Tenaga overpowered

10/08/2002

Tenaga .............. 1 Malaysia SS ..... 3
MALAYSIA Sports School did the unexpected when they beat Tenaga Nasional
Bhd 3-1 in the second leg of the semifinals to qualify for the final of
the MHF-Milo-Admiral-NSC Junior League at the Tun Razak Hockey Stadium in
Kuala Lumpur yesterday. They won 5-2 on aggregate.
Malaysia SS went into the match with a one-goal cushion from the first
leg and slayed Tenaga, who looked like lost lambs without their star
players Riduan Nasir and Azlan Misron who are with the national team in
South Korea.
Malaysia SS will now meet Telekom Pahang in the final tomorrow at the
National Hockey Stadium at 8pm.
Tenaga tried their level best to get back into the match but Malaysia
Sports School goalkeeper Ahmad Bazli Razali was in sterling form, warding
off a wave of attacks in the first 10 minutes of the match.
As the minutes ticked away, Tenaga became more desperate and pushed
everyone upfront in search of the equaliser.
Malaysia SS, who were pinned in their own semicircle for a good 15
minutes, broke free in the 25th minute.
Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin won Malaysia SS a penalty corner and Mohamed Nor
Affazly hammered it in past Tenaga goalkeeper Khairul Nizam, doubling
Tenaga's task and misery.
Tenaga continued to pile up the pressure, leaving huge gaps in their
defence.
Three minutes before the breather, Tengku Ahmad nailed Tenaga with a
beautiful goal after dribbling through several defenders.
In the second half, it was the sport school's turn to be the aggressors,
culminating in a third goal through Mohamed Fauzi Ibrahim in the 65th.
Two minutes later, Jivan Mohan pulled one back for Tenaga but it was too
little too late for the defending champions.
"We went in as the underdogs but my boys displayed great fighting spirit
in both the semifinals and they deserve the victory. I told them to play
an attacking game but Tenaga pinned us back for long periods forcing us to
rely on counter-attacks. But it has worked well for us today," said
Malaysia SS coach V. Muraleedharan.
"Now we have one day to plan for the final against Telekom Pahang and I
am confident my boys will go all out to lift the Overall title," said
Muraleedharan.
(END)