skip to main |
skip to sidebar
PIC: Noor Faeez Ibrahim
NATIONAL seniors coach Paul Revington made a clear statement that he will not tolerate laggards, when he slammed the door or national juniors skipper Noor Faeez Ibrahim for failing to buck up.
Noor Faez skippered the Junior Asia Cup side which won gold in Malacca and took Malaysia into the New Delhi Junior World Cup, but his attitude as well as form had dropped tremendously since.
And South African Revington had no choice but to drop him from the 26 trainees named for World League Semi-finals on June 29 to July 7 in Johor Baru.
“I had no choice but to drop Faeez, because his form and his appoach towards the sport had dropped tremendously. One could see the change during the MHL (Malaysia Hockey League) and I can’t afford players like this as we prepare for the World League,” said Paul Revington.
The tournament in Johor Baru offers tickets to the World Cup, and Malaysia will be up against World No 1 Germany, Argentina, England, South Korea, Pakistan, South Africa and a yet to be named team.
The two-group, with four teams each, World League will be based on the new format where the group matches do not count, with all eight teams qualifying for the quarter-finals.
And one win in the last eight will see Malaysia finish top-four and qualify for the World Cup.
“Even though we are ranked seventh out of the eight teams, the plan is tho qualify for the World Cup from the World League so that we do not have to be under stress during the Asia Cup (Aug 24-Sept 1) which is another avenue to make the World Cup,” said Revington.
The five ‘new’ inclusions were goalkeeper Khairulnizam Ibrahim, Ahmad Kazamirul, Azreen Rizal, Meor Azuan and Firhan Ashaari.
And five players in the squad are still Under-21 and eligible for the Junior World Cup in New Delhi in November.
Among the top players in the injury list was Ismail Abu, whose chances of playing in the two major tournaments this year depends on the speed of his recovery.
TRAINING SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Khairulnizam Ibrahim, S.Kumar, Roslan Jamaluddin.
Defenders: Azlan Misron, Azreen Rizal, Baljit Singh, Faiz Helmi, Shukri Mutalib, Izad Hakimi, Amin Rahim, Razie Rahim, Ahmad Kazamirul.
Midfielders: Jivan Mohan, Meor Azuan, Fitri Saari, Shahrun Nabil, Marhan Jalil, Norhizzat Sumantri,
Forwards: Chua Boon Huat, Faisal Saari, Izwan Firdaus, Azzami Abadi, Firhan Ashaari, Ramadhan Rosli, Nabil Fiqri, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin.
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).
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.
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.
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.
