KLHC, TNB mahukan kemenangan

Kuala Lumpur (29 Ogos 2016): Kelab Hoki Kuala Lumpur (KLHC) mahu memastikan dapat meraih kemenangan apabila bertemu musuh tradisi Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) esok sekaligus meneruskan kemaraan kesaingan separuh akhir untuk merebut Piala Tan Sri P Alagendra.

Kedua-dua pasukan sedang berdepan masalah prestasi dengan KLHC sekadar meraih keputusan seri pada dua perlawanan terakhir Liga Premier sementara THT lebih malang apabila tewas 0-2 kepada Sapura semalam sekaligus kekalahan kedua selepas empat perlawanan.

Kedua-dua pasukan adalah finalis pada tahun lalu untuk saingan kalah mati ini dengan THT muncul pemenang, tetapi kali ini sama ada KLHC atau THT saja yang akan mara kesaingan separuh akhir.

Pengurus KLHC Ahmad Anuar Sham Kamar berkata, barisan pemainnya tidak mempunyai pilihan lain selain perlu mencatatkan kemenangan apabila bertemu THT esok di Stadium Hoki Batu Buruk sekiranya mahu beraksi di pentas final sekali lagi.

"Bagi saya, barisan pemain sudah mempamer aksi terbaik di saingan liga, tetapi keputusan akhirnya tidak memihak kepada kami.

"Sudah tentu kami mengharapkan kemenangan apabila bertemu THT. Kami memang tidak mahu kalah lebih awal.

"Apapun, kami tetap menghormati THT selaku juara bertahan dan saya jangkakan perlawanan pasti sengit," katanya.

Sementara itu, ketua jurulatih Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Muhamad Amin Rahim berharap barisan pemainnya meneruskan rentak cemerlang mereka pada saingan liga di suku akhir bertemu Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) esok.

"Kami akan menganalisis corak permainan lawan dan akan melakukan strategi tertentu apabila bertemu UniKL nanti.

"Pada saya, antara kedua-dua pasukan, siapa yang benar-benar mahukan kemenangan, maka mereka pasti akan menang," katanya.

Piala Tan Sri P Alagendra

Sukuakhir

Esok (30 Ogos 2016)

Politeknik Malaysia lwn SSTMI, 5 ptg
(Stadium Hoki Taman Daya)

THT lwn KLHC, 5.30 ptg
(Stadium Hoki Batu Buruk)

ATM Airodlwn Sapura, 8 mlm
(Stadium Hoki Pantai)

UniKLlwn TNB, 6ptg
(Stadium Hoki Pantai)

Kugan shows the way for Senil Solutions

SENIL Solutions kept up their winning ways by cruising to a 3-0 victory over Gurstick in Division 3B of the TNB-QNET Selangor Hockey League.

Former national team captain Kugan Shammuganathan opened scoring in the 41^st minute via his trademark penalty corner while Mohd Dehya Abdul Halim (58^th) and Keshminder Singh struck with late goals.

The victory catapulted Senil to the top of the standings, edging Good Wood on goal difference. Puchong HC also  kept pace with the group leaders by overcoming Synergy SIA 1-0 over the weekend. Mohd Noor Khairul Azrin Adnan scored the solitary goal in the 46th minute to give his team the full points.

SELAYANG B defeated Highlander Hockey Club 2-1 to keep pace with the leaders in Division 3A.  Mohd Zakry Mohd Yussof scored a brace (15^th and 36^th minutes) for Selayang but  Highlander was duly rewarded with a penalty corner which former international Jayamaran Mayavan put it past goalkeeper Rohayuddin Abdul Rashid. 

Highlander, however, stepped up a gear in the fourth quarter but failed to make any breakthrough as Selayang went on to celebrate victory.

Synergy HC grabbed second spot with a 3-1 win over KIE Hockey in a closely contested match. Synergy's Mohd Hafiz Nasir gave his team the lead via a third minute penalty corner , Sivanesan Nadarajah made it 2-0 from a penalty stroke before Hafiz returned to score his second goal five minutes into the third quarter. 

 KIE‘s only goal came through Ahmad Safar Hassan in the 51^st minute.

 

Results - Division 3A: Highlander HC 1 Selayang B 2; River Blue K Sgor 8 Jalak Lenteng  2; Synergy HC 3 KIE HT 3-1; Gombak Rovers 0 IIUM Mustang 3.

