ALL THE BEST...

SAPURA Hockey Club are poised to lift the Malaysia Hockey League Premier Division League title, provided they do not fumble against Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) at the Batu Buruk Stadium Friday.

  After THT, Sapura have Maybank to beat on Sunday to realise their dream of winning the League title -- which they last won in 2005.

  "It has been too long since we laid our hands on a title, and the Alagendra Cup on Tuesday was a welcome relief.

  "We last won the Overall title in 2006, and the League in 2005 and are in a good position to realise our dream.

  "From the two opponents, I believe THT will be the hardest to beat as we meet them in their own den in Batu Buruk (Kuala Terengganu)," said Sapura coach Yahya Atan.

  Sapura beat Tenaga Nasional 2-1 in the Alagendra Cup final, which was a cracker until the final whistle.

  "It was a good final, as all my players gave their very best and I believe they will do the same in the remaining two League matches as well," said Yahya.

  Yahya's men lead Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) by a point, while double champions THT are two points adrift of the leaders.

  "This is the most crucial weekend for all teams as the margin is very close and while we will aim to collect full points against Sapura and then Tenaga on Sunday, we will also be keeping our fingers crossed that the two teams above us drop points," said THT coach Sarjit Singh.

  FRIDAY -- Premier Division: Maybank v UniKL (Malacca, 6pm), Tenaga v Kuala Lumpur HC (KLHA, 6pm), Terengganu HT v Sapura HC (Batu Buruk, 5.30pm).

  SUNDAY: Terengganu HT v Tenaga Nasional (Batu Buruk, 5.30pm), Kuala Lumpur HC v UniKL (KLHA, 8pm), Sapura HC v Maybank (Tun Razak, 6pm).

  Division One: Quarter-finals First Round: TNB Thunderbolts v Nur Insafi (KLHA, 8pm), SSTMI v ATM Airod (SSTMI, 6pm), UiTM-KPT v Ipoh City Council (Tun Razak, 6pm), Politeknik v BJSS (Taman daya, 5pm).

  

PREMIER DIVISION

            P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts

SAPURA      8  6  0  2  14 11 18

KLHC        8  5  2  1  25 11 17

THT         8  5  1  2  22 14 16

UNIKL       8  2  1  5  8  12 7

MAYBANK     8  2  1  5  16 30 7

TENAGA      8  0  3  5  14 21 3

Sapura lift inaugural Alagendra Cup...

SAPURA Hockey Club lived dangerously, before Dangerous Lee handed them the inaugural Tan Sri P. Alagendra Cup at the Tun Razak Stadium Tuesday.

  The match was heading towards a shoot-out, but the Dangerous goal beat Tenaga Nasional 2-1 and also gave Sapura a RM70,000 purse.

  "We held onto the match because of good defending, especially in the third quarter when Tenaga came charging at us. Winning the inaugural Alagendra Cup has also charged up my players to go all out for the Premier Division League title

  "If we do well against Terengganu Hockey Team, the league title could also become ours," said Sapura coach Yahya Atan, whose team top the standings.

  Amin Rahim, a dejected Tenaga coach, said: "We failed to score the penalty stroke and that was the turning point of the match. Losing 2-1 to Sapura for the third time this season is also a jinx (Sapura won twice with the same score in the Premier Division home-and-away)."

  Tenaga, who received RM30,000, had the early chances but blew a handful until they won the first penalty corner in the 10th minute. Syed Syafiq Cholan's attempt hit a defenders foot and a penalty stroke was awarded.

  Syed stepped to the spot, but his flick was stopped by Sapura goalkeeper Hairi Rahman.

  And just as the first quarter's end approached, Sapura won their first penalty corner and this time Firhan Ashaari pusged low to beat Tenaga goalkeeper S. Kumar for the lead.

  At the half-time break, two former national players received their rewards from Yayasan Hockey Malaysia. Megat Azrafiq (139 caps, 12 years) and Hafifi Hafiz (140 caps, 10 years) received RM16,850 and RM15,500  respectively for their years of playing for the country.

  Alagendra, trustee of the Yayasan, presented them with the cheques.

  Tenaga came out fighting after the breather and after a few missed chances, they finally scored the equaliser in the 43rd minute.

  Off a botched penalty corner attempt, Shahril Saabah slammed home a reverse stick shot to give his mates a big boost.

  However, the final touch to claim the trophy belonged to Dangerous Lee who sent in a cracker to the top of the net in the 53rd minute to hand Sapura the inaugural Alagendra trophy.