KLHC v Tenaga final..

TENAGA Nasional will meet Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) in the final of the TNB Cup next Sunday at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
  In the two-leg semi-finals, Tenaga hammered Maybank 6-2 and yesterday drew 2-2 for a comfortable 8-4 aggregate win.
  And KLHC, who won 3-1 in the first leg, hammered Sapura 8-0 for an 11-1 aggregate.
  Yesterday, Tenaga opted to slow down their match after taking a huge lead in the first semis. Faizal Saari (17th) and Faiz Helmi (58th) scored for Tenaga, while Shakeel Abbasi (51st) and Zulhairi Hashim (67th) scored for Maybank.
  KLHC, the TNB Cup holders for the last two seasons, went on a first half rampage with four goals from Akhtar Ali (eighth), Chua Boon Huat (14th), Umar Bhutta (20th) and Kelvinder Singh (26th).
  And in the second half, Muhammad Imran (40th, 45th), Kelvinder (56th), Nabil Fiqri (66th) completed the rout.
  Tenaga also had another reason to celebrate, as their second stringers TNB Thunderbolts defeated Ipoh City Council 8-2, to complete an 14-5 aggregate win to play in the President's Cup final.
  They will meet UiTM, who drew 1-1 with Sunday 2030, but advanced 3-2 on aggregate.
  "We slowed down our game in the second leg as we already had a comfortable cusion from the first leg. This was done to avoid injuries and also cards as we long to touch the TNB Cup on Sunday," said Tenaga coach Nor Azlan Bakar.
  "We had a slim cushion, and that is why we went all out in the first half itself to make sure we play in the final again. Now, we are just one step away from defending out TNB Cup title," said KLHC coach George Koshy.
  RESULTS: Semi-finals Second Leg: TNB Cup -- Tenaga 2 Maybank 2 (Tenaga win 8-4 on aggregate), KLHC 8 Sapura 0 (KLHC win 11-1 on aggregate).
   President's Cup: Ipoh CC 2 TNB Thunderbolts 8 (Thunderbolts win 14-5 on aggregate), UiTM 1 Sunday 1 (UiTM win 3-2 on aggregate).

PC's could do the trick for Sapura..

KLHC's Kelvinder Singh in the centre of a high-ball tussle against Sapura players.
 
KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) have a two-goal cushion over Sapura in the TNB Cup semi-finals, but are wary of a Pakistan overturn in the return leg today.
     TNB Cup holders KHLC, even though a jaded side on Friday, still managed to beat Sapura 3-1.
    However, the second leg semis will be purely academic for Tenaga Nasinal, who have virtually qualified for the final after they hammered Maybank 6-3 in the first leg.
    “Although I am glad with the win and two-goal cushion, I am not happy with the way my team played overall as they are capable of much better hockey.
   “And with Pakistan penalty corner flicker Kashif Ali on Sapura’s side, it would be foolish to celebrate before the second 70 minutes are over,” warned KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
   For the record, Kashif never got a chance to show his prowess in the semis, as Sapura were unlucky not to have won even a single penalty corner.
   The coach also tagged the lame show by his players to the two-week break: “The players rested more than 10 days after the League ended to play in the semi-finals, and this, to a certain degree, cooled down some of them and it showed in their slow approach.
    “Now, we need to play at a higher level and also not give away too many penalty corners, to have a chance of defending out title -- possibly against Tenaga,” said Dharmaraj.
    It would be hard to deny Tenaga a charge into the final, as they have a four-goal cushion against Maybank.
    As for Sapura, their manager S. Kuhan, a former national skipper, lamented on the fact that they did not win a single penalty corner: “It was really disappointing that we were not awarded a single penalty corner in the first leg. The two goal-cushion is not really big, and we have nothing to lose but to go on the offensive from the start to erase it.”
    TODAY: Semi-finals Second Leg: TNB Cup -- Tenaga (6) v Maybank (2) v (6pm), KLHC (3) v Sapura (1) (8pm).
   President's Cup: Ipoh CC (3) v TNB Thunderbolts (6) (6pm), UiTM (2) v Sunday 2030 (1) (8pm).
    Note: First leg scores in parenthesis. All matches at Pitch I and II of National Stadium Bukit Jalil.

KLHC struggle, Tenaga cruise..

