S. Selvaraju will lead UniKL-TRC against UITM on Saturday.UNIVERSITI Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) TRC, who made their debut in the Malaysian Hockey League last season, are counting on a mix of experience and youth to win honours when the new Premier League season starts tomorrow.
The team, who have hired New Zealand assistant coach Darren Smith and four foreign players to boost their chances, have been training hard since last month in preparation for the tournament. UniKL-TRC will have the services of two New Zealand players -- goalkeeper Steve Graham and defender Richard Patrick -- as well as Germany's Philip Stahr and Kevin Lim, whose father is Malaysian.
They, together with local senior players S. Selvaraju (captain), Robert Alcantara and Herwan Pami, and several members of the Project 2013 squad, are expected make it tough for front-runners Sapura, Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in the league.
"There are some intelligent and skillful youngsters in the squad and my aim is to build their confidence so that they can take on the more experienced opponents without fear," said Darren yesterday.
"My immediate aim is to forge an understanding between the youngsters and some of the more experienced players in the squad. "Hence the past month has been spent correcting mistakes and building on our strengths."
On the team's target, the coach said he was confident his side could spring a surprise or two.
"KLHC, TNB. Sapura and Maybank are still the league favourites but I believe my side have the ability to upset the form book," Darren added.
However, UniKL-TRC must do without the services of Stahr for six weeks after the German suffered a broken rib in a friendly against TNB on Tuesday.
Team manager Amir Azhar Ibrahim said Stahr is receiving treatment at Pantai Medical Hospital.
"His absence will affect the team's strategies but we have other capable replacements," said Amir.
UniKL-TRC take on UiTM in their opening match on Saturday.
