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KLHC's Chua Boon Huat and Tenaga Nasional's Madzli Ikmar (right) in action in the TNB Cup final.
KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) won both the titles at stake in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL), while Tenaga Nasional the accolades and praises.
Both side are now joint record holders with 12 MHL titles each, with Tenaga having seven Overall and five League titles, while KLHC four Overall and eight League titles.
Tenaga, an-all local outfit, surprised the pundits as they were the only Premier Division side which forced KLHC to share points in a thrilling 3-3 draw.
And they defeat in the final was also a narrow 2-1, considering KLHC had nine players who had either played at the World Cup or Olympics level.
Sapura, Maybank and Nur Insafi also had six foreign players or more each, but Tenaga still manged a laudable second in Overall and third in the League.
“We see it as our responsibility to the nation. If all the teams start to rely on foreign players, who is going to give budding youth and also the local players a chance in the MHL?
“Even though we might lose a little in the early years, but once our young players become comfortable playing in the MHL, the results will follow suit,” said Tenaga manager Nor Saiful Zaini.
Nor Saiful, a former national skipper, has held onto many MHL titles since the Kilat days.
However, Nor Saiful agreed that if he faced an exodus of players the next season to a rich team, he might have to source for foreign players like KLHC.
“The feeling is like watching ‘Batman Returns” as when six of my players left for Terengganu, I had to scramble around looking for players,” lamented KLHC manager and pillar George Koshy after the final on Sunday.
Soaked in sweat, like his players, relief was painted all over the face of the most successful manager in the MHL.
“When six players left us because of better offers (to Terengganu HC), many had written us off for the season. And frankly speaking, even I was a little apprehensive. And after we won the League title, I did not expect my players to win the Overall title as well because my foreign players hardly had enough time to setle down before the first match,” said George.
George picked his players during the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, and his Pakistan and Australian signing proved that they are a class above the rest of the foreign signings in the MHL.
As for the MHL itself, there was no new exciting talent that was spotted in both the divisions, and teams might have to rely on foreign players for at least another five years before there would be enough local juniors to fill their shoes.
Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin showed up for the TNB Cup final, a first for a sports minister, and the grandstand was fileld to the brim for the first time this season.
In all the previous matches, hardly any Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) officials bothered to watch.
MALAYSIA wuill open accounts against Pakistan in the World League Semi-finals in Johor Baru on June 29 to July 10.
The other teams in Malaysia’s group are England and South Africa.
In Group A are world no 1 Germany, South Korea, Argentina and a yet to be named team, will be confirmed after the end of the Round 2 which will be held in Russia next week.
Japan and Russia are the early favourites, to battle for the last lot in Johor Baru.
National coach Paul Revington said: “Even though the group stage will only be a warm-up, every match will be approached with a winning mentality, as we want to qualify for the World Cup in Johor Baru and not wait for the Asia Cup (In Ipoh, Aug 24 to Sept 1).”
All eight teams progress to the quarter-finals stage, and one win at the last eight will take Malaysia into the World Cup in the Netherlands next year.
And if they fail, the Ipoh tournament will be their final chance to make the World Cup, which Malaysia last hosted and played in 2002.
