KUALA LUMPUR Hockey Club (KLHC) will approach tomorrow’s second leg of the TNB Cup semifinal against Tenaga Nasional Berhad in a cautious manner.
For they are well aware that impatience and hastiness could well prove to be their undoing. KLHC trail TNB 3-2 after the first leg but are quite capable of overturning the one goal deficit to make the final on Saturday.
KLHC coach Lim Chiow Chuan wants his charges to remain composed and not be too hasty in trying to play catch-up.
“We are chasing a goal, hence we need to take the initiative and make things happen. We just need to be sensible and patient,” said Chiow Chuan.
“It is all about doing the right things and not giving away the ball unnecessarily while making chances count.
”KLHC will most likely be without Rashid Baharom in the match as he is struggling to be fit after picking up a knock in the first leg last Sunday.
“We have to minimise individual basic errors like passing and receiving, ball handling as well as tackling. Decision making when transiting into attack has to be better. And of course, make the penalty corners count,” added Chiow Chuan.
As for Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) , coach Arul Selvaraj said it will be a question of ensuring his players stick to the game plan.
UniKL hold a 4-1 advantage over Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) after the first leg semis.“ We need to play smart and not make silly mistakes that will let them back into the match early,” said Arul.
“Therefore, the idea is to frustrate them for as long as we can.”
“Not conceding a goal in the first quarter will help our cause and this will shift the pressure more to THT.”
Arul said he was sure THT will be planning to score early in the match to give them a chance of making a comeback.
“We need to be very meticulous in our approach and most of our time in training was spent on trying to neutralise our opponents with tight marking and timely tackling.”