Sunday, September 25, 2011

Eight is Enough for KLHC

Pic: Chua Boon Huat being congratulated by KLHC players after he scored.

UNIKL turned the tables on favourites Tenaga Nasional, when they held them to a 3-3 draw with a last gasp equaliser in the Premier Division of the TNB-Malaysia Hockey League at the National Stadium yesterday.
In another match, double champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) hammered the daylights out of Yayasan Negri Sembilan (YNS) with and eight-goal fest.
The Universiti side, parading Project 2013 players, were expected to receive a hiding from Tenaga, but they proved to be resilient.
At one point, UniKL were leading 2-0, but inexperience saw them collapse.
The UniKL goals were scored by Noor Faeez Ibrahim (ninth, 70th), Hafiz Zainal (25th).
Amin Rahim (26th) and Faisal Saari (48th, 69th) scored the Tenaga goals.
"It was a match that we should have won but inexperience let us down. However, on the overall, I am happy with the spirit shown by my players. They did not give up until the final whistle," said UniKL manager Amir Azhar.
UniKL could have sealed the match, but let in some easy goals.
"We let in soft goals and need to work towards tightening our defense. Getting them to play consistently throughout the match seems to be our biggest challenge but given the fact that they are showing marked improvement in every match is a positive sign.
"I rather look at it as a point gained then two lost, as we were not given much of a chance before the match. And my players raised their game to match one of the favourites."
As for Maybank, who laboured for a slim 2-1 win, coach Wallace Tam said: "It was crucial to win this match as the three points are important. We lost the first two by a close margin and played well only to lose. This time around we did not play well but won, so really I cannot complain."
RESULTS: Premier League -- Maybank 2 Armed Forces Airod 1, Nur Insafi 2 UiTM 1, UniKL 3 TNB 3, YNS 0 KL Hockey Club 8.
Div One: BJSS 2 SSTMI-Thunderbolt 3, UNIMAP 2 Ipoh City Hall 3.

RUGBY SEVENS: Japan the best, Malaysia sixth

By Jugjet Singh

MALAYSIA'S campaign in the Borneo Sevens came to a stuttering halt when they lost to the Philippines in the quarter-finals at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.
And after that, they rolled further downhill when they were beaten 19-0 by Taiwan and ended sixth at their own back-yard, and said good bye to the Rugby Sevens World Cup ticket.
For the record, Malaysia had beaten Taiwan 17-0 in their Group B match.
The Malaysian women had a worse day in office in the Asia Pacific Women's Sevens, when they ended last after failing to score a single point in all their matches.
Japan lifted the Cup after thrashing Philippines 46-0 to become the best in the region.
Malaysian men's coach Coach Wan Ibrahim Wan Chik attributed the downhill slide, after starting with two wins, to injuries and lack of exposure.
"We started off well by beating Brunei and Taiwan, but after that, injuries crept into the team and we lost three back-line players by the time we played Taiwan again.
"Also, seven out of 12 players are 18-years-old, and they lack experience, while the seniors lacked fitness in the quarter-fnals," said Wan Ibrahim.
The coach feels his charges should play more often against foreign sides: "Hockey and foootball players regularly play overseas and are fast improving, while rugby players hardly get to play out of the country.
"In Malaysia, these are the best we have, but they are not good enough to play against teams in this region. We need to arrest this problem fast," said Wan Ibrahim.
TODAY: Men (Quarter-finals) -- Malaysia 14 Philippines 28, China 31 UAE 10, Hong Kong 36 Taiwan 0, Japan 36 South Korea 0.
Cup Semi-finals: China 17 Philippines 19, Hong Kong 12 Japan 15.
Cup Final: Philippines 0 Japan 46; Third-Fourth: China 14 Hong Kong 34.
Plate Semi-finals: Malaysia 40 UAE 5, Taiwan 24 South Korea 2.
Plate Final (Fifth-Sixth): Malaysia 0 Taiwan 19; Seventh-Eighth: UAE 17 South Korea 12.
Bowl Semi-finals: Thailand 19 Sri Lanka 26, Brunei 0 Kazakhstan 26.
Bowl Final (ninth-10th): Sri Lanka 26 Kazakhstan 17; 11th-12th: Thailand 31 Brunei 3.
Women: Final: Papua New Guinea 24 China 10; Third-Fourth: Sri Lanka 17 Kazakhstan 5; Fifth-Sixth: Cook Islands 5 Singapore 7; Seventh-Eighth: Malaysia 0 Tonga 42.

