YNS’ Shakeel Abbasi (centre) vies with UniKL’s Mohd Razali Zulkipli in their first leg quarter-final match last Friday. YNS won 4-2.
By Ajitpal Singh
YAYASAN Negri Sembilan (YNS) are under no illusion about the kind of challenge Premier Division champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) will pose in the semi-finals of the Malaysian Hockey League.
YNS are bidding for their first overall title since 1996 and on returning to the league after 11 years, the club, with 11 foreign players mostly from India and Pakistan, are determined to upset the form book but may find KLHC too hot to handle.
The Negri Sembilan-based club were not expected to progress far in the knock-out stage after their erratic show in the Premier Division. But they managed to get into their groove in the quarter-finals and beat UniKL 9-5 on aggregate.
"We are glad we won convincingly as confidence is really important at this stage of the tournament. My hope is that my charges continue to play good hockey in the semi-finals," said YNS coach Hasnizam Ah Sim yesterday.
KLHC, however, are also entering the semi-finals on a high after a massive 26-3 aggregate win over Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS).
YNS and KLHC, who have seven national players from the Asian Games silver medal side, have met twice in the league with the latter winning both encounters convincingly (6-3 and 7-2).
"We must forget about past results. They may have beaten us twice in the league but it does not matter to us," added Hasnizam.
"We are a better prepared team for the semi-finals. It is also important we learn from past mistakes ahead of the clash." Sapura will be gunning for revenge when they face defending champions Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in the other semi-final.
TNB, also this season's Charity Shield winners, edged Sapura on penalty strokes to lift the overall title last year.
It is expected to be an exciting clash as both teams are fired-up after their quarter-final wins.
TNB thrashed Armed Forces Juniors 11-4 on aggregate without the injured Amin Rahim but the drag flick specialist is expected to return for the semi-final.
Sapura, led by S. Kuhan and Pakistan international Rehan Butt, also boosted their confidence by overcoming Maybank 8-1 on aggregate.
