TERENGGANU Hockey Team (THT) had to bring out their best to defend their League title, when they edged Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) 5-4 at the Batu Buruk Stadium in Kuala Terengganu yesterday.
THT lifted the title on 27 points, for a purse of RM70,000 while KLHC received RM50,000 and completed the League on 23 points.
The THT star yesterday was national player Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, who opened scoring in the fourth minute, and delivered the winner in the 60th minute.
The other THT goals were scored by Fitri Saari (13th), Firhan Ashaari (32nd) and Faizal Saari (49th).
KLHC took the lead off Nabil Fiqri in the fourth, and Razie Rahim (34th, 47th) and Noor Faeez Ibrahim (50th) made it 4-4 and even though a draw was enough for them to lift the litle, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin made sure with a 60th minute goal.
The stadium, with a capacity of 2,000, was packed to the brim with an estimated 3,500 fans who went wild with celebrations after their team defended their title.
Coach Sarjit Singh was elated with the commitment of their players: "I was a super display from my players as they never gave up and took the fight to KLHC. The crowd also played a big part in our win, and I would like to thank them for their undying support."
Menwhile Sapura finished third and pocketed RM40,000 when they edged Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 3-2.
Sapura ended with only a distant 17 points, but still managed to finish fifth in this two-horse league.
For Sapura, Dangerous Lee (40th), Marhan Jalil (58th) and Muhammad Imran (60th) delivered the goals.
Muhammad Sufi Ismat (11th) and Najmi Farizal (33rd) scored for UniKL.
RESULTS: Premier Division (Round Two): UniKL 2 Sapura 3, Terengganu Hockey Team 5 Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club 4, Maybank 1 Tenaga 2.
Division One: Group A -- MBI 2 TNB Thunderbolts 2, Masum-USM 3 MSN-THT 1.
Group B: SSTMI 1 UniKL Young Guns 2, Nur Insafi 2 PKS-KPM 2.
Women: Group A -- The Cops 0 Politeknik 1.
SATURDAY: Division One: Group A -- MBI v BJSS (Azlan Shah, 5pm); Women's Group B: MSN Kedah v KL Sukma (Padang Serai, 5pm).
SUNDAY: Division One Group A: TNB Thunderbolts v MSN-THT (SSTMI, 5pm), MSSP-YP-SSP v Masum-USM (Kuantan, 5pm).
Group B: Politeknik v UniKL Young Guns (Taman Daya, 5pm), SSTMI v UiTM (SSTMI, 7pm), Nur Insafi v ATM Airod (Sungai Petani, 5pm).
Women's Group A: The Cops v ATM Pernama (Pitch I, 7pm).
NOTE: National Hockey Stadium Bukit Jalil, unless stated.