Tigers set to roar

11/08/2003

JBCC.....................2 Royal M'sian Customs................4
BSN......................2 Pahang Sports Council...............1
TENAGA Nasional Bhd have the luxury of fielding their reserves against
Maybank in the last league match of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) at
the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium today.
Tenaga have safely defended their league title as Maybank will have to
beat them by a whopping 23-goal margin today to deny them, but that does
not mean the Lions are going sit back and watch the match from the
sidelines as at stake is the second spot which comes with a purse of
RM10,000.
Yesterday, defending Overall champions Bank Simpanan Nasional beat a
grity Pahang Sports Council 2-1 to finish sixth on the standings and will
meet the third placed team which might be either Ernst & Young or Sapura.
Bank Simpanan Nasional have been struggling in the MHL as their Pakistan
import Syed Imaran has not been up to the mark, unlike the previous season
where they had goal machines Sohail Abbas and Kashif Jawad from Pakistan
to take them the distance.
BSN scored off a Faizal Maadun field goal in the 16th minute and just
before the half-time break, Syed Imran scored off a penalty corner but in
the second half, BSN struggled to hold back an attacking Pahang and were
lucky to be let off the hook as only Harjeet Singh was on target in the
56th minute to rteduce the deficit.
At the Johor Baru Stadium, Royal Malaysian Customs beat Johor Baru City
Council 4-2 to finish fifth in their maiden outing in the MHL.
Tenaga coach K. Rajan aims to make it very difficult for Maybabnk: esterdayWe
have virtually defended out league title, so now, I will be planning to
keep our unbeaten record intact.
"We have won nine matches and drawn one, so the boys will be all out to
keep a clean slate entering into the quarter-finals as a morale boost,"
said Rajan.
The quarter-finals kick-of on Aug 29, and eighth-placed Pahang Sports
Council can expect to be kicked around by league champions Tenaga in the
curtain raiser.
TODAY: Tenaga Nasional v Maybank (Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium, 5.15pm);
Dolphins v Royal Malay Regiment (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5.15pm).
(END)