Division 3B: Senil Solutions HC 3 Gursticks 0; Puchong HC 1Synergy SIA 0.

Division 5: Team Sepang 1STAR Klang 5; SM Sains Alam Shah A 0 SM Sains Selangor 14; Pengkalan Permatang HT 27 SM Sains Alam Shah B 0.

TNB put on gallant fightback to snatch late draw

KUALA LUMPUR (28 August, 2016):  Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) left it late before snatching a well deserved 2-2 draw against Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) in their TNB Malaysian Premier Hockey League match at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Association (KLHA) Stadium in Jalan Pantai on Sunday.

It was the second match on the trot, and against weaker and younger opposition, that KLHC dropped points after a 1-1 match against Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) on Friday.

But nothing should be taken away from TNB, as their gallant second half display showed that they have the motivation and drive to battle it out with the best in the league.

In other Premier League matches played, Sapura beat Terengganu Hockey Team 2-0 and Maybank came back from a goal down to beat UniKL 2-1 at KLHA.

The win sees Sapura go top of the league with nine points, KLHC are second with eight points, Maybank are third on six, THT and UniKL have four points each while TNB are bottom with 2 points.

KLHC went ahead through a well taken field goal from Spanish striker Pedro Lopez-Alonso in the fifth minute. The Kuala Lumpur side was running the show in the first half with Pakistan’s Mohd Umar Bhutta and Nabil Fiqri Mohd Noor proving a handful for the TNB midfield and defenders.

TNB's first real chance of the match came in the 21st minute when Arif Sabron broke free in the box, but KLHC goalkeeper Muhd Shafie was quick off his mark to clear the danger.

KLHC then went 2-0 up when South Korean flicker Hyunwoo Nam expertly placed his shot in the top left corner in the 39th minute, his second goal in as many matches.

Muhd Shafie came to KLHC's rescue again, when he left his line early to challenge TNB's Mohd Hafizhuddin Zaidi and cleared the danger.

TNB finally got the goal they deserve in the 53rd minute when Syed Mohd Syafiq Syed Cholan blasted home his penalty corner to the top right of the goal.

Minutes later, TNB had a chance to level the match after some excellent dribbling from Nik Mohd Aiman on the right, but his pass across the goal mouth was cleared by the defence with Muhd Shafie well beaten.

TNB got the goal they deserved for an inspired second half fightback when Muhd Firdaus Omar deflected his shot in from a powerful shot into the box in the final minute of play.

Coach Muhd Amin Rahim was more than pleased with his team's performance, especially as since it follows another strong showing in the 4-4 draw against THT on Friday.

"I am very happy with our performance. Against THT we played very well as well, and that is what is important for us. They are a superior side to us and giving them a run for their money is the most important thing. A win is a bonus, and a draw is like a win for us," said Mohamad Amin.

For KLHC, the result will give coach Muhd Harun Al-Rahid Samri a lot more to ponder as his team failed yet again to take advantage against their rivals, despite taking the lead.

"There is just not enough time to recover between matches as they are very close. We travel to Terengganu tonight and play THT in the Tan Sri Alagendra Cup on Tuesday. After that, I will have time to address this issue.

"Hopefully, when I highlight this problem to the players, they will recognise and understand it.  To me, as long as we give the opponents room to play and not close them down, we are giving them room to get back into the match," added Muhd Harun.

At the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium, Sapura stunned defending champions THT with penalty corner goals from Firhan Ashari in 23^rd minute and Oscar William Wookey in the 30^th minute.

In the late match at Jalan Pantai, UniKL went ahead in the fifth minute through Australian striker Adrian Coster's field goal but Maybank hit back through import flicker Juan Valeriano in the 15th and 41st minute.

Meanwhile, the race for the Division One title moves into top gear with three teams in a neck-to-neck race as the league enters into the final lap of the first round today.

Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) defeated ATM Airod 6-2 on home turf to take over the top spot from TNB Thunderbolt in the standings with 12 points after Thunderbolt were held to a 4-4 draw by Nur Insafi in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

Thunderbolts catapulted to the top of the TNBMHL 2016 Division One challenge on Friday by brushing off Ipoh Municipal Council (MBI) 4-1 but failed to continue the momentum today against Nur Insafi and the one point earned puts them second behind SSTMI.

