Thursday, August 25, 2016

A point will do for UniKL



Riding on two wins last weekend, UniKL are hoping for a positive outing against Giants KL Hockey Club in the Malaysian Hockey League Premier Division.

UniKL edged Tenaga Nasional Berhad in the league last Sunday and on Tuesday beat Maybank also 1-0 in the knockout tournament.

However they lost their opening match 0-3 to Sapura.

On the other hand, traditional power house KLHC got off to a rousing start by defeating defending league champions Terengganu Hockey Team 2-1 in their opening match before trashing Sapura 5-2.

Therefore UniKL are  bracing themselves for a harrowing outing against KLHC who look to be stronger this year despite not having the likes of Razie Rahim and Nabil Fiqri Mohd Nor.

And this game will have extra edge as two players from UniKL, Meor Mohammad and Haziq Shamsul crossed over to KLHC just a month before the MHL began.

" There is no doubt that KLHC are the favourites to win this match and getting even a point off them can be considered a victory of sorts," said UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj.

"We need to be tight at the back and pack the midfield as they have quality players that can capitalise on half a chance.

" And then there is also the penalty corners that we need to avoid conceding as KLHC are deadly in this area."

UniKL have been relying a good tactical play to overcome their more Davies opponents thus far.

In players like Baljit Singh, Mohd Tousiq, Najmi Farizal, they have players that can spur the others to raise their game. 

" We need to focus on our game and not pay to much attention to any particular player in KLHC," added Arul.

"The first two quarters are important as we should not concede goals and that will hopefully add pressure on them.

" Realistically we have nothing to lose but everything to gain from this match."

And with that optimism Arul hopes his charges to rise to the occasion and give KLHC a run for their money.