Sapura bounce back...

Having been whitewashed in their opening match, Sapura bounced back with a gusty display to defeat UniKL 3-1 in a Premier Division match of the TNB Malaysian Hockey League at the National Hockey Stadium.
Barely 24 hours earlier Sapura suffered the humiliation of a 5-0 defeat at the hands of KL Hockey Club. But they showed resilience to subdue a largely ineffective UniKL side who also lost their opening match 3-2 against Nur Insafi-Perak.
The defeat casts serious doubts on the ability of UniKL to make the grade as they played without any zest normally accustomed with their previous teams.

Sapura took the lead against the run of play in the 4th minute through Azreen Rizal Nasir. But their midfield failed to take grasp of things and allowed UniKL back into the game.

Though UniKL were awarded three consecutive penalty corners, they failed to make much headway with Mohd Noor faeez Ibrahim opting to go for direct attempts instead of side stepping the first runner.

However he made amends in the 15th minute and UniKL grew in confidence.

Sapura were undeterred and were awarded a penalty stroke in the 30th minute when a penalty corner attempt by Pakistan's Muhammad Imran struck a defenders body on the goal line.

But South Korea's Lee Jung Seon made a hash of things as his stroke was easily saved by UniKL keeper Shahrul Azaddin Auskarzie.

Though Sapura forced another three penalty corners in the closing stages of the first half, they failed to capitalise and at half time both team were evenly match with a scoreline of 1-1.

Mohd Marhan Jalil made it 2-1 in the 41st minute before Mohd Razali Mohd Zulkipli extended the advantage with a reverse stick goal in the 58th minute.

Fazial saves TNB, again...

KL Hockey Club and Tenaga Nasional Berhad registered comfortable wins in the Premier Division matches of the TNB Malaysian Hockey League at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

KLHC scored four in the second half to defeat Maybank 4-1 while Tenaga Nasional Berhad blanked Nur Insafi Perak 5-2 thanks to a hattrick by Faisal Saari.

KLHC forced two penalty corners in the opening minutes of the match but Mohd Razie Rahim who scored a brace against Sapura last night failed to find the mark.

in the 23rd minute KLHC created their first open play chance as a cross by S. Shanker found Mohd Syamim Mohd Yusof who sent his attept wide of the post despite having all the time in the world.

And when Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin was presented with a clear shot at goal minutes later, he shot straight into Maybank keeper Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman.

Razie had another opportunity via a penalty corner in the 29th minute, but KLHC opted to play a set-piece that was easily read by the Maybank defence.

And the chances continued to go begging as Ismail Abu came close twice within the space of a few seconds. First his deflection bounced off the upright and from the ensuing cross he had a snap shot at goal that went just wide.
But all that changed within the space of two minutes in the second half. Razie converted a penalty corner with a low flick in the 40th minute and barely had the cheers dies down that Ahmad Kazamirul Nasruddin scored from a penalty corner to give KLHC a 2-0 advantage.
Syamim got his act right in the 56th minute to put KLHC 3-0 up but Maybank reduced the deficit in the 67th minute via a penalty corner converted by Engku abdul Malek Engku Mohammad in the 67th minute.
But Razie completed the rout scoring the fourth in the final minute of the match, via a penalty corner.

In the Nur Insafi-Perak v Tenaga Nasional Berhad clash, it was Abdul Haseem Khan who gave the northern team the lead in the 8th minute only for Faisal Saari to equalise two minutes later from a penalty corner.
TNB added another two goals via Ahmad Farid Ahmad Fuzi ( 12th minute) and Faisal ( 27th minute) to take a 3-1 lead into halftime.
But Khasif Ali then reduced the deficit in the 43rd minute, converting a penalty corner to make it 3-2. And they started pushing TNB into deep defence in search of an equaliser.
However it was a Faisal show as he completed his hattrick with goals in the 51st and 52nd minutes to extend TNB's lead to 5-2, effectively snuffing out the fightback by Nur Insafi Perak.

