Sapura need to buck up, quick

By Ajitpal Singh

LAST year's finalists Sapura have hit a bad patch, and this coming at the wrong time in the TNB Cup.
Sapura made life difficult for themselves with mediocre performances against Nur Insafi in both the quarter-final legs but they still had enough firepower to edge the Penang side 3-2 on aggregate.
Coach I. Vikneswaran must now work on improving his team ahead of the first leg semi-final against Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) on Wednesday.
"Our performances in both legs of the quarter-finals were collectively our worst performance in the league. We did not produce our true ability. It has come at the wrong time... we need to find solutions," said Vikneswaran.
"The league is tough and some of my players, especially the older ones who have minor injuries, are finding it tough to recover after each match."
Among Sapura's injured players are national player Azreen Rizal Nasir, who has missed six matches due to a hamstring tear and Craig Joseph Fernandez.
Sapura were also without former international S. Kuhan in their 2-0 second leg win over Nur Insafi as he was suspended for a red card in the first leg.
Vikneswaran hopes Kuhan will not be penalised further as he needs the penalty corner specialist for Wednesday's semi-final first leg match.
"Kuhan has served a mandatory one-match suspension but he could be suspended for a few more matches."
MHF technical committee chairman Hashim Mohd Yusoff said his committee will decide on Kuhan's fate today.
On the semi-finals, Vikneswaran said TNB hold a slight edge over his team.
"We lost 2-0 to them in the league but of course it is a different ball-game in the semi-finals, but from our performance in the quarters, TNB hold advantage.
"My mission is to get my players play good hockey once again. I am confident they will get their act together in the semi-finals," he added.
The other semi-final pits defending champions Kuala Lumpur HC against former champions Maybank.