Under-16 void of exciting talent..

NATIONAL Juniors coach K. Dharmaraj did not spot any exciting talent in the just concluded National Under-16, as most of the players were just above average.
  Perak and Malacca upset the formbook to reach the final, and the Silver State then lifted the title with an edgy 2-1 victory on Saturday.
  "I watched for myself and also spoke to come coaches, and the consensus was that there were no exciting talent to draft into the juniors training squad.
  "Previously, one could see at least one or two players who could walk into the juniors side in a years time, but there were none this year," said Dharmaraj.
  The Junior World Cup coach pointed out that: "There were no Faizal Saari, Fitri Saari or Firhan Ashaari in this edition, as these were some of the outstanding players in age-group tournaments a few years back, and are now making their names at the national and senior club levels."
  Twelve teams competed in the National Under-16, with Kelantan given the boot mid-way because they staged a walk-out when playing against Malacca.
  There were 12 teams with 18 players in each side, and from a total pool of 216 players, the grassroots report card was damning.

Sapura dent TNB's bid

MHL: Come from behind twice to share spoils

TENAGA NASIONAL failed to grab the top spot in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Sapura yesterday.
  TNB, who beat UniKL 4-2 on Friday, failed to convert their chances numerous chances after taking the lead twice.
  TNB took the lead after only three minutes when skipper Amin Rahim's powerful flick of their first penalty beat Sapura keeper Hairi Abdul Rahman.
  Sapura immediately mounted a counter and won their first penalty corner in the fourth minute, but it was a disappointing outcome as Megat Azrafiq failed to trap the push-out by Izwan Firdaus Ahmad Tajuddin.
  Sapura then lived dangerously as Faizal Saari and Firhan Ashaari squandered sitters.
  But they found the equaliser in the 30th minute from their second penalty corner, when Pakistani Khasif Ali made a powerful drive.
  However, TNB restored their lead two minutes before halftime when an unmarked Faizal slotted home from an acute angle.
  The second half saw the same script, as TNB did most of the attacking while Sapura relied on counter-attacks to break free.
  Sapura found the equaliser again in the 54th minute, against the run of play, from their third penalty corner when Khasif stepped up once again to send a powerful flick past national goalkeeper S. Kumar.
  Tenaga remain second on six points, while Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club top the table with seven points.
  Results -- Premier Division: Sapura 2 Tenaga Nasional 2.
  Division One: TNB Thunderbolts 2 Ipoh City Council 2, Tengku Mahkota Ismail SS 1 UniTen 3.
  SUNDAY -- Premier Division: KLHC v Nur Insafi (National Stadium Pitch II, 6pm), Maybank v UniKL (National Stadium Pitch I, 6pm), Terengganu v Sapura (National Stadium Pitch II, 8pm).

Perak prove their pedigree

PERAK won the National Under-16 title when they edged Malacca 2-1 at the Ministry of Education Stadium yesterday.

Perak showed composure and tremendous grit, despite being down 1-0 in the first half, utilising the penalty corners awarded to score the two goals that gave them the title.
"I could not have asked for more as the players showed courage and fighting spirit, never giving up despite being a goal down," said Perak coach Nizam Hashim.
"It is a good win for Perak hockey as it shows we are on the right track in developing future players."
Malacca took the lead in the 31st minute through Alif Syazwan Noorshah who converted a penalty corner.
However Perak were on level terms in the 43rd minute when Luqman Hakim Asri struck from a penalty corner.
Then, Asheinyrul Azreei gave the silver state the title by scoring the winner in the 56th minute.
Results -- Final: Malacca 1 Perak 2. Third-Fourth: Kuala Lumpur 4 Terengganu 3.

Tenaga zap UniKL four times..

TENAGA Nasional claimed their first win of the season when they beat UniKL 4-2 in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League yesterday.
  After taking a 4-0 lead off Firhan Ashaari (18th), Amin Rahim (20th), Faizal Saari (37th) and Shahril Saabah (56th), allowed UniKL to almost come back into the game.
  However, UniKL could only narrow the gap with goals from Noor Faeez Ibrahim in the 61st and 70th.
  Tenaga started the season with a 4-4 draw with Terengganu, and then were held to a 3-3 draw by KL Hockey Club.
  Tenaga coach Nor Azlan Bakar was relieved his charges finally collected full points.
  "After two opening draws, it is a relieve that we finally won. However, the final 10 minutes my players slowed down a little as we have another important match against Sapura tomorrow (today)," said Nor Azlan.
  "We had the chances but failed to convert them, but I am proud of my players as they were not overawed playing against a stronger side. It is never easy playing against experienced sides but my youngsters never gave up fighting," said UniKL coach Arul Selvaraj.

  RESULTS: Premier Division -- Nur Insafi 1 Terengganu 5, UniKL 2 Tenaga Nasional 4, Maybank 3 KLHC 4.
  TODAY: Premier Division -- Sapura v Tenaga Nasional (National Stadium Pitch II, 8pm).
  Diivision One: TNB Thunderbolts v Ipoh City Council (National Stadium Pitch II, 6pm), Tengku Mahkota Ismail SS v UniTen (Taman Daya, 6pm).
  SUNDAY: Premier Division -- KLHC v Nur Insafi (National Stadium Pitch II, 6pm), Maybank v UniKL (National Stadium Pitch I, 6pm), Terengganu v Sapura (National Stadium Pitch II, 8pm).

Malacca shut the door on KL...

MALACCA caused a sensational upset when they edged Kuala Lumpur 2-1 in the National Under-16 tournament at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
  They will now meet Perak in the final today, after the Silver State beat Terengganu 3-1 in the other semis.
  For the record, both teams are from Group B, and Perak beat Malacca 2-0 then.
  Kuala Lumpur, the raging favourites and defending champions, were taken to extra-time before Malacca nailed the extra-time winner.
  And the Malacca Hang Tuah was Amirul Hakim Nazaruddin, who scored the equaliser in the 51st minute, then the golden goal in the 74th minute to take his team to the final.
  Kuala Lumpur, unbeaten in five Group A matches, scored their goal in the 35th minute off Wan Haziq Hisyamuddin, but ran out of steam in the second half.
  The Perak goals were scored by
  "It was the best moment of the tournament for my players, as they shut the door on raging favourites KL with disciplined play. We did not have a good start in the tournament, but discipline is what took us into the final and now we are ready for another fighting display in the final," said Malacca coach Mohamed Aras Khamis.
  For the record, KL beat Malacca in the final two years ago, while Malacca went out in the semis last season.
   The Perak goals were scored by Najme Ahmad (31st), Aiman Zahari (35th), Asyraf Abas (47th), Haizzat Noor Azmi (66th) and Badrul Amin (69th). The Terengganu goal was scored by Khairul Helmy (sixth).
  RESULTS: Semi-finals -- Kuala Lumpur 1 Malacca 1 (Malacca win on golden goal); Terengganu 1 Perak 5.
  TODAY: Final -- Malacca v Perak (Ministry of Education, 6pm); Third-Fourth: Kuala Lumpur v Terengganu (National Stadium, 8am).