Politeknik Malaysia also played to a 1-1 draw against Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM-KPT) at the Tun Razak Stadium and amassed 11 points to go third in the chart. At the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium, Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) thrashed Municipal Council (MBI) 7-3 for their first ever win in the league in six matches. BJSS led 4-3 by the third quarter.

ATM Airod opened scoring in the seventh minute against SSTMI through Mohd Szuhairi Kamal before SSTMI struck back with goals from Kamaruddin Kodir Beraheng (15^th and 54^th) and Azhad Akmal (26^th and 28^th) while Mohamad Hanis Saad (35^th) and Zulhamizan Awang Abas (53^rd) scored one apiece. ATM’s second goal came from Mohamad Nain Mohamad Joher in the 36^th minute off a field goal.

TNB Thunderbolt led 4-3 by the fourth quarter until Pakistani Kashif Ali scored a hat-trick to equalize for Nur Insafi in the 52 minute from a penalty corner to share the spoils. He had earlier scored penalty corner goals in the 32^nd and 37^th minutes while Nur Rahull Hriskesa added one (29^th minute), his fourth goal in the league. 

Muhamad Idris Samad scored a brace for Thunderbolt (28^th and 35^th minutes) with Hazzim Amin Hafidz (17^th) and Faiq Razin Zariq (50^th) contributing to towards Thunderbolt’s goals. 

Three Division 1 teams - Politeknik Malaysia, SSTMI and ATM Airod will go into action on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the TNBMHL Knockout tournament for Tan Sri P. Alagendra Cup.

Politeknik Malaysia faces SSTMI at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in Johor Baru and ATM Airod entertains Premier League outfit Sapura Hockey Club at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium in Jalan Pantai. 

Results - Premier League: KLHC 2 TNB 2; Sapura 2 THT 2; UniKL 1 Maybank 2.

Division One: Nur Insafi 4 TNB Thunderbolt 4; ATM Airod 2 SSTMI 6; UiTM-PKT 1 Politeknik Malaysia 1; MPI 3 BJSS 7.

Big guns KLHC, THT settle for draws

Kuala LUMPUR (26 August, 2016):  Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) suffered a setback in their chase for the TNB Malaysian Premier Hockey League crown when they only managed a 1-1 draw against a resilient Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium in Jalan Pantai on Friday.

In other Premier League matches, Sapura Hockey Club (Sapura) beat Maybank 2-1 while Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) played out an exciting 4-4 drawn game.

With two wins so far against defending champions THT in the Charity Shield and a comprehensive 5-2 mauling of Sapura, no one would have bet against KLHC taking all three points from a young UniKL side.

But with the quality of all teams continuously improving in this league, there are no longer sure winners.

KLHC were on the scoreboard just after three minutes from a penalty corner courtesy of South Korean flicker Hyunwoo Nam. KLHC, who remain top of the league, also had a goal disallowed before UniKL equalised in the 51st minute when Pakistani Muhammad Toseeq Muhammad Arshad's put away a penalty corner.

Coach Muhd Harun Al-Rahid Samri was happy with the performance and commitment of his team, but admitted that they can struggle against less fancied opponents.

"When we play against opponents who are not on par with us, we tend to put more pressure on ourselves. My team played well today and they showed the commitment we ask of them, but when we do not knock in the goals, we allow the opponents to pile more pressure on us. We play TNB on Sunday and we cannot allow the same thing to happen again," said Muhd Harun.

UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj was all smiles after his boys put in a good show.

"The two things that made all the difference today is that we came in with confidence and belief. My players were diving and fighting for space throughout the match.

"I told them before the game that it's important to respect your opponent, but do not over respect them. We can't give them too much space, we have to make them fight for everything, space and 50-50 balls.

"This result is a history of sorts for us. We have never drawn a match against them I think. But this match is over now and we have to focus on the next game and fight for three points," added Arul who is looking forward to next match against Maybank on Sunday.

THT opened the scoring through a Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil in the opening minute but TNB were level just a minute later through a Syed Mohamad Syafiq field goal. TNB then scored through Norhizzat Sumantri in the 24th minute to lead 2-1 but Tengku Ahmad equalised from a penalty corner in the 27th minute to make it 2-2.

