Tenaga target second spot

TENAGA Nasional aim to complete their remaining Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division fixtures without dropping a point, while at the same time keep their fingers crossed that Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club fumble.
KLHC top the standings with 15 points after five matches, while second placed Maybank are five points adrift, and Tenaga a further six points behind.
And it looks like KLHC have all but sealed the League title, but Tenaga are looking for the second spot, if not the title itself.
“It is still a possible dream, provided we win all out matches, and KLHC’s winning streak is snapped by Maybank, and then Sapura,” said Tenaga coach Manjit Singh.
Tenaga and KLHC square off again in the last match of the League on Jan 23 in Malacca.
Manjit laments the missed sitters which saw them lose six crucial points.
“My players have been giving their best but we are in this situation (third) because of poor shooting in the semi-circle. Somehow, we missed many sitters in crucial matches which could have made a big difference.
“On our part, we will strive to win all the remaining matches and even if KLHC do not drop points, we can still finish second in the League,” said Manjit.
KLHC, virtually the Malaysian national side, will square off against Nur Insafi today at the Tun Razak Stadium, and are touted to win with ease.
The leaders then play Maybank the next day, and if there is going to be a hiccup, it will be against the Tigers.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) coaching committee chairman Dr Balbir Singh confirmed yesterday that the hunt for a foreign coach is still on.
“We will have a meeting on Jan 17 in Kuala Lumpur to discuss about the foreign coach, and will give you more details after that.
“At the moment, we are still looking at Roelant Oltmans (Dutch coach). Tai Beng Hai still remains as an interim coach for the next six months, as he has been given a letter by the MHF to continue scouting for plays,” said Dr Balbir.
Roeland was initially expected to watch the MHL matches and identify his players: “That was the initial plan, but we have no confirmation yet that he wants to watch the re maining MHL matches.
“I will submit a plan of action to the coaching committee and if my members agree to it, it will be made public. All I can say is that, to date, the MHF management had a discussion with only one foreign coach.”
TODAY: KL Hockey Club v Nur Insafi (4.30pm), UniKL v Tenaga Nasional (6.30pm), Sapura v Maybank (8.30pm).
TOMORROW: KL Hockey Club v Maybank (4.30pm), Nur Insafi v Tenaga Nasional (6.30pm), UniKL v Sapura (8.30pm).
Note: All matches at the Tun Razak Stadium.


STANDINGS

P W D L F A Pts
KLHC 5 5 0 0 18 3 15
MAYBANK 5 3 1 1 11 6 10
TENAGA 5 3 0 2 11 6 9
SAPURA 5 2 1 2 12 8 7
NUR INSAFI 5 0 1 4 7 18 1
UNIKL 5 0 1 4 2 16 1