KLHC break free

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) survived by the
skin-of-their-teeth to start their breakaway journey
in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey
League at the Kuantan Stadium yesterday.
KLHC took a 2-0 lead, but they allowed UniKL to
crawl back into the match but eventually won 3-2 to
take a five point lead midway in the League.
And in another match, Sapura indicated that they
have reached a turning point when they beat
Tenaga Nasional 2-0.
However, KLHC look set to consolidate their lead
when they play bottom-of-the-table whipping boys
UITM today at the same venue.
"We almost paid the price for being complacent
after taking a 2-0 lead. It almost turned out to be a
disaster as we allowed UniKL to draw level but I am
happy that we walked away with three points in
this crucial encounter," said KLHC coach K.
Dharmaraj.
KLHC took the lead off Mohamed Noor Faeez off a
field attempt in the fourth minute, but were made to
struggle until the 32nd minute before increasing the
lead off Baljit Singh's penalty corner attempt.
However, UniKL fought back with goals from
Ramadan Rosli in the 51st minute, and Syamim
Yusof in the 59th minute.
Razie Rahim, a national penalty corner flicker,
saved the day for KLHC when he flicked in a crucial
goal in the 66th minute.
Sapura, who were struggling initially in the
League, found their footing against Charity Shield
holders Tenaga Nasional but coach I. Vickneswaran
is not ready to read too much into this game.
"Yes, we started off in a stutter and are now on an
upward trend, but KLHC are too far ahead to chase.
"We will continue playing our game and not be too
focussed on chasing the leaders at this stage.
"Hopefully, the good vibes will continue, and we
will see where it leads," said Vickneswaran.
Sapura dominated the match but could only open
scoring in the 57th minute of Izwan Firdaus' field
attempt, while Rodhanizam Radzi slammed in the
second in the 60th minute.
Tenaga looked like they lost their script as
national player, and a crucial keg in defense, Madzli
Ikmar had to give the match a miss as his wife went
into labour yesterday.

STANDINGS
PREMIER DIVISION
P W D L F A Pt
KLHC 9 7 1 1 41 14 22
YNS 9 6 0 3 32 21 18
UNIKL-TRC 9 5 2 2 16 13 17
TNB 9 5 1 3 16 10 16
SAPURA 9 5 0 4 27 19 15
NUR INSAFI 9 4 1 4 16 25 13
MAYBANK 8 1 3 4 6 12 6
ATM-AIROD 8 2 0 6 9 27 6
UITM 8 0 0 8 11 33 0

DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pt
ATM JNR 6 5 1 0 15 3 16
BPSS 6 4 0 2 12 10 12
BJSS 6 4 0 2 14 6 12
MALACCA CC 7 3 0 4 10 9 9
IPOH CH 7 2 2 3 12 15 8
USM 6 2 0 4 8 17 6
UNITEN 6 0 1 5 3 14 1

PREMIER DIVISION: RESULTS: Tenaga Nasional 0
Sapura 2, Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club 3 UniKL 2,
Yayasan Negri Sembilan 6 Nur Insafi 1, Armed
Forces-Airod x UiTM x.
TOMORROW: (All Matches at the Kuantan Stadium):
Maybank v UniKL (3pm), Tenaga Nasional v Nur
Insafi (4.45pm), Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club v UiTM
(6.30pm), Yayasan Negri Sembilan v Armed
Forces-Airod (8.15pm).
DIVISION ONE: Sunday -- Ipoh City Council v Bukit
Jalil Sports School (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm),
Bandar Penawar Sports School v Malacca CC
(Bandar Penawar, 5pm), Armed Forces Juniors v
Universiti Sains Malaysia (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm).