Malaysia

Tenaga Nasional earned the comeback specialist tag en route to winning the overall title in the last year's Malaysia Hockey League.

Last year they came back from first-leg defeats in the quarter-final and semi-final to lift the title in the final.

This year Tenaga are in a similar situation. They lost the first-leg quarter-final 2-3 to Telekom Malaysia on Friday.

Today, Tenaga will be out to overturn the one-goal deficit in the return leg.

Tenaga coach K. Rajan said his players are unperturbed by the first-leg loss.

“We have come back from behind before. We did it last year against Maybank (0-1) and Sapura (1-3) and I do not see why we cannot do it again.

“It is not a big lead and we just have to go and make sure we get our act right from the word go. We have the ability and I feel confident that the team will rise to the occasion tomorrow (today),” said Rajan.

“The players did not get anything right in the first half against Telekom in the first leg and we were down 0-2. They played better in the second half to finally lose 2-3.

“We have to start strongly and go for the early goal to get back on even terms in the second leg. Once we have done that, I am confident we can chalk up a win,” he added.

Telekom are making their debut in the MHL and have two Indian imports to spearhead their challenge. And it was one of their imports who destroyed the Tenaga on Friday.

Len Aiyappa, who has been the MHL top scorer for the last two years, was the man who scored all three of Telekom's goals. He scored from a penalty stroke and twice from the penalty corner set-piece moves.

Tenaga is aware of the danger from Len.

“Len is flicking well and is a major danger. So we have stop giving away penalty corners. The defenders have to work harder and get the ball out of the danger zone quickly.”

Telekom coach S. Prakash, who led the Bukit Jalil Sports School to a double in the Malaysia Junior Hockey League earlier this year, said that they would be facing a highly motivated team in the return leg today.

“They have come from behind to win matches before and they will certainly be in no mood to lose. We will have to take the chances that come along and not crumble to pressure.

“We also have experienced players. We have to stay calm. The match is likely to be close and we have to keep ahead. An early goal will be crucial,” said Prakash whose team drew 1-1 with Tenaga in the preliminary round.

The other match that is likely to be a close encounter is the Bank Simpanan Nasional and Maybank tie. They drew 0-0 in the first leg and it will not be a surprise if they outcome is decided by a penalty shootout.

League champions Sapura and Ernst and Young are virtually through to the semis after their massive wins in the first leg.

Sapura has a 7-0 first leg win over Royal Malay Regiment (RMR) while Ernst and Young were 4-0 victors over SAS Pahang.

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