The Oceania Olympic Qualifier Show..

Official Qualification Tournament for the Olympic Games

Oceania Cup 2011

Hobart 6-9 October

Tasmanian Hockey Centre

The Oceania Cup 2011 will see Australia and New Zealand compete for the two available Oceania spots in the 2012 London Olympic Games. With Fiji men and women pulling out of the Oceania Cup 2011, both Australia and New Zealand have secured their spot in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Tickets are now on Sale - head to www.centertainment.com.au

Official Qualification Tournament for the Olympic Games

Oceania Cup 2011

Hobart 6-9 October

Tasmanian Hockey Centre

The Oceania Cup 2011 will see Australia and New Zealand compete for the two available Oceania spots in the 2012 London Olympic Games. With Fiji men and women pulling out of the Oceania Cup 2011, both Australia and New Zealand have secured their spot in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Tickets are now on Sale - head to www.centertainment.com.au

Men's Competition

Kookaburras

The number one ranked team in the world will be looking to secure a spot in their 14th consecutive Olympic Games. The Oceania Cup matches will be a good lead-up into a busy latter part of the year; including the International Super series in October and Champions Trophy in December.

New Zealand Black Sticks

The 7th ranked nation in the world will be aiming to qualify for the Olympic Games, as well as get serious match practice against the highly ranked Kookaburras. Their form has been good after finishing 4th at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in May.

Women's Competition

Hockeyroos

The Hockeyroos are the 2nd ranked Oceania team and currently ranked 7th in the world. They will be hoping to improve on their recent good form against Argentina in April. The players should be fit and firing after a solid year of competition including: Argentina Series, AHL, 4 Nations Invitational, Netherlands Series, and The Champions Trophy.

New Zealand Black Sticks

The Black Sticks are currently one world ranking ahead of the Hockeyroos and subsequently the number one ranked Oceania team. The Black Sticks have been in very good form in 2011 with series victories over Korea & Japan, and a drawn series with top ranked Argentina.

Match Fixture

The order of play is based on world rankings.
Men: 1-Australia, 2- New Zealand
Women: 1-New Zealand, 2-Australia

Thursday 6th October 2011




New Zealand v Australia

Men

2 v 1

5.30pm

Australia v New Zealand

Women

2 v 1

7.30pm

Friday 7th October 2011

Rest Day



Saturday 8th October 2011




New Zealand v Australia

Women

2 v 1

1.00pm

Australia v New Zealand

Men

2 v 1

3.00pm

Sunday 9th October 2011




Australia v New Zealand

Women

2 v 1

1.00pm

New Zealand v Australia

Men

2 v 1

3.30pm

http://www.hockey.org.au/index.php?id=517

Overconfidence can kill

TNB’s Faizal Saari and YNS goalkeeper Nasir Ahmed face-off on Friday. TNB won 3-0. — Picture by Fariz Iswadi Ismail.

TENAGA Nasional Berhad (TNB) coach Lailin Abu Hassan has warned his players not to be overconfident when they face UniKL in today's TNB-MHL Premier Division match at the National Hockey Stadium.
TNB are hoping to finally hit peak form following unconvincing wins of late while UniKL want to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to Sapura on Friday.
Lailin hopes his team will finally show their true colours today.
"UniKL are a fit team with many talented players. We cannot take them lightly as they are energetic," said Lailin yesterday.
"I will likely make some tactical changes to counter UniKL's fast pace style of play."
UniKL manager Amir Azhar Ibrahim said his team need to work on their composure to win matches.
"We led for 64 minutes against Sapura before they hit back with two quick goals.
"It was a waste as my boys controlled almost the entire match. I do not want this to happen again," said Amir.
On today's match, he said his side must play a tight game to contain TNB.
"We cannot afford to play an open game as TNB are an experienced side," added Amir.