Malaysia

BY AFTAR SINGH

KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions Sapura moved three points off the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) title when they beat Maybank 2-1, thanks to two first-half field goals by P. Prabahkaran, at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium yesterday.

Sapura now have 24 points from eight wins will retain the title if they beat Sultan Ahmad Shah (SAS) of Pahang on Friday at the same venue.

National forward Prabahkaran was on target in the 14th and 34th minutes while the Tigers replied through Mohd Anuar Ali in the 55th minute.

Sapura coach Tai Beng Hai was a pleased man.

“We will go all out to beat SAS of Pahang and retain our title. But I have to say it was not easy against Maybank. We did well to score twice in the first half. In the second half, though, Maybank came back charging at us,” he said.

“We were a bit worried after they scored but we managed to hold on.”

Sapura were without national midfielder K. Keevan Raj, who was out on a one-match suspension, and their two former South Korean internationals – Kang Keon-wook and Hwang Jong-hyun – failed to impress.

And it was left to Prabahkaran to give them lead in the 14th minute. He collected a pass from Keon-wook before scoring it with a reverse stick hit.

Prabahkaran then made it 2-0 off a goalmouth melee in the 34th minute.

The Tigers, who were disorganised in the first-half, got their act together in the second and won their first penalty corner in the 48th minute.

However, top scorer Hairul Nizam Abdul Rani could not convert.

But they managed to reduce the deficit with a close-range strike from Mohd Anuar Ali in the 55th minute.

In an earlier match at the same venue, Tenaga Nasional, the defending overall champions, came back from a goal down to edge SAS 2-1.

The Pahang team surprised Tenaga with a field goal in the 13th minute through Mohd Norhafizie Jamil.

However, Tenaga equalised seven minutes later through national forward Tajol Rosli before Mohd Fairuz Ramli got their winner in the 53rd minute.

With the win, Tenaga are lying second in the 11-team league with 22 points from nine matches. They will wrap up their fixtures against Ernst and Young on Friday.

Former champions BSN, meanwhile, thrashed Royal Malay Regiment (RMR) 4-1 at the Tun Razak Stadium with all four goals coming from Ikmal Abdul Jabar after Arif Ali had given the soldiers an early lead in the 13th minute.

Ikmal scored the four field goals in the 26th, 32nd, 42nd and 61st minutes.

Rate This Article

Select Here  5 Stars  (Best Rating)   4 Stars   3 Stars   2 Stars   1 Star  (Worst Rating)

Your opinion counts.
Rate this article or enter your comments below.