Penalty corner specialist Mohd Razie Abdul Rahim has lined up for 16 penalty corners in eight Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) matches and has scored from seven – a conversion rate that has UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj pleased.
The coach believes Razie could be the main man in the team as they bid to continue their winning run, by triumphing in the remaining six league matches.
National defender Razie gave UniKL the lead in an away match against Terengganu on Sunday in Kuala Terengganu before the varsity team doubled the score with a field goal to win 2-0 and register their eighth consecutive victory.
UniKL lead the MHL with the maximum 24 points from eight matches and are five points clear of second placed Tenaga Nasional, who have 19.
“Razie is an asset to the team as he has scored important goals, ” said Arul. “On Sunday he gave us the lead against Terengganu. In our first-round, Charity Shield match against Terengganu, he also converted two penalty corners in our 3-2 win.
“Scoring goals from penalty corners is important and I hope he can continue with his conversion rate.”
Arul added although they have won all eight matches, they did not want to think about the league title just yet.
“I want my players to take it one match at a time and approach every match as though it is a final.
“The focus should be on the matches, ” said Arul.
UniKL’s next match is against Hockey Academy (Hockademy) today at Tengku Abdullah Hockey Stadium in Bangi.
“I want my players to play cautiously against Hockademy. In the first-round match (on Jan 12), my forward Tengku Ahmad (Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil) suffered a broken jaw after being hit by a ball struck by an opponent.
“We made a complaint to MHC (Malaysian Hockey Confederation) about the dangerous play and I must thank them as the umpires have started taking strict action against players who hit the ball into players and also make rough tackles, ” said Arul, who will also welcome back defender Baljit Singh for the Hockademy match.
Baljit did not play against Terengganu as his wife Jasvin Kaur gave birth on Sunday.