MHL: Awesome start

KLHC’s Mohd Syamim Mohd Yusof (in yellow) and Sapura’s Jiwa Mohan tussle for the ball at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday. Pic by Goh Thean Howe.

By Ajitpal Singh

 KL Hockey Club (KLHC) got off to a blazing start in the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division when they hammered Sapura 5-0 in the Charity Shield-cum-league match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
   KLHC, the double champions last season, were flawless in the first half, taking a 5-0 lead but the score-line could have been bigger if not for poor finishing.
  National striker Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Jalil opened the floodgates in the seventh minute after converting a rebound before defender Razie Rahim scored from penalty corner set-pieces in the 16th and 18 minutes.
  Former national junior Harvinder Singh and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin completed the first half rout in the 23rd and 24th minutes.
  Sapura goalkeeper Kairulnizam Ibrahim did well to deny KLHC from increasing their lead with several fine saves before half-time.
  KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj said the impressive win will put his team on a good stead towards retaining their title.
  "I am happy with the performance of my players. We controlled the first half and made use of our opportunities well but we could have added more goals in the second half," said Dharmaraj yesterday.
  "I want my boys to maintain their good form for our remaining matches. We must not take our opponents lightly."
  KLHC will play Nur Insafi-Perak, who came from behind to edge Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 3-2 yesterday for a winning start, today.
  Abdul Haseem Khan sounded the board twice for Nur-Insafi in the eighth and 39th minutes before Kashif Ali scored their winning goal in the 41st minute. UniKL replied through Muhd Noor Faeez Ibrahim in the 12th and 33rd minutes.
  In an earlier match, Faizal Saari hit a brace to help Tenaga Nasional Berhad earn a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Maybank.
  Faizal, an international, scored his first off a penalty corner set-piece in the 14th minute before helping his team avoid defeat with a splendid field attempt two minutes from time.
  Pakistan duo Shakeel Abbasi and Muhammad Waqas replied for Maybank in the 39th and 65th minutes.
  Results --Premier Division: TNB 2 Maybank 2, Nur Insafi-MBI 3 UniKL 2, KLHC 5 Sapura 0.
  Division One: Armed Forces 1 Uniten 1, Politeknik-KPT 2 Johor HA 4, BJSS 1 Thunderbolt 2.
  Today's Fixtures -- Premier Division: Maybank v KLHC (Pitch Two; 6pm), TNB v Nur Insafi-MBI (Pitch One; 6pm), Sapura v UniKL (Pitch Two; 8pm)
  Division One: UiTM v Armed Forces (Pitch One; 4pm), Thunderbolts v Uniten (Pitch One; 8pm).

No place for history, past glory..

