Thursday, March 28, 2013

Make-or-break weekend for UniKL...

UNIVERSITI Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) will be engaged in a make-or-break Malaysia Hockey League (MHL)  weekend, as they will face two of the top rated teams in the Premier Divison at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
  Today, they go head on against Tenaga Nasional and on Sunday they will meet table toppers Maybank.
  And UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj will be more  than happy if his side can secure two points from both the matches.
  UniKL, with only three points after two matches, (lost 5-0 to KLHC and a won 2-1 against Nur Insafi Warriors): "It cannot get any tougher then this and I will be really glad if we survive the weekend without a thrashing. If we can get one point off each of these two teams, it will be a bonus," said Arul.
   However, Arul cautioned that the UniKL team has the ability to wipe the smile off their opponents.
  "Let's face the facts, both TNB and Maybank are a class above and we have to be realistic. TNB is virtually the national team while Maybank have a solid midfield with (Pakistani) Shakeel Abbasi and Shafqat Rasool pulling the strings.
  "But if my players start believing in their ability, I have a bunch of youngsters, who skill wise, are second to none and can trouble even the best. But they lack the confidence as well as big match exposure," said Arul.
   KLHC, after winning four points from their opening two matches, are on the right track in their title defence.
   And their longest serving player, Chua Boon Huat, feels the team has all the right mixtures to cap another successful season.
   "When there was an exodus of players before the season began, many thought that it was curtains for KLHGC. But we those who remained vowed to do better. The management also secured six foreign players and that was a right choices," said Chua.
   "They are great signings as they are experienced and fitted into our system very well. They adapted right from the first match and I am happy playing alongside them.
  The national players who left KLHC for Terengganu are Shahrun Nabil, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Azlan Misron, Ismail Abu,  Ameerullah Aziz and Fitri Saari.
  They signed six foreigners and leading the cast is skipper of the Pakistan national team, Muhammad Imran who scored five goals in the Azlan Shah Cup last week.
  RESULTS: Division One -- UniTen x UitM x, Sunday 2030 KL x TNB Thunderbolts x, Tengku Mahkota Ismail SS x Ipoh City Council x.
  TODAY: Premier Division -- Nur Insafi v Terengganu (Universiti Sains Malaysia, 6pm), uniKL v Tenaga Nasional (National Stadium Pitch II, 6pm), Maybank v KLHC (National Stadium Pitch II, 8pm).
  SATURDAY: Premier Division -- Sapura v Tenaga Nasional (National Stadium Pitch II, 8pm).
  Diivision One: TNB Thunderbolts v Ipoh City Council (National Stadium Pitch II, 6pm), Tengku Mahkota Ismail SS v UniTen (Taman Daya, 6pm).
  SUNDAY: Premier Division -- KLHC v Nur Insafi (National Stadium Pitch II, 6pm), Maybank v UniKL (National Stadium Pitch I, 6pm), Terengganu v Sapura (National Stadium Pitch II, 8pm).