The score was soon 3-2 in TNB's favour when Muhammad Hafizhuddin scored in the 29th minute only for Muhammad Irfan Aslam to make it 3-3 in the 31st minute.

Syed Mohamad Syafiq put TNB 4-3 up in the 53rd minute but THT's Spanish player Nicolas Enrique Della Torre made it 4-4 in the 57th minute to share the spoils.

In Malacca, Sapura edged Maybank 2-1 thanks to field goals from Joel Samul Van Huizen in the 17th minute and Dangerouslee Anak Mathew in the 37th minute. Maybank pulled one back in the 38th minute through Juan Tuboi.

Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Thunderbolt brushed off Ipoh Municipal Council (MBI) 4-1 and in the process catapulted to the top of the TNBMHL 2016 Division One challenge at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh today.

With two more matches to go before the completion of the first round league matches, Thunderbolts amassed 11 points - one point clear of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM-KPT) at the top of the ladder.

In Kuala Lumpur, UiTM-KPT came back from a goal down to hold Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) to a 1-1 draw at the Tun Razak Stadium.

SSTMI shot ahead in the 22^nd minute through Muhammad Zulhamizan Awang Abas penalty corner before P. Prabahkaran equalised for UiTM-KPT two minutes into the fourth quarter from a field goal.

Politeknik Malaysia also celebrated a 5-0 victory over ATM Airod at the Tun Razak Stadium with a brace from Mohamad Azwadi Ridzuan (23^rd and 57^th minutes) while Mohamad Asyraf Zuhry (30^th), Ikmal Hafiz Zulkifli (41^st) and Mohamad Shazwi Rani added to Airod’s bad day on the pitch.

With this win, Poliklinik goes second in the table standings with 10 points after five  matches while SSTMI dropped to third (9) followed by UiTM-KPT and Nur Insafi (7), Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh (6), ATM Airod (3) and BJSS (2).

Johor-based SSTMI opened their Division One League campaign with a 3-3 draw against TNB Thunderbolt, sent Bukit Jalil Sports School crashing with a 6-0 victory, defeated Ipoh Municipal Council 5-3 and drew with Nur Insafi 2-2 last week. 

Nur Insafi kept their bitter 0-4 defeat behind against Premier League side Sapura Hockey Club in the TNBMHL knockout tournament for the Tan Sri P. Alagendra Cup on Tuesday by carving a narrow 3-2 win over Bukit Jalil Sports School in a Division One match at Sungai Petani.

It was BJSS who took a 2-0 lead with goals from Ahmad Fauzan Ahmad Johari (38^th) and Abdul Syafiq Abdul Razak (39^th) but Nur Insafi celebrated victory with field goals a brace from Tuan Abdul Walid (42^nd, 52^nd) and Jamil Johari Ghazali’s penalty corner eight minutes before the end.

Results - Premier League – TNB 4 THT 4; Sapura 2 Maybank 1; UniKL 1 KLHC 1.

Division One: Nur Insafi 3 BJSS 2; UiTM-KPT 1 SSTMI 1; ATM Airod 0 Politeknik Malaysia 5; Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh 1 TNB Thunderbolt 4.

Fixtures – Sunday (28 Aug): Nur Insafi v TNB Thunderbolt (Sg Petani, 5.30pm); ATM Airod v SSTMI (Stadium Tun Abdul Razak, 6.0pm); UiTM-PKT v Politeknik Malaysia (Tun Razak Stadium, 8.0pm); MPI v BJSS (Stadium Sultan Azlan Shah, 8.0pm).

TNB tekad bangkit

Kuala Lumpur (25 Ogos 2016): Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) mahu bangkit daripada dua kekalahan berturut-turut di saingan Liga Premier, TNB Liga Hoki Malaysia (LHM) apabila turun pada perlawanan ketiga bertemu Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) di Stadium Hoki Pantai, esok.

Ketua jurulatih TNB Muhamad Amin Rahim berkata, dua kekalahan awal iaitu 3-4 kepada Maybank dan 0-1 di tangan Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) jelas menjejaskan motivasi barisan pemainnya.

Namun kemenangan besar 11-0 ke atas UiTM-KPT pada pusingan kalah mati Piala Tan Sri P Alagendra, Selasa lalu mengembalikan semula keyakinan barisan pemainnya untuk berdepan THT.

