The preparation of the Garuda Select Team was considered very minimal and short because of the quarantine rules that must be followed upon their arrival in England. The Garuda Select squad only started training on December 15 or a week before the match. Despite of short preparation, the performance of the Garuda Select Team was considered good enough by Dennis Wise. The players did not seem to hesitate to duel against opposing players whose posture were much bigger. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Garuda Select managed to equalize through I Putu Dipa Yoga Arta's goal after they were one goal behind at the start of the second half.
GarudaSelect's Director of Football Dennis Wise praises the performance of his team, especially the defense. However, Wise emphasizes that there are several aspects, in the position of goalkeeper as well as defender, that must be improved.
Regarding goalkeeper, in the match against Port Vale U-18, Adre Arido Geovani was selected for the first half and I Gede Aditya Juli Antara for the second half. Both performed well with several saves. But there are things that still need to be improved, especially they need to learn when they should slow down and when they should accelerate the game.
"Several times during the match, both Adre and Aditya tried to play fast and as the result the team was under pressure for five minutes. The distribution of the ball to other players will be an area that should be improved," said Wise.
For the backline, the coaching team picked Daniel Naa, Ibnul Mubarak, Muhammad Faqih, and Edgard Amping for the first half. And for the second half, I Putu Dipa Yogi Arta and Dustin Pratama played as the center-back and Roki replaced Daniel Naa.
Generally speaking, Wise is satisfied with the defender's performance, but there are few aspects that the players need to pay attention to.
"The players must be able to know the right time for a defender to grab the ball. Defenders must make opponents feel uncomfortable and do not have the opportunity to threaten the defense. The defenders, especially Daniel, must understand it," stressed Wise.
"I am happy with Daniel's performance, which is full of confidence, but he can still do better,” explained Wise.
However, there are advantages that Holmes saw from Daniel's performance against Port Vale U-18. Besides having a strong physique, Daniel also has the ability to intercept passes of the opponent.
"Daniel's strength is his ability to intercept passes. In yesterday’s match several times he intercepted passes and stole the ball possession. In the match against Port Vale U-18 Daniel also made some great tackles. At one occasion, playing calmly, he made a good passing to the midfielder and it was really the start of building up the team’s attack. I want to see more of this from Daniel," said Holmes.