Teams
Pool A -- Pool B
Germany -- England
Korea -- Pakistan
Argentina -- South Africa
Team X -- Malaysia
Match Schedule
Date Match # Time Pool Match
Saturday 29 June 2013
1 15.00 A Germany v Argentina
2 17.00 A Korea v Team X
3 19.00 B Pakistan v Malaysia
4 21.00 B England v South Africa
Sunday 30 2013
5 15.00 A Argentina v Team X
6 17.00 A Korea v Germany
7 19.00 B Pakistan v England
8 21.00 B South Africa v Malaysia
Monday 1 July 2013 Rest Day
Tuesday 2 July 2013
9 15.00 A Germany v Team X
10 17.00 A Argentina v Korea
11 19.00 B England v Malaysia
12 21.00 B South Africa v Pakistan
Wednesday 3 July 2013 Rest Day
Thursday 4 July 2013
13 14.45 QF1 1st Pool A v 4th Pool B
14 17.00 QF1 2nd Pool B v 3rd Pool A
15 19.15 QF1 2nd Pool A v 3rd Pool B
16 21.30 QF1 1st Pool B v 4th Pool A
Friday 5 July 2013 Rest Day
Saturday 6 July 2013 17 14.45 5 / 82 Loser Match 13 v Loser Match 14
18 17.00 5 / 82 Loser Match 15 v Loser Match 16
19 19.15 SF2 Winner Match 13 v Winner Match 14
20 21.30 SF2 Winner Match 15 v Winner Match 16
Sunday 7 July 2013 21 14.45 7 / 8 Loser Match 17 v Loser Match 18
22 17.00 5 / 6 Winner Match 17 v Winner Match 18
23 19.15 3 / 4 Loser Match 19 v Loser Match 20
24 21.30 1 / 2 Winner Match 19 v Winner Match 20
KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) beat Tenaga Nasional 2-1 in the TNB Cup
to take their title tally to a tied 12th with TNB, with a cool third consecutive double in
the Malaysia Hockey League.
Watched by more than 2,000 fans, the
final did not disappoint as there was plenty of action, but Tenaga
Nasional were guilty of defending in the second hald and paid the price.
For the record, this was the third consecutive time that KLHC had humbled Tenaga in the TNB Cup final.
It was a super start to the finale, as Tenaga Nasional grabbed an early lead, only to see KLHC quick on the equaliser.
Amir Farid dribbled three players, then whacked the lead past
goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin in the eighth minute to send Tenaga
supporters into a frenzy.
However, the lead only lasted for 12 minutes, as KLHC scored the equaliser off their first penalty corner in the 20th minute.
Razie Rahim, instead of a direct flick, set up Syamim Yusof to tap in and take KLHC on level terms again.
The drama continued in the 24th minute, when Tenaga's Faizal Saari made
a darting run when he saw an opening, only to be shoved to the ground
by KLHC's Pakistan import Fareed Ahmed and a penalty stroke was awarded
by umpire K. Ilanggo.
However Faizal, who has scored 17 goals in
the tournament, missed the chance to take his tally to 18 and equal
thournament top scorer Kashif Ali from Sapura who has 18.
After the breather, Tenaga were a jaded side, while KLHC won five more penalty corners but bungled them all.
However, their fortunes changed in the sixth penalty corner in the 64th
minute, when Razie's attempt hit Madzli Ikmar's foot and the umpire
blew for a penalty stroke.
Pakistan import Muhammad Imran stepped up to the spot, and flicked to the left of Tenaga goalkeeper S. Kumar for a 2-1 lead.
Tenaga Nasional never won a single penalty corner in 70 minutes, and
when the final whistle blew, they went down to KLHC by a solitary goal.
In the President's Cup final, it was heartbreak for League champions
UitM, as they came back to draw 2-2 with TNB Thunderbolts, after being
down 0-2, to take the match into extra-time and then a penalty
shoot-out.
But the day belonged to Thuderbolts, who prevailed 3-1 in the shoot-out.
RESULTS (Finals): President’s Cup -- UiTM 2 TNB Thunderbolts 2
(Thunderbolts win 3-1 on shoot-out); TNB Cup -- Kuala Lumpur HC 2
Tenaga Nasional 1.
ROLL OF HONOUR
TNB CUP
Champion
-- Champions: KLHC (RM70,000); Runner-up: Tenaga Nasional (RM50,000);
Third: Sapura (RM40,000); Fourth: Maybank (RM30,000).
PRESIDENT'S CUP
Champions
-- TNB Thunderbolts (RM25,000); Runner-up: UiTM (RM25,000); Third:
Sunday 2030 (RM10,000); Fourth: Ipoh City Council (RM5,000).
TNB CUP (Special Awards)
Best Player: Razie Rahim (KHLC, RM2,000)
Most Outstanding Player: Muhammd Imran (KLHC, RM2,000)
Best Goalkeeper: Roslan Jamaluddin (KLHC, RM2000)
Top-Scorer: Kashif Ali (Sapura, 17 goals, RM2000)
Fairplay: Nur Insafi (RM4,000)