TNB Cup champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) edged Sapura 3-1 in the first leg semi-finals at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
  But in the second semi-finals, Tenaga hammered Maybank 6-2 to virtually book their final spot, making the return leg semi-finals an uphill battle for the Tigers.
  However, it was KLHC who suffered an early setback, only to bounce back just before the half-time to tie Sapura at 1-1.
  In a drab semi-finals, Sapura took the lead in the 24th minute when Joel Samuel dribbled three players and shot to the top of the roof.
  However, KLHC came back into the picture seven minutes later when Razie Rahim scored from a penalty corner attempt.
  KLHC only had two penalty corners on the 15th and 31st minutes, while Spura did not have any for the first 35 minutes.
  After the breather, Pakistan import Akhtar Ali broke the deadlock with an early field attempt in the 37th minute.
   And Chua Boon Huat gave KLHC a better cushion into the return leg on Sunday with a penalty corner deflection goal in the 55th minute to make it 3-1.
  And the score remained until the final hooter.
  "We made several errors in defense and KLHC capitalised on it, but we still have a fighting chance in the return leg.
  "We scored the early goal on the counter but then opted to defend too deep and paid the price," said Sapura manager S. Kuhan.
  "But the tie is still alive and we need to believe in our ability in order to get a positive result on Sunday. We should really have created some penalty corners as that could have helped our cause, as none came our way."
  In the other semis, the Tenaga goals were scored by Izat Hakimi (eighth), Shahril Saabah (17th, 66th), Firhan Ashaari (27th) and Faiz Helmi (55th, 63rd).
  An own goal by Tenaga, Aminuddin Zain, in the 21st minute and a field goal from Shakeel Abbasi in the 70th minute narrowed the gap for Maybank.
  RESULTS -- Semi-finals First Leg: TNB Cup -- Sapura 1 KLHC 3, Maybank 2 Tenaga 6.
   President's Cup: TNB Thunderbolts 6 Ipoh CC 3, Sunday 2030 1 UiTM 2.
   SUNDAY: Semi-finals Second Leg: TNB Cup -- Tenaga v Maybank v (6pm), KLHC v Sapura (8pm).
   President's Cup: Ipoh CC v TNB Thunderbolts (6pm), UiTM v Sunday 2030 (8pm).
  Note: All matches at Pitch I and II of National Stadium Bukit Jalil.

Under-16 dispute..

KUALAR Lumpur HA secretary V. Rajamanikam yesterday blasted the Under-16 selection for Mannheim, Germany, by calling it biased.
  The Four-Nation will be held on May 18-20, and Malaysia will be up against Belgium, Netherlands and Germany.
  "KL were the National Under-16 champions for five consecutive years before losing out in the semi-finals (2-1 to Malacca) this season. A big number of our players have been playing together since they were under-14 and had won the Under-16 title for KL in previous years.
  "That is why I am calling the Mannheim selection biased, as only one KL player was selected for the squad of 18," said Rajamanikam.
  The selected KL player is goalkeeper Suhayl Ainol Azmi.
  However, coach S. Prakash defended his selection, by saying that it was based on merit.
  "A panel of coaches selected the players based on friendly matches and also fitness, and there was no bias towards any state.
  "We had a short time to assemble the side, so the number one criteria was fitness and that is why some of the players did not make the grade," said Prakash, who is also the Bukit Jalil Sports School coach.
  In the National Under-16 Perak lifted the title.

DAP rocket blasted onto Pas moon...

THE Prime Minister's religious advisor Datuk Seri Dr Abdullah Md Zin yesterday blasted the DAP rocket all the way to the Pas moon, when he lambasted both parties for playing a 'hudud drama', just for the sake of a few votes.

  PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had said that even though DAP were vocal about the implementation of hudud if Pakatan Rakyat were to come into power, they were not opposed to it.

   Umno on the other hand, were non-committal on the matter, while silently opposing its implementation.

  "It is very disturbing how Pas can make statements without any proof or basis, just for the sake  of winning a few extra votes. Everybody knows DAP's disdain on hudut, and Hadi is living in a dream world, and should wake up to reality," said Abdullah, who was the former MP for Besut.

  Abdullah pointed out that UMNO has always championed the Islamic way of living, as evident to the implementation of Syariah law.

   "Umno has always been championing the five tenets of Islam, and Syariah law is implemented in all the courts in every state. How can 

Pas claim that Umno is silently opposed to Islam by not implementing 

hudud law, as even Hadi himself had said earlier that hudud is only 0.001 per cent of the total laws in Islam?

  "It is DAP that has been very vocal in opposing the implementations of Islamic law, as Karpal Singh (Dap National Chairman) had said "over my dead body" when asked about it?

   "Another question for PAS is that how come they can't even implement hudud in Kelantan which they hold? If they can't follow their own dreams in Kelantan, why shout and rant about it during the election period only?," lambasted Abdullah.

  At a function for the retired in Kuala Besut yesterday, Besut 

Parliament candidate Datuk Seri Ibrahim Jusoh also took Pas to task.

   "Nothing that Pas politicians say can be trusted as they have been playing this game with DAP for decades. Hudud or no hudud always comes to the forefront during election years and is then placed in the dark after that.

  "Pas is fighting a losing battle in Terengganu, as they have failed 

to get the Chinese here to listen to them. As an example, a few Chinese got together and constructed a Pas booth near Jerteh, but it only lasted one day as it was torn down because they could not work together for even 24-hours.

  "How can they run a country is they can't even agree on a small booth in the run-up to the elections?," said Idris.

   About 200 pensioners were feted at the function, and most of them live and vote in the Kota Putera constituency which will see a three cornered fight between Barisan Nasional, Pas and PKR candidates.