KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club will be looking for a clean break from the chasing pack when they play UniKL in the Premier Division of the Malaysia hockey League at the Kuantan Stadium today.
KLHC are just two points away from second placed UniKL, and look good to snatch full points judging from the first round 4-0 drubbing they handed the university side.
And the next day, KLHC will play UITM, whom they whipped 1-0 in the first round.
“The League will being its second round journey, and I have told my players to forget the earlier encounters. We did beat UniKL and UITM with healthy margins in the first round, but will not take matters for granted in Kuantan,” said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
KLHC will be fielding their full side after five matches, as Nabil Fiqri Mohd Noor has served his five-match suspension for his involvement in a shoving match with Yayasan Negri Sembilan players.
“UniKL have improved much since we beat them, and that us why it is important that my players give their best tomorrow (today) and after that, we will not be looking for goals but just three more points from UITM.
“Nabil will be back after five matches, and our injury list is also clean, as all of them have recovered and will play in Kuantan,” said Dharmaraj.
While KLHC are almost assured of maximum points, third placed Tenaga Nasional will have their hands full against Sapura are could drift further down the standings if they keep up with their erratic form which saw them lost 1-0 to Yayasan Negri Sembilan last weekend in Penang.
Meanwhile the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru, which is supposed to host the MHL teams on Feb 18 and 19, have been hit by electrical problems to their floodlights.
The Stadium, which was hosted for the 2009 Junior World Cup, is hardly 18-months old, but switchboards are said to have been stolen.
The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) will seek answers from the Johor HA during their council meeting in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, and if the problem can’t be fixed, the Johor round will be held at the Tun Razak Stadium instead.
STANDINGS
PREMIER DIVISION
P W D L F A Pt
KLHC 8 6 1 1 38 12 19
UNIKL-TRC 8 5 2 1 14 10 17
TNB 8 5 1 2 16 8 16
YNS 8 5 0 3 26 20 15
NUR INSAFI 8 4 1 3 15 19 13
SAPURA 8 4 0 4 25 19 12
MAYBANK 8 1 3 4 6 12 6
ATM-AIROD 8 2 0 6 9 27 6
UITM 8 0 0 8 11 33 0
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pt
ATM JNR 6 5 1 0 15 3 16
BPSS 6 4 0 2 12 10 12
BJSS 6 4 0 2 14 6 12
MALACCA CC 7 3 0 4 10 9 9
IPOH CH 7 2 2 3 12 15 8
USM 6 2 0 4 8 17 6
UNITEN 6 0 1 5 3 14 1
PREMIER DIVISION: Today (All Matches at the Kuantan Stadium): Tenaga Nasional v Sapura (3.30pm), Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club v UniKL (5.51pm), Yayasan Negri Sembilan v Nur Insafi (7pm), Armed Forces-Airod v UiTM (8.45pm).
Tomorrow: Maybank v UniKL (3pm), Tenaga Nasional v Nur Insafi (4.45pm), Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club v UiTM (6.30pm), Yayasan Negri Sembilan v Armed Forces-Airod (8.15pm).
DIVISION ONE: Sunday -- Ipoh City Council v Bukit Jalil Sports School (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), Bandar Penawar Sports School v Malacca CC (Bandar Penawar, 5pm), Armed Forces Juniors v Universiti Sains Malaysia (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm).
Thursday, January 27, 2011
As erratic as it can get
THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division teams are so erratic, that it is hard to predict the champion even at its half-way stage.
Even seasoned MHL coach K. Rajan, formerly with the Tenaga Nasional outfit, is confused as outstation matches in Ipoh and Penang has produced some stunning upsets.
Rajan, now coaching Armed Forces-Airod, feels they still have a chance of playing in the quarter-finals, even though they are second from the bottom after eight matches.
“I was a little surprised with Maybank when they held leaders KLHC (Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club) to a 2-2 draw, but then lost to my team (1-0) the next day.
“When they matches were held in Kuala Lumpur, the results were easily predictable, but the change in venues has seen some teams struggling to cope.
“But in the same breath, I can see some drastic changes in my players after they played eight matches. There is more confidence in them, and I hope the win against Maybank will change our fortunes in the second round,” said Rajan.
The first weekend of the second round will be played in Kuantan, and teams who can’t adapt to the artificial pitch there are going to collapse again.
The top-six teams in Premier Division, and the top two teams in Division One will play in the quarter-finals.
“Ending fifth or sixth is still within our reach, and that will be our target from now,” said Rajan.
As for the overall standard of the League the established coach said: “Same old faces are playing for their clubs, but there is some fresh talent rising from the ranks of the Project 2013 players. Otherwise, our future generation of players are getting their exposure in Division One.”
