UniKL Look Indomitable

Kuala Lumpur (22 March 2021): Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) are heading to be the legitimate contender to repeat their Premier League triumphs since 2019.

And all the 2020 treble winners need to do at the National Hockey Stadium is to dismantle TNB Thunderbolts tomorrow and Maybank on Thursday (25 March), seize the momentum from the beginning, and never look back.

UniKL’s all-round performance is enviable, and their form suggest they are indomitable at the moment. The defending champions lead the table standings on 13 points – one ahead of Terengganu Hockey Team (THT), scored 22 goals and conceded two – both against the east coast side in the 4-2 victory.

A win against TNB Thunderbolts will mean UniKL would have amassed 16 points and keep their hopes high of taking the title closer to home – before wrapping up their fixtures by diffusing Maybank on Thursday to maintain their unblemished record.

THT (12 points) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (11 points) are placed in second and third spots respectively in the standings while Maybank are adrift in fourth position with 10 points. Universiti Teknologi MARA (6 points), TNB Thunderbolts (3), Sabah (3) and Nurinsafi (0) are certainly out of contention for the title.

Thunderbolts, the development team of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), came close to putting the shackles on THT last Sunday but fell 2-3 in the final lap against the far more experienced opponents towards the end.

On paper, it is going to be tough for TNB Thunderbolts to throw the spanner into UniKL’s plans of a second title in the tournament this season after retaining the Charity Shield on 12 March.

As UniKL coach Megat Azrafiq Termizi puts it: “We rushed into getting early goals against UITM and our scoring opportunities went into disarray. We had 8 penalty corners and scored from one not to mention the many open chances that came our way. We have taken this into account and not let it happen again.”

“With two games remaining our aim is to focus on the match against TNB Thunderbolts on Tuesday and make the best of it to seal victory and move on,” he added.

UniKL captain Muhammad Marhan Mohd Jalil, who has led the side for the past five seasons and scored the opening goal against UITM, observed that penalty corners are UnIKL’s forte and he is expecting the team to stay together till the end of the match and win.

“We have respect for every team that we play. Having said that the same goes to TNB Thunderbolts. They are young, have good players and highly motivated. I am expecting a good match,” said Marhan.

The other matches scheduled tomorrow are between THT and Nurinsafi HT (Pitch 2, 6pm), UITM vs TNB (Pitch 1, 8pm) and Maybank vs Sabah (Pitch 2, 8pm).