By S. RAMAGURU
KUALA LUMPUR: Debutants Universiti Kuala Lumpur’s (UniKL) lead atop Division One of the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League will come under pressure when they take on Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) at the KL Hockey Stadium today.
And even UniKL coach I. Vicknesweran admitted yesterday that he would feel a whole lot happier if they can get through the weekend unscathed.
“To be honest, we are a bit surprised with our performance but it feels good to have started off with three wins in our debut season. There is still a long way to go and the main thing is to come off this weekend unbeaten so that we can face the top teams with confidence,” he said yesterday.
UniKL have a maximum nine points after three matches and are ahead of Anderson only on goal difference.
Vicknesweran’s men started their campaign with a 3-1 win over the women’s national team and a 7-1 thrashing of MSS Kelantan. On Friday, they hammered high-riding Anderson 6-1.
Vicknesweran said their participation in the senior league last year had help them gain experience.
“But we still did not get the full complement of players for the junior league. Two players have gone to the BPSS-Thunderbolt team while national junior trainees Mohamed Faiz and Mohamed Izzat are playing in the Dutch League,” he said.
“So, we are lacking some quality players. We are quite happy to challenge the big teams but whether we can remain in that position remains to be seen.”
He said MBPJ had good players and that the two defeats they had suffered did not reflect their actual strength.
“MBPJ have always been slow starters but they always end up among the top four teams. So we expect them to be stronger and I just hope they do not hit form tomorrow against us,” said Vicknesweran.
“We are not going to underestimate them. That is why I believe that it will be a big achievement if can get all three points against them.”
The UniKL-MBPJ match is one of the two top-of-the-table clashes today.
The other is between defending champions Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and Anderson.
BJSS have to win to keep their title hopes alive while another defeat for Anderson will put them out of the race.
Anderson coach Mokhtar Baharuddin knows it and said: “The most we can do is to try and play as hard as we can.”
“It will be tough but we are not giving up that easily. We will play to win and hopefully cut down on our mistakes. We also need to be sharper.”
BJSS had been taking a cautious approach, winning both their earlier matches 2-0.
And coach S. Prakash will continue to adopt the same policy.
“Anderson are wounded and will surely try to bounce back against us. As I have said earlier, every match will be crucial and no team can be taken for granted,” said Prakash.
