in a round robin format and the top two of the pool will advance to the final on October 28.
Hong Kong are the highly ranked side in the competition (38th) followed by Pakistan ranked 58th in the world and Brunei Darussalam ranked 67th in the world.
