FAVOURITES Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (PJMC) are almost through to
the semifinals when they outclassed DeTas of Pahang 5-1 in a first-leg
quarterfinal tie in the Malaysia Hockey League overall championship at the
Petaling Jaya Stadium yesterday.
PJMC opened accounts in the sixth minute through Zainal Ariffin Idris
from a goalmouth melee.
M. Kaliswaran stretched the lead in the 20th minute, capitalising on a
defensive error.
S. Kuhan brought his personal tally to 16 when he executed a revese
stick shot in the 23rd minute.
DeTas looked like they were going to make a comeback when play resumed
after the breather. But that hope lasted only for a few minutes during
which time they narrowed the score to 3-1.
Skipper Lim Chiow Chuan was stick-checked by Maninderjit Singh in the
41st minute and umpire V. Sasidharan pointed to the spot. Lim was on
target.
PJMC regained their grip on the game and Zainal was on target again in
the 46th minute and national forward Mirnawan Nawawi made it 5-1.
PJMC coach Yahya Atan said that it was teamwork which won the game for
them. "I had a game plan and the players played to it," he said.
In the other quarterfinal first-leg match at the Bukit Jalil Hockey
Stadium, Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad (BBMB) walked away with a one-goal
advantage over Pos Malaysia.
Pos Malaysia started aggressively and dominated the match until the 20th
minute with Lee Sien Lam and Balbir Singh keeping BBMB goalkeeper Sarabjit
Singh on his toes.
A one-two in the 21th minute by Lee and Balbir saw Lee's shot just going
over the crossbar
In an immediate counter attack, BBMB's Mohamed Fazli sent a long ball to
an unmarked Atul Kumar who pushed between the pads of an onrushing Nasihin
Nubli for the lead.
Shocked by the goal, Pos Malaysia started defending and the combination
of Atul and Guna Bawan made some fine moves.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Lee took a free hit from the top
of the semicircle and found an unmarked Balbir. The veteran hammered home
on the reverse for the equaliser.
BBMB, who were knocked out of the quarterfinals last year, had the last
say when Atul's pass was neatly deflected home by Guna Bawan seven minutes
before time.
Today: Tenaga Nasional v Maybank (6.0, Bukit Jalil Stadium); Bank
Simpanan Nasional v Kuala Langat (8.0, Bukit Jalil Stadium).
the semifinals when they outclassed DeTas of Pahang 5-1 in a first-leg
quarterfinal tie in the Malaysia Hockey League overall championship at the
Petaling Jaya Stadium yesterday.
PJMC opened accounts in the sixth minute through Zainal Ariffin Idris
from a goalmouth melee.
M. Kaliswaran stretched the lead in the 20th minute, capitalising on a
defensive error.
S. Kuhan brought his personal tally to 16 when he executed a revese
stick shot in the 23rd minute.
DeTas looked like they were going to make a comeback when play resumed
after the breather. But that hope lasted only for a few minutes during
which time they narrowed the score to 3-1.
Skipper Lim Chiow Chuan was stick-checked by Maninderjit Singh in the
41st minute and umpire V. Sasidharan pointed to the spot. Lim was on
target.
PJMC regained their grip on the game and Zainal was on target again in
the 46th minute and national forward Mirnawan Nawawi made it 5-1.
PJMC coach Yahya Atan said that it was teamwork which won the game for
them. "I had a game plan and the players played to it," he said.
In the other quarterfinal first-leg match at the Bukit Jalil Hockey
Stadium, Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad (BBMB) walked away with a one-goal
advantage over Pos Malaysia.
Pos Malaysia started aggressively and dominated the match until the 20th
minute with Lee Sien Lam and Balbir Singh keeping BBMB goalkeeper Sarabjit
Singh on his toes.
A one-two in the 21th minute by Lee and Balbir saw Lee's shot just going
over the crossbar
In an immediate counter attack, BBMB's Mohamed Fazli sent a long ball to
an unmarked Atul Kumar who pushed between the pads of an onrushing Nasihin
Nubli for the lead.
Shocked by the goal, Pos Malaysia started defending and the combination
of Atul and Guna Bawan made some fine moves.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Lee took a free hit from the top
of the semicircle and found an unmarked Balbir. The veteran hammered home
on the reverse for the equaliser.
BBMB, who were knocked out of the quarterfinals last year, had the last
say when Atul's pass was neatly deflected home by Guna Bawan seven minutes
before time.
Today: Tenaga Nasional v Maybank (6.0, Bukit Jalil Stadium); Bank
Simpanan Nasional v Kuala Langat (8.0, Bukit Jalil Stadium).
