2014 07 23 Glasgow Commonwealth Games: Mackay's View MALAYSIA

2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games Views and Analysis

By Kirsty Mackay of East Grinstead Hockey Club

Kirsty Mackay has made 32 appearances for England and Great Britain Indoors and Outdoors and represented England recently at the Rabobank World Cup and the Investec London Cup.  Kirsty has competed also at EuroHockey Nations Championships, World League and EuroHockey Nations Indoors.

What are your initial impressions of England's first match v Wales ?

It was definitely a hard-fought win over Wales. I am sure the girls will not necessarily be happy with their first match performance, however in tournament hockey it is all about getting the three points and they did just that. It was a typical tournament opening match, edgy and nervy. You are typically, eager to play and run out all of the suspense that you have been building up, especially with a tournament such as the CWG where there is such a vast media interest. However, I don't think you can take anything away from Wales they fought for 70 minutes with sheer passion and determination and we struggled to break down their deep defence particularly in the first half. Tournament hockey can be messy and it will not get any prettier as the tournament progresses, I think the lesson learnt from the World Cup was, not to get frustrated and lose confidence if the goals don't come and to just keep playing our game with patience. We certainly did that, so that is already a positive moving forwards from the World Cup.

What are your thoughts for the game v Malaysia ?

Going forwards into the next game they will certainly want to convert more opportunities, which will help them gain confidence and build momentum for the game vs Australia. I think we will want to continue to attack the space and not try to play through them.  Watching the Malaysians play, we can expect them to put their bodies on the line, see some deep defending as per the Wales game and again it will be important that we remain patient, stretch them and focus on breaking them down. I thought that their gk (although unorthodox) made some fantastic saves and the scoreline could have been much more had she not have been in goal. So, if we get some more finishes like Alex's, I doubt any gk would be able to stop them. Ultimately though, we are a much stronger team and player for player we are technically and physically more advanced and we should bear that in mind throughout the game. In a tournament, we are only as good as the team we beat and so the girls will be treating this game as any other, with respect and a willingness to win!

Kirsty can be seen in action during the coming season playing for East Grinstead Hockey Club.