SAPURA goalkeeper Hairi Rahman played the game of his life to deny Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) an upset in the Second Leg Quarter-finals of the TNB Cup at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
UniKL had made a super comeback, after losing 3-0 in the First Leg, to lead 3-2 going into the last quarter of the match, but five super saves from Hairi denied UniKL of a dream shoot-out.
Sapura won 5-3 on aggregate, and will play Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club in the two-leg semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday.
The other semi-finals will be between Terengganu Hockey Team and Maybank, after the Tigers beat Tenaga Nasional 3-2 to advance on 5-3 aggregate.
Pakistan import Muhammad Imran scored for Sapura in the third, but Azwar Rahman equalsied for UniKL. Sapura again took the lead off Faridzul Afiq in the 14th minute.
However, Richard Sykes (43rd) and Haziq Samsul (45th) made it 3-2 for UniKL, only to see goalkeeper Hairi standing in their path to an upset in the final 15 minutes.
As for Maybank, Ahmad Kazamirul (14th, 50th) and Hafifi Hafiz (42nd) sounded the board, while Shahril Saabah (27th) and Ramadan Rosli (52nd) scored for Tenaga.
Sapura coach Tai Beng Hai said they eased off to early: "After scoring an early goal we became too comfortable and made the match difficult, this was not part of the plan, as we have only one day to rest before taking on KLHC in the semi-finals."
As for UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj, he was glad they finally won a match this season.
"We only had a draw to show in the League and this win is crucial for the club as we progress slowly on the development of youth.
"Hats off to Sapura goalkeeper (Hairi) who denied us five shots at goal in the last quarter," said Arul.
Meanwhile in the women's Junior Asia Cup final in Changzhou, China beat Japan 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out after 2-2 on regulation time. For the bronze, South Korea beat India 3-2. The top-three teams advance to the Junior World Cup.
Malaysia finished fifth after beating Thailand 3-1 on Saturday.
RESULTS: Quarter-finals Second Leg:
Universiti Kuala Lumpur 3 Sapura 2.
(Sapura win 5-3 on aggregate)
Maybank 3 Tenaga Nasional 2.
(Maybank win 5-3 on aggregate)
TUESDAY --Semi-finals (First Leg): Terengganu Hockey Team v Maybank (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 6pm); Sapura v Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 8pm).
THURSDAY: Semi-finals (Second Leg): Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club v Sapura (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 6pm), Maybank v Terengganu Hockey Team (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 8pm).
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Malaysian women fifth in Junior Asia Cup
Two goals from Hanis Onn and one from Fatin Sukri saw Malaysia beat Thailand 3-1 to finish fifth in the Junior Asia Cup in Changzhou, China Saturday.
UniKL just can't get it together...
UNIVERSITI Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) have had a bad season, as after 11 matches, they only have one draw to show in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League.
And in the TNB cup, they trail Sapura 0-3 going into the return leg quarter-finals today.
The other quarter-finals is still alive as Maybank hold a slim 2-1 edge over Tenaga Nasional.
League champions Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) and runners-up Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club are seeded into the semi-finals in this six-team league.
THT await the winners of Tenaga-Maybank quarters, while KLHC will play the winners of the Sapura-UniKL match.
"I'm disappointed with the way my team played in the first quarter of as they let in two penalty corner goals and we had to keep chasing for goals but missed sitters instead," said UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj who served a three-match suspension for abusing umpires, but will be back for the return leg.
"We have a steep hill to climb, but we're not throwing in the towel as it is still possible to turn the tables in the next 60 minutes," said Arul.
UniKL have let in 34 goals and only scored 17 in 11 matches, and they would need a herculean effort to stop Sapura from playing KLHC in the semi-finals.
The other quarters is expected to go to the wire again as 2-1 seems to be their favourite score.
Tenaga beat Maybank 2-1 in both the home-and-away league, while Maybank returned the 2-1 favour in the quarters.
Maybank coach S. Velappan said: "After a poor outing in the league (one win one draw) we set ourselves to play in the semi-finals of the TNB Cup, and are 50 per cent assured. I predict another close game, but we should make the grade."
And if Maybank achieve their target, they will play THT and it looks like their campaign will end there.
KLHC and THT are strongly tipped to meet in the TNB Cup final on Sept 20.
TODAY: Quarter-finals Second Leg -- Universiti Kuala Lumpur (0) v Sapura (3) (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 6pm); Maybank (2) v Tenaga Nasional (1) (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 8pm).
