KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) coach K. Dharmaraj has cautioned his charges not to take the first leg results against Terengganu as a yardstick when both the teams square off again in the second round of the Malaysia Hockey League today (SUNDAY).
Double champions KLHC whipped Terengganu 5-0 in the first leg last weekend in Kuantan, but are wary of the East Coast side which had pinched six of their best in a pre-season signing frenzy.
"Terengganu have the players to upset any team on their day, and I have the pleasure of coaching some of them for many years before they moved on, so I know heir strength.
"We did beat them with a high score last weekend, but that can't be used as an excuse to take them lightly. My players know the score, and they will give their best again," said Dharmaraj who is also the national juniors coach.
Last season, KLHC had beaten Sapura 5-0 in the first leg, but ended up with a 1-1 draw in the return leg.
"We have a sobering lesson to rely from last season, as we hit five goals past Sapura but ended up with a 1-1 draw when we became complacent in the second leg.
"I have pointed this out to my players, and they know their work it cut out, and there is no Sunday rest," said Dharmaraj.
And the good news for Dharmaraj is that all his charges are injury-free while his foreign legion of Pakistan players have proved themselves to be assets.
KLHC are cruising towards the League title as their nearest contenders are Tenaga Nasional and Maybank, while the rest of the Premier Division sides have fallen by the wayside.
SATURDAY: Premier Division -- Maybank x Tenaga Nasional x.
SUNDAY: Premier Division -- UniKL v Sapura (National Stadium I, 6pm),
Nur Insafi v Maybank (National Stadium II, 6pm), KLHC v Terengganu
(National Stadium II, 8pm).
STANDINGS
PREMIER DIVISION
P W D L F A Pts
KLHC 7 6 1 0 30 10 19
TNB 7 4 3 0 24 12 15
Maybank 6 4 0 2 21 17 12
Sapura 7 2 2 3 17 17 8
Tgganu 7 2 1 4 17 20 7
UniKL 7 2 0 5 10 22 6
N Insafi 7 0 1 6 6 27 1