Thursday, April 4, 2013

Maybank looking good at the turn..



THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division will  complete its first round in Kuantan today, with Maybank  import Shakeel Abbasi confident his mates will not disappoint.
    Maybank are just one point adrift of double champions  Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC), and are good for three  points against Nur Insafi today; while they will have to play  above par to beat Tenaga on Sunday.
    “We have only lost KLHC (3-4) so far, and that was mainly  because there was still some loose understanding between  the local and foreign players then.
   “However, we have overcome that after a few matches and  it showed during our last match against UniKL (Maybank  won 4-1) and I believe we will be stronger in Kuantan and  also the return leg,” said former Pakistan skipper Shakeel.
   The other Pakistan signings in Maybank are Muhammad  Irfan, Muhammad Waqas and Shafqat Rasool.
    And for league leaders KLHC, even though they lost six key  players to Terengganu, their encounter today will be re garded as ‘just another match.’
    The six, Azlan Misron, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Shahrun  Nabil, Ismail Abu, Fitri Saari and Ameerullah Aziz left KLHC  to better deals in Terengganu, but have not ben able to  produce results as the East Coast side has only one win and a  draw to show after four matches.
    “Off the field we are all friends and what is vital is the three  points. We are focused on getting the points and it will not be  easy as Terengganu will ge out to redeem themselves," said  KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
    “I expect a close match as they have players who can cause  havoc if allowed to dictate terms. On the positive note, my  team has developed a good understanding (foreign and local)  despite a limited period of training together,” said Dharmaraj.
   TODAY: Premier Division -- Terengganu v KLHC (6pm),  Maybank  v Nur Insafi  (6pm), Sapura v UniKL  (8pm).
   Saturday: Nur Insafi  v TNB  (6pm).
   Sunday: Sapura  v KLHC  (6pm), Terengganu  v  UniKL  (6pm),  Tenaga v Maybank  (8pm).
    Note: Matches at Pitch I and II of the Kuantan Hockey  Stadium.

STANDINGS
PREMIER DIVISION

                   P  W  D  L  F  A   Pts
KLHC          4  3  1  0  19  6    10
Maybank    4  3  0  1  14  9      9
TNB            4  1  3  0  13  11    6
Sapura        4  1  2  1  10  10    5
Tgganu       4  1  1  2  12  11    4
UniKL         4  1  0  3  5  14      3
N Insafi      4  0  1  3  3  15      1