"Dua kekalahan awal itu bukan disebabkan pemain tidak bermain dengan bagus. Cuma gol yang diperolehi lawan itu adalah daripada kesilapan kami sendiri.

"Walaupun barisan pemain TNB rata-ratanya masih muda, saya dapat lihat mereka mampu bersaing dengan pasukan elit lain.

"Kami perlu realistik dan tidak boleh terlalu yakin apabila bertemu THT. Sudah tentu kami mahu mempamerkan aksi terbaik," katanya.

Sementara itu, UniKL pula bakal bertemu Kelab Hoki Kuala Lumpur (KLHC) pada satu lagi perlawanan esok di Stadium Hoki Pantai.

Ketua jurulatih UniKL Arul Selvaraj berkata, di atas kertas KLHC sememangnya pasukan pilihan untuk memenangi perlawanan itu.

"Jika kami dapat meraih keputusan seri dengan mereka itu sudah satu kejayaan.
"Kami perlu memperkemaskan rentak permainan terutama di bahagian tengah kerana lawan mempunyai barisan pemain berkualiti.

"Kami juga perlu mengelak daripada memberi pukulan sudut penalti kepada lawan kerana mereka cukup bagus untuk menjaringkan gol menerusi gerakan itu," katanya.

TNB Liga Hoki Malaysia

Liga Premier

Esok (26 Ogos 2016)

Maybank lwn Sapura, 6 ptg
(Stadium MBMB)

UniKLlwn KLHC, 6 ptg
(Stadium Hoki Pantai)

TNB lwn THT, 8 mlm
(Stadium Hoki Pantai)

Make or break for THT and KLHC in quarterfinals

Kuala Lumpur (24 August, 2016):It will be the end of the road for either Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) or Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) in the TNBMHL 2016 Knockout Tournament with the two heavyweights drawn for an early showdown in the quarterfinals for the Tan Sri P. Alagendra Cup.
 

Terengganu Hockey Team and Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club will be embroiled in another pulsating encounter at the Batu Buruk Hockey Stadium in Kuala Terengganu on August 30 when the draw for the quarterfinals was held today at the Malaysian Hockey Confederation office at the Tun Razak Stadium.

As for THT, it will be an early opportunity to erase the 1-2 defeat inflicted by KLHC in the season opener TNBMHL 2016 Charity Shield match played on August 19 at the same venue. Both teams received byes in the first round.

“We are fated to meet KLHC. That’s the luck of the draw. We lost at home in the Charity Shield match and hopefully we can make amends to get a better result. This is a great opportunity early on,” said THT head coach Sarjit Singh.

KLHC team manager, Ahmad Anuar Sham Kamar, however, believes the early clash with THT would pump up the adrenaline among the players and go for a second straight win against their arch nemesis.

“THT is a very strong Premier League side and playing them on their own turf has never been easy. It is going to be a very challenging and tense match. Although we received a bye in the first round we knew all along that the quarterfinals are going to be tough and here we are faced to play THT,” said Ahmad Anuar after the draw was concluded.

“We hope to carry on our momentum. There is going to be a lot of pressure on both teams to win and expectations are going to be very high,” he added.

Another all-Premier League team’s quarterfinals clash will be between Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Universiti Kuala Lumpur. TNB pulverized Universiti Teknologi MARA 11-0 in the first round on Tuesday while UniKL showed Maybank the exit with a Najmi Farizal Jazlan 11^th minute penalty corner goal. 

Sapura Hockey Club has been drawn to meet ATM Airod at the Tun Razak Stadium while Politeknik Malaysia goes into a quarterfinals showdown with Johor-based Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium. SSTMI mesmerised Bukit Jalil Sports School 7-0 in the first round.

Quarterfinals (30 August, 2016):Terengganu Hockey Team v Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (Stadium Hoki Batu Buruk, Kuala Terengganu, 5.30pm)); Politeknik Malaysia v SSTMI (Stadium Taman Daya, Johor Baru, 6.00pm)); Sapura Hockey Club v ATM Airod (Stadium Tun Razak, 6.00pm); Universiti Kuala Lumpur v Tenaga Nasional Berhad (KLHA Stadium, 6.00pm).