Div2 :: MSN Malacca have to bank on error-prone goalkeeper

MSN Malacca coach G. Ravindran will have no choice but to bank on error-prone goalkeeper Mohd Raizal Azmi for their quarter-final, return-leg match against Tenaga Nasional in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Under-19 competition today.

Ravindran blamed Raizal for letting the team down by conceding three easy first-half goals in their 2-3 first-leg defeat in Malacca on Sunday.

“We, however, fought back in the second-half to narrow the deficit,” said Ravindran, who said he had no choice but to rely on Raizal for the return-leg, which will be played at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium.

The coach said their reserve goalkeeper Mohd Zul Amirul Akmal Mohd Ali was inexperienced.

“I hope Raizal will rise to occasion and give his best in the crucial return-leg tie. We will play an attacking game to get the early goals,” said Ravindran, who will be counting on defender Mohd Hanif Rahim, their top scorer with 11 goals from 12 matches, to deliver the goods from penalty-corner set pieces.

Tenaga assistant team manager Jasbere Singh, meanwhile, said they would play a cautious game as “MSN Malacca are a good team with strong fighting spirit.

“They proved this on Sunday by coming back from three goals down to score twice in the second-half. We stand a 50-50 chance of reaching the semi-finals.”

In another tie, Division Three champions Nur Insafi will be seeking to overturn a two-goal deficit when they take on Division Two runners-up Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS) today.

Nur Insafi coach S. Tatchanamurthy said the battle was far from over although his team lost the first-leg 2-4.

Division Two League champions Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), however, should have no problems reaching the semi-finals after notching big wins in the first-leg.

BJSS hammered Division Three runners-up SMK Temerloh 9-0 while MBPJ defeated Anderson of Ipoh 3-0.