Juniors in fight to avoid wooden spoon

NATIONAL Juniors will be up against a ‘foreign team’ when they meet Nur Insafi in Division One of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Both the teams are winless after two matches, and Nur Insafi, after their initial 10-0 drubbing in the hands of Ernst & Young, showed some mettle in their 3-2 defeat against Tenaga Nasional.
Penang-based Nur Insafi, last season’s Division Two cham pions, have seven India and two Bangladesh players in their fold.
“It will be a crucial match for both teams, as the loser is likely to end at the bottom of the Division One pool. And after a week’s training, my team is raring to prove a point, and I expect an interesting clash,” said National Juniors coach K. Rajan.
The Juniors are in training for the 2009 World Cup which Malaysia and Singapore will co-host. So far, after the Pan American championships, Junior World Cup champions Argentina, Chile and the Unites States have also qualified for the tournament.
Argentina beat Chile 3-0 in the final, while USA edged Canada 4-3 on penalties after the match ended 2-2.
The other interesting encounter today is between TNB Cup champions Tenaga Nasional and Sapura, as the outcome will separate the League title contenders with the pretenders.
TODAY: Division One -- Sapura v Tenaga Nasional (KLHA Stadium, 7pm), Maybank v Ernst & Young (Seremban II Stadium, 5pm), National Juniors v Nur Insafi (National Stadium Pitch I, 7pm).
Division Two: Alam Shah School v Bandar Penawar SS (National Stadium Pitch II, 7pm), UiTM v Border Forces Club (Pandamaran Stadium, 5pm), Royal Malay Regiment v UNIMAP (Tun Razak Stadium, 7pm), JLJD v Dolphins (Tun Razak Stadium, 9pm).


STANDINGS


DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
Ernst & Young 2 2 0 0 12 1 6
Tenaga 2 2 0 0 6 3 6
Maybank 2 1 0 1 4 4 3
Sapura 2 1 0 1 2 4 3
National Juniors 2 0 0 2 3 6 0
Nur Insafi 2 0 0 2 2 13 0


DIVISION TWO

P W D L F A Pts
Bandar Penawar 2 2 0 0 10 3 6
Alam Shah 2 2 0 0 9 4 6
Malay Regiment 2 1 0 1 4 4 3
Bukit Jalil 2 1 1 0 4 1 3
Dolphins 2 0 2 0 4 4 2
UiTM 1 0 1 0 3 3 1
JLJD 2 0 0 2 5 8 0
Border Forces 2 0 0 2 3 10 0
UNIMAP 1 0 0 1 0 5 0