KLHC-Tenaga final

MOVE ASIDE.. Tenaga defender Amin Rahim (left) and Sapura midfielder Jiwa Mohan in a tussle at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) and Tenaga Nasional will battle for the Malaysia Hockey League TNB Cup at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil tomorrow.
KLHC, who held a 6-1 cushion going into the second leg of the quarter-finals, beat Maybank 5-2 for an aggregate 11-3 win.
In the other quarter-finals, Tenaga Nasional beat Sapura 4-3 for an 9-6 aggregate win. But lost defender Sallehin Ghani to a red card in the 65th minute, and he will sit out the final as well.
Sallehin's rough tackle on Sapura's Joel Samuel van Huizen saw the youngster being stretchered out, and it ended the Tenaga players MHL season prematurely.
Sapura started off well by attacking from the whistle, but a 16th minute rough tackle by their skipper S. Kuhan at the top of the semi-circle gave away a penalty corner.
The corner was converted into a penalty stroke when the ball hit postman Megat Azrafiq on the foot, and national player Amin Rahim cooly slotted in the goal with a low push to beat goalkeeper Khairul Nizam.
Sapura pulled a goal back in the 38th minute through Izwan Firdaus but TNB hit back the very next minute through Firhan Ashaari.
And Amir Farid made the task all the more impossible for Sapura, netting TNB's third in the 50th minute for an aggregate lead of 8-4. Though Azreen Rizal Nasir scored from a penalty corner set piece in the 64th minute, it was a little too late for Sapura.
All hell broke loose in the 66th minute when Sallehin made a dangerous tackle on Joel and players from both sides squared up against each other.
Sallehin was red carded after much deliberation and will now miss the final on Sunday.
But TNB still managed to score their fourth through Faiz Helmi in the 68th minute. Though Azreen got another in stoppage time, TNB were already through.
In the other match, Maybank started off well by taking the lead off Zulhairi Hashim in the eighth minute, but KLHC replied in the 24th minute off an Ismail Abu field attempt.
But right after the restart, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (37th), Shahrun Nabil (38th), Razie Rahim (53rd), Syamim Yusof (62nd) doused any hope that the Tigers had. The Maybank second goal was scored by Muhsin Hamsani (54th).
"With a five-goal lead, it was a question of Maybank opening up their match to score, and they gave us a tough fight in the first half. However, the two quick goals in the second half gave us the break.
"It was no way that we were going to lose this tie, and now we only have one days rest before playing for the Cup," said KLHC manager George Koshy.
RESULTS: S-Finals (2nd leg): Sapura 3 Tenaga 4 (Tenaga win 9-6 on aggregate); Maybank 2 Kuala Lumpur HC 5 (KLHC win 11-3 on aggregate).
TOMORROW: Final: Kuala Lumpur HC v Tenaga (8pm); Third-Fourth: Sapura v Maybank (6pm).
Both matches at the second pitch of the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Joel, Manraj to the fore

SAPURA will be going for broke to turn the tables on Tenaga Nasional in the second leg of the TNB-Cup semi-finals at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil tonight.
After losing 3-5 to Tenaga in the first leg, coach I. Vickneswaran feels the youth in his side are capable of much more.
The other semi-finals is between Maybank and Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club, with the latter having secured an emphatic 6-1 cushion.
“My young players were the ones who took us out of troubled waters in the first leg after we messed up by going down 4-0 by the 15th minute.
“Young guns Joel (van Huizen) and Manraj (Singh) played the best game of their lives to take ou out of troubled waters,” said Vickneswaran.
Also, Sapura will receive another boost as their skipper S. Kuhan will be back after serving a two-match suspension for a red card offense.
“Kuhan’s presence will add experience to the side, which we will sorely need, and I expect him to guide the youngsters in our side to pull off an upset and take us into the final,” said Vickneswaran.
Sapura can take a bow for scoring three goals against the best defense in the League, and it would not come as a surprise if they beat Tenaga again today, like they did in the last TNB Cup semi-finals and advanced to the final on a 4-2 aggregate.
TODAY -- S-Finals (Second leg): Sapura (3) v TNB (5) (6pm), Maybank (1) v KLHC (6) (8pm).
Note: First leg scores in parenthesis and matches at the National Hockey Stadium (Pitch Two) in Bukit Jalil.