HISTORY and past glory will be thrown out of the window  as the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) gets underway to day.
    This is because newly appointed national chief coach Paul  Revington and his assistant Arul Selvaraj would be on the  lookout for new blood to play for the country in the Champions Challenge I and Asian Champions Trophy in November  and December respectively.
    There are some experienced hands in the national team  that need to be replaced fast, as they have shown little  motivation or promise in the Dublin Olympic Qualifiers.
   And with plenty of young legs, especially players from the  Project 2013, who have shown more desire and promise,  there could be some surprises in the selection when the MHL  ends on Oct 10.
    In the Premier Division, which will see six quality sides  instead of the nine diluted teams last season, double cham pions KL Hockey Club and Tenaga Nasional start as  favourites while Sapura, Maybank, UniKL and Nur Insafi- MBI have openly declared that their focus is making the semi- finals.
    And there would be seven teams in Division One fighting it  out for their own league and overall titles, as there is no  quarter-finals in the TNB Cup this season.
     Today, fans are in for quality time as defending champions  KL Hockey Club play league runners-up Sapura in the  Charity Shield.
    Sapura have promising youngsters and steady old hands  while KLHC’s line-up comprises the who’s who of Malaysian  hockey.
     Former national coach Stephen van Huizen, who now is a  coaching consultant for Sapura conceded that KLHC will be  the team to beat: “KLHC are the favourites as they are not  only the defending double champions but have the services of  all the key national players as well as ex national players who  have played together for a few years.
   “They have built a good understanding over the years, and  are armed with deadly penalty corner set pieces. Its an  opening match that will severely test my side.”
     KLHC have a sound penalty corner battery in Razie Rahim,  Ahmad Kazairul and Baljit Singh.
    “Besides having good set pieces, in Tengku Ahmad Tajud din, Chua Boon Huat, Azlan Misron and Kelvinder Singh,  KLHC also has strength on the bench,” said Stephen.
    Sapura have former skipper S. Kuhan, the Mohan brothers  Jiwa and Jivan and Megat Azrafiq for experience.
    They also have Korea’s Jason Lee Mung Seon and Pak istan’s Muhammad Imran to boost their challenge.
     KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj said their mission is to win  every match as there are only five opponents.
    “We always play to win, and with home-and-away, we can’t  let the other team grow in confidence by losing points, As this  would make the return leg much more difficult,” said  Dharmaraj.
     TODAY: Premier Division -- Tenaga v Maybank (National  Stadium II, 4pm), UniKL v MBI-Nur Insafi (National Stadium  II, 6pm), KLHC v Sapura (National Stadium II, 8pm).
    Division One: Armed Forces v UniTen (National Stadium I,  5pm), Bukit Jalil Sports School v Thunderbolts (Ministry of  Education, 5pm), Politeknik-KPT v Johor HA (Taman Daya,  5pm).
    Tomorrow: Premier Division -- Tenaga v MBI-Nur Insafi  (National Stadium II, 4pm), Maybank v KLHC (National  Stadium II, 6pm), Sapura v UniKL (National Stadium II,  8pm).
    Division One: UiTM v Armed Forces (Ministry of Education,  5pm), Thunderbolts v UniTen (National Stadium I, 5pm).

Over to Revington, Arul...

PAUL Revington and Arul Selvaraj were officially announced as the seniors coach and assistant coach by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) yesterday.
  And Paul, who has been in Malaysia for the last two weeks, has heard from hockey lovers as well as sceptics about the state of the game and is determined to change it for the better.
  "I have signed a four-year contract (with a two year conditional extention) and the scenario here is the same with elsewhere. The journey is to take Malaysia into the World Cup and Olympic, and I will work with my assistant towards that goals," said the South African.
  The sceptics have also strengthened his desire with their negative comments: "I have been told by many, who I believe are no longer associated with the game, that the public perception is also not very good on hockey.
  "We will have to wok on that as well, by producing results," said Revington.
  The South African, 39, last coached the Irish during the Dublin Olympic Qualifiers where he took his team to silver.
  Malaysia won bronze in Dublin, and that is when the MHC decided that they need another foreign coach. Revington would be the fourth foreign coach after Germans Paul Lissek, Volker Knapp and Australian Terry Walsh.
  "I will watch the Malaysia Hockey League (starting on Saturday) to select 25 to 30 palayers for a few days of training before releasing the players to their state teams for the Razak Cup.
  "The first international assignment would be the Champions Challenge I in Argentina (Nov 24- December 2) and that's where I would like to change the mindset from thinking that we are ranked 13th in the world to thinking that we can win the tournament and move into the Champions Trophy bracket regardless of the opponent's rankings," said Revington.
  And next is the all-important Asia Cup in Ipoh next year, which is a World Cup Qualifier.
  "That would be the ultimate short-term aim, as every country wants to play at the pinnacle of hockey," said Revington.
  As for Arul, he has completed his circle and returned home to help the nation, as he left for experience after assisting Paul Lissek.
  "I assisted Revington in coaching South Africa and then Ireland and am back to help my country with the experience I gained working overseas," said Arul.
  Arul will assist UniKL while juniors coach K. Dharmaraj will coach KL Hockey Club in the MHL.
  "I wanted them to coach the clubs, as it would be a waste if the local coaches are not allowed to help clubs in tournaments. This would give them a better insight on the players and help the country as well," said Revington.