UniKL will make do without ‘The Four’

KUALA LUMPUR: No fabulous four for Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), no problem!

On paper, the prospect of defending the TNB Cup looks daunting for UniKL in the absence of Ireland captain and goalkeeper David Harte and three Dutch internationals Robert Kemperman, Martijn Havenga and Valentin Verga at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium today.

But UniKL coach A. Arulselvaraj is not fretting.

He has faith on the rest of the team to finish off the job.

“This is the time for the other players in the team to come out of their shadows (four players) and perform well. The message to them is – just do your job,” said Arul.

“Most of the players played last season and have the experience playing in the final.”

UniKL’s “The Four” will return to Europe on Sunday as the European Hockey Federation (EHF)’s window to play in overseas leagues ended on Thursday (Feb 28).

The players have a contract to play in the EuroHockey League knockout stages from April 17-22 – with Harte, Havenga and Kemperman playing for SV Kampong while Verga will be featuring for Amsterdam in Holland.

Forwards Kemperman and Havenga have been instrumental for UniKL – having scored eight and seven goals respectively.

In their absence, Australians Kieran Govers and Timothy Deavin will marshal UniKL’s attacking machinery while three national players – Muhd Marhan Mohd Jalil, drag-flick specialist Muhd Razie Abdul Rahim and Muhd Shukri Abdul Mutalib are expected to add sting.

They will also be banking on experienced players such as Izwan Firdaus Ahmad Tajuddin, Faridzul Afiq Mohd, Mohamad Ashran Hamsani, Ezad Hakimi and former internationals Baljit Singh and Harvinder Singh.