KLHC seal final slot

(From left) Nabil Fiqri, Azlan Misron and tengku Ahmad Tajuddin celebrate scoring KLHC’s second goal against Maybank in a TNB Cup match at the National Hockey Stadium yesterday. KLHC won 6-1. — Picture by Supian Ahmad

By Ajitpal Singh

DEFENDING champions Kuala Lumpur HC (KLHC) have virtually qualified for the TNB Cup final after a convincing 6-1 victory over Maybank in the semi-final first leg at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
In the other match, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) hammered in four goals in the opening 15 minutes to beat Sapura 5-3.
KLHC, led by nine national players, unleashed their fury by finding the back of the net six times with Nabil Fiqri Mohd Noor and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddi Abdul Jalil opening the floodgates in the 10th and 12th minutes.
But Maybank's Hafifihafiz Hanafi reduced the deficit with a fine reverse stick goal in the 29th minute.
Maybank's initial dominance in the second half turned into tatters as former international Chua Boon Huat added the third in the 43rd minute for a 3-1 lead.
KLHC turned on the heat in the final 10 minutes with three goals through Muhd Amerullah Abd Aziz 961st), Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (66th) and Ismail Abu (70th).
"We went for early goals and scored two in the opening minutes which forced Maybank to ditch their defensive approach," said KLHC team manager George Koshy yesterday.
"It is a good lead to take into the second leg but nothing can be considered a certainty as there are still 70 minutes to be played."
RESULTS -- KLHC 6 Maybank 1, TNB 5 Sapura 3.
FIXTURES -- Tomorrow: S-Finals (2nd leg): Sapura v TNB (6pm), Maybank v KLHC (8pm). -- Matches at the National Hockey Stadium (Pitch Two) in Bukit Jalil.

TNB eager for revenge

Sapura’s S. Kuhan (left) is tackled by KLHC’s Tengku Ahmad Tajudin Jalil during their league match recently.

By Ajitpal Singh

BITTER rivals Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Sapura will face off in the TNB Cup semi-finals with the former gunning for revenge for last year's defeat at the same stage.
In last year's semi-finals, Sapura defeated TNB 4-2 on aggregate before going down to Kuala Lumpur HC (KLHC) in the final.
TNB coach Lailin Abu Hassan is very aware that Sapura can come out tops once again despite not having their captain S. Kuhan in the line-up due to a two-match suspension in today's first leg at the National Hockey Stadium (Pitch Two) in Bukit Jalil.
TNB, the 2009 champions, have a star-studded line-up with no injury problems while Sapura, who can only register 17 players for the match due to Kuhan's suspension, will be handicapped with injuries.
Sapura's Azreen Rizal Nasir, Redzuan Ponirin, Faisal Kamaruddin, Craig Joseph Fernandez and Norhanafpe Omar are all doubtful starters.
"We are expected to win as we had beaten them in the league. But it is a different ball game in the semi-finals so we need to be careful," said Lailin.
"We need to play consistently and score a few goals in the first leg to avoid unnecessary pressure in the return leg. Sapura have been inconsistent of late but that does not mean they can be beaten.
"My players are motivated and determined to avenge last year's semi-final defeat but to do that they need to be focused and play to strategy in both legs."
Sapura coach I. Vikneswaran said TNB have a good mix of experience and youth with a backline comprising players from the national team.
"We are a depleted side but having done some adjustments to our midfield and defence, I believe we can match them. The absence of Kuhan will also motivate us to lift our game," said Vikneswaran.
"TNB have the edge but we have a surprise in store. We just have to find a way past their backline which will not be easy as they virtually have the national defence."
The other semi-final is between league champions KLHC and Maybank.

Fauja Singh, 100, finishes marathon

TORONTO -- A 100-year-old runner became the oldest person to complete a full-distance marathon when he finished the race in Toronto on Sunday.
Fauja Singh earned a spot in the Guiness World Book of Records for his accomplishment.
It took Singh more than eight hours to cross the finish line -- more than six hours after Kenya's Kenneth Mungara won the event for the fourth straight year -- and he was the last competitor to complete the course.
But his time wasn't nearly as remarkable as the accomplishment.
Event workers dismantled the barricades along the finish line and took down sponsor banners even as Singh made his way up the final few hundred yards of the race.
Family, friends and supporters greeted Singh when he finished the race.
"Beating his original prediction, he's overjoyed," his coach and translator Harmander Singh said. "Earlier, just before we came around the (final) corner, he said, 'Achieving this will be like getting married again.'
"He's absolutely overjoyed, he's achieved his lifelong wish."
Sunday's run was Singh's eighth marathon -- he ran his first at age 89 -- and wasn't the first time he set a record.
In the 2003 Toronto event, he set the mark in the 90-plus category, finishing the race in 5 hours, 40 minutes and 1 second.
And on Thursday in Toronto, Singh broke world records for runners older than 100 in eight different distances ranging from 100 meters to 5,000 meters.
The 5-foot-8 Singh said he's hopeful his next project will be participating in the torch relay for the 2012 London Games. He carried the torch during the relay for the 2004 Athens Games.
by The Associated Press