Arul and his men wary of THT den..

DOUBLE champions Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) will be out to make amends when they meet Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) in the half-way mark of the Premier Division Friday.
  THT have had a bad run in the Malaysia Hockey League as after four matches, they only have four points to show. 
  UniKL also have four points.
  "We need to have a good result going into the return-leg, as my players failed to score off the numerous chances they received in the last four matches.
  "Our sharpness in the League, in penalty corners and field attempts, has been blunt thus far and I believe we will have a better run tomorrow (today)," said THT coach Sarjit Singh.
  UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj likened it as 'going into the lions den'.
  "Playing at Batu Buruk (THT's home) is an intimidating task for any team and its like walking into the lion's den as they are a class above us.
  "We will have to play smart and not open ourselves at the back as they have players who can punish on counter," said Arul.
  UniKL have suffered two successive defeats in the past week, losing 2-1 to Maybank in the League and 2-3 to Tenaga Nasional in the Tan Sri P. Alagendra Cup.
  The semi-finals draw for the Alagendra Cup was held yesterday, and THT will square off against Tenaga while Sapura will play SSTMI.
  "We need to focus on the UniKL match first and then only the Alagendra Cup on Tuesday. However, Tenaga are no pushovers and I expect another tiring time in the Cup against them," said Sarjit.
  In the League THT were held 4-4 by Tenaga.
  Sapura are expected to walk into the Alagendra Cup final as they play a Division One outfit.
  FRIDAY -- Premier Division: Terengganu HT v UniKL (Batu Buruk, 5.30pm), Tenaga Nasional v Sapura HC (KLHA, 6pm), Maybank v Kuala Lumpur HC (Malacca, 8pm).
  ALAGANDRA CUP Semi-finals: Sept 6: Tenaga Nasional v Terengganu HT (KLHA,6pm), SSTMI v Sapura (SSTMI, 6pm).


PREMIER DIVISION

            P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts

SAPURA      4  3  0  1  9  6  9
KLHC        4  2  2  0  10 6  8
MAYBANK     4  2  0  2  8  11 6
THT         4  1  1  2  10 9  4
UNIKL       4  1  1  2  3  6  4
TENAGA      4  0  2  2  9  11 2

Alagendra Cup: THT survive KLHC charge

TERENGGANU Hockey Team (THT) edged Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club 3-2 in the quarter-finals of the Tan Sri P. Alagendra Cup at the Batu Buruk Stadium in Terengganu Tuesday.
    In the other quarters, Tenaga Nasional beat UniKL 3-2, SSTMI beat Politeknik 3-0 in shootout after the game ended 1-1 and Sapura hammered ATM Airod 7-0.
    Another open draw would be held on Thursday to pair the semi-finalists.
   "We did not do anything different from our previous matches, only that we took the chances much better this time. The game was very close and could have gone either way, as the winner was scored late in the match," said THT coach Sarjit Singh whose side has had a bad run in the League so far.
   THT took a 2-0 lead by the 39th minute before KLHC clawed back to level the score. The THT winner was scored by Jang Jung Hyun in the 56th minute off a penalty corner attempt.
   As for UniKL, their gallant run was stopped short by a fighting Tenaga.
   Failure to defend well cost UniKL a place in the semifinals as they twice came back from a goal down but defensive frailties cost them the match.
  And coach Arul Selvaraj was not at all happy with their performance.
"We were poor in defence and missed the presence of Baljit Singh who was injured," said Arul.
"And it was our failure to take chances that put paid our hopes of progressing.
"Overall it was a good performance by the younger players in both teams that showed composure and maturity.
"Though we lost but overall Malaysian hockey won as the match was highly entertaining and the youngsters showed that they can play good Hockey."
In the first round match Tenaga Nasional defeated Uitm- KPT 11-0 while UniKL edged Maybank 1-0.