Note: First Leg scores in parenthesis.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Sapura, Maybank lead...
TENAGA Nasional threw away the lead to go down 2-1 to Maybank in the TNB Cup First Leg quarter-finals at a haze enveloped National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
In the other quarters, Sapura beat Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 3-0 -- and it looks like the second leg is also going to be uphill for the University side.
The API reading for Bukit Jalil was 276, when Azril Misron gave Tenaga a fifth minute lead off a field attempt.
But inexperience was Tenaga's downfall, as they allowed Maybank into the match and goals from Hafifi Hafiz in the 46th, and India import B. Deepanshu in the 59th gave Maybank a slight edge going into the return leg.
For the record, it was Deepanshu's first goal of the season.
As for Sapura, Pakistan's Mumammad Imran starred in their show with fifth and seventh minute penalty corner goals, while the other goal was scored by Norsyafiq Sumantri (25th).
Maybank coach S. Vellapan was elated with the knock-out win, after losing 2-1 twice to Tenaga in the League.
"We went down twice in the League to Tenaga, and so I see this win as a good improvement and goin into the return leg, I believe my players will again perform and take us into the semis," said Vellapan.
League champions Terengganu Hockey Team and runners-up Kuala Lumpur Hockey Team are seeded into the semi-finals in this six-team tournament.
Tenaga coach Nor Saiful Zaini was peeved with his charges, as he felt that eventhough they are young, they should have improved after playing 10 matches in the MHL Premier Division.
"First of all, I am not looking for excuses in this defeat. I'm simply not happy with the way my charges played, as after 10 matches in the League, the eight Project 2016 players should have showed improvement in the knock-out, but they were a let-down.
"There Project boys were also not available to train with us as they had their own training programme leading to the Junior Asia Cup, and this, to a certain aspect, disrupted my preparations of the team.
"They commuted between Tenaga and Project training and looked a little jaded and tired. However, having said that, Tenaga fully support the system, and understand that the Project boys had to attend training with their coach (Arul Selvaraj)," said Nor Saiful.
RESULTS: Quarter-finals First Leg: Tenaga Nasional 1 Maybank 2; Sapura 3 Universiti Kuala Lumpur 0.
TOMORROW: Quarter-finals Second Leg -- Universiti Kuala Lumpur v Sapura (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 6pm); Maybank v Tenaga Nasional (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 8pm).
In the other quarters, Sapura beat Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 3-0 -- and it looks like the second leg is also going to be uphill for the University side.
The API reading for Bukit Jalil was 276, when Azril Misron gave Tenaga a fifth minute lead off a field attempt.
But inexperience was Tenaga's downfall, as they allowed Maybank into the match and goals from Hafifi Hafiz in the 46th, and India import B. Deepanshu in the 59th gave Maybank a slight edge going into the return leg.
For the record, it was Deepanshu's first goal of the season.
As for Sapura, Pakistan's Mumammad Imran starred in their show with fifth and seventh minute penalty corner goals, while the other goal was scored by Norsyafiq Sumantri (25th).
Maybank coach S. Vellapan was elated with the knock-out win, after losing 2-1 twice to Tenaga in the League.
"We went down twice in the League to Tenaga, and so I see this win as a good improvement and goin into the return leg, I believe my players will again perform and take us into the semis," said Vellapan.
League champions Terengganu Hockey Team and runners-up Kuala Lumpur Hockey Team are seeded into the semi-finals in this six-team tournament.
Tenaga coach Nor Saiful Zaini was peeved with his charges, as he felt that eventhough they are young, they should have improved after playing 10 matches in the MHL Premier Division.
"First of all, I am not looking for excuses in this defeat. I'm simply not happy with the way my charges played, as after 10 matches in the League, the eight Project 2016 players should have showed improvement in the knock-out, but they were a let-down.
"There Project boys were also not available to train with us as they had their own training programme leading to the Junior Asia Cup, and this, to a certain aspect, disrupted my preparations of the team.
"They commuted between Tenaga and Project training and looked a little jaded and tired. However, having said that, Tenaga fully support the system, and understand that the Project boys had to attend training with their coach (Arul Selvaraj)," said Nor Saiful.
RESULTS: Quarter-finals First Leg: Tenaga Nasional 1 Maybank 2; Sapura 3 Universiti Kuala Lumpur 0.
TOMORROW: Quarter-finals Second Leg -- Universiti Kuala Lumpur v Sapura (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 6pm); Maybank v Tenaga Nasional (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 8pm).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