STANDINGS
PREMIER DIVISION
P W D L F A Pt
KLHC 8 6 1 1 38 12 19
UNIKL-TRC 8 5 2 1 14 10 17
TNB 8 5 1 2 16 8 16
YNS 8 5 0 3 26 20 15
NUR INSAFI 8 4 1 3 15 19 13
SAPURA 8 4 0 4 25 19 12
MAYBANK 8 1 3 4 6 12 6
ATM-AIROD 8 2 0 6 9 27 6
UITM 8 0 0 8 11 33 0
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pt
ATM JNR 6 5 1 0 15 3 16
BPSS 6 4 0 2 12 10 12
BJSS 6 4 0 2 14 6 12
MALACCA CC 7 3 0 4 10 9 9
IPOH CH 7 2 2 3 12 15 8
USM 6 2 0 4 8 17 6
UNITEN 6 0 1 5 3 14 1
PREMIER DIVISION: Friday (All Matches at the Kuantan Stadium): Tenaga Nasional v Sapura (3.30pm), Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club v UniKL (5.51pm), Yayasan Negri Sembilan v Nur Insafi (7pm), Armed Forces-Airod v UiTM (8.45pm).
Saturday: Maybank v UniKL (3pm), Tenaga Nasional v Nur Insafi (4.45pm), Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club v UiTM (6.30pm), Yayasan Negri Sembilan v Armed Forces-Airod (8.15pm).
DIVISION ONE: Sunday -- Ipoh City Council v Bukit Jalil Sports School (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), Bandar Penawar Sports School v Malacca CC (Bandar Penawar, 5pm), Armed Forces Juniors v Universiti Sains Malaysia (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm).
Even seasoned MHL coach K. Rajan, formerly with the Tenaga Nasional outfit, is confused as outstation matches in Ipoh and Penang has produced some stunning upsets.
Rajan, now coaching Armed Forces-Airod, feels they still have a chance of playing in the quarter-finals, even though they are second from the bottom after eight matches.
“I was a little surprised with Maybank when they held leaders KLHC (Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club) to a 2-2 draw, but then lost to my team (1-0) the next day.
“When they matches were held in Kuala Lumpur, the results were easily predictable, but the change in venues has seen some teams struggling to cope.
“But in the same breath, I can see some drastic changes in my players after they played eight matches. There is more confidence in them, and I hope the win against Maybank will change our fortunes in the second round,” said Rajan.
The first weekend of the second round will be played in Kuantan, and teams who can’t adapt to the artificial pitch there are going to collapse again.
The top-six teams in Premier Division, and the top two teams in Division One will play in the quarter-finals.
“Ending fifth or sixth is still within our reach, and that will be our target from now,” said Rajan.
As for the overall standard of the League the established coach said: “Same old faces are playing for their clubs, but there is some fresh talent rising from the ranks of the Project 2013 players. Otherwise, our future generation of players are getting their exposure in Division One.”
STANDINGS
PREMIER DIVISION
P W D L F A Pt
KLHC 8 6 1 1 38 12 19
UNIKL-TRC 8 5 2 1 14 10 17
TNB 8 5 1 2 16 8 16
YNS 8 5 0 3 26 20 15
NUR INSAFI 8 4 1 3 15 19 13
SAPURA 8 4 0 4 25 19 12
MAYBANK 8 1 3 4 6 12 6
ATM-AIROD 8 2 0 6 9 27 6
UITM 8 0 0 8 11 33 0
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pt
ATM JNR 6 5 1 0 15 3 16
BPSS 6 4 0 2 12 10 12
BJSS 6 4 0 2 14 6 12
MALACCA CC 7 3 0 4 10 9 9
IPOH CH 7 2 2 3 12 15 8
USM 6 2 0 4 8 17 6
UNITEN 6 0 1 5 3 14 1
PREMIER DIVISION: Friday (All Matches at the Kuantan Stadium): Tenaga Nasional v Sapura (3.30pm), Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club v UniKL (5.51pm), Yayasan Negri Sembilan v Nur Insafi (7pm), Armed Forces-Airod v UiTM (8.45pm).
Saturday: Maybank v UniKL (3pm), Tenaga Nasional v Nur Insafi (4.45pm), Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club v UiTM (6.30pm), Yayasan Negri Sembilan v Armed Forces-Airod (8.15pm).
DIVISION ONE: Sunday -- Ipoh City Council v Bukit Jalil Sports School (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), Bandar Penawar Sports School v Malacca CC (Bandar Penawar, 5pm), Armed Forces Juniors v Universiti Sains Malaysia (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
