Tenaga edge Sapura

Tenaga Nasional were stretched to the limit by Sapura before registering a 1-0 win in a Premier Division of the TNB Malaysian Hockey League match at the National Hockey Stadium.
   And at the Sultan Azlan shah Stadium, Maybank came back from a goal down to register a 6-2 win over Nur Insafi Perak.
    It was a vital win for TNB as they will be up against defending champions KL Hockey Club in their final round one match and cannot afford to drop points as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Maybank in the opening match.
   TNB were awarded a penalty corner in the 4th minute but the attempt by Faisal Saari was well padded away by Sapura custodian Khairulnizam Ibrahim.
   The flamboyant Faisal was not in his usual self, perhaps affected by the close marking of Jivan Mohan and his strike partner Mohd Firhan Ashaari also could not get the better of Jiwa Mohan.
   With the kep players shackled, Sapura made many forays into the TNB half and Mohd Sallehin Abdul Ghani was instrumental in keeping them at bay with his timely tackles, ably supported by Mohd Madzli Ikmar.
   TNB were awarded a second penalty corner in the 27th minute and this time Faisal opted to go low but Khairulizwan showed quick reflexes to turn the ball past the upright.
  Sapura were unfortunate not to have taken the lead in the 31st minute as Lee Jun Soon's shot was half parried away by TNB keeper s.Kumar and the rebound fell to Mohd marhan Jalil, but he shot wide with the goal gaping.
   Two minutes later it was Harmesh Singh who squandered a chance as the ball fell to him in the semi circle, but he shot straight into Kumar instead of sidestepping the keeper.
  Nine minutes into the second half TNB broke the deadlock through Mohd Firhan Ashaari and that forced Sapura to ditch defending and come out and play. It alllowed Faisal more space but he was not scoring despite presented with opporunities.
   Sapura were awarded two penalty corners in the 68th and 69th minutes but Kumar denied them on both occassions.
  Meanwhile all the Maybank foreign players were on the scoresheet against Nur Insafi Perak.
   It was however Nur Insafi Perak that took the lead in the 18th minute via a penalty corner converted by Nur Hrsikesa Thaitchana Murthi. Muhammad Irfan then scored two consecutive penalty corners in the 27th and 32nd minute to give Maybank a 2-1 lead going into halftime.
  Shakeel Abbasi made it 3-1 in the 52nd minute but Waseem Ahmad reduced the deficit for Nur Insafi Perak in the very next minute.
  But Maybank were not about this win slip away and added another three goals through the efforts of Muhammad Waqas (58th and 70th minutes) and Hairul Nizam Abdul Rani ( 65th minute) for their first win of the season and moved to fourth in the table.