KLHC trounce Sapura to attain Premier Division Title with unbeaten record
With an unbeaten record, Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) emerged victorious over talented Sapura to lift the third consecutive title in the Premier Division of the 2011 Malaysian Hockey League (MHL), played at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil,
Malaysia.
Defending champions, KLHC, whipped the defending runner-up, Sapura, by 5-1.
After playing eight games in the Premier Division, KLHC earned 24 points. It scored the highest 45 goals and conceded only 12 in the event.
KLHC will face minnows SSTMI-Thunderbolt in the quarter-final match of the knockout stage.
KLHC – the winner, Sapura – the runner-up and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) – the third position holder were honoured with RM60, 000, RM40, 000 and RM30, 000 respectively.
George Koshy, Manager of the triumphant squad, was of the opinion that the team will move into the knockout stage with the same zeal and fervor in order to defend the double titles.
He underscored, “We have achieved two of our targets (Charity Shield and League title) and going into the overall battle, my players will keep the same tempo and there will be no mercy against the Division One champions. We are dead serious about the knockout
stages, and will field our best even when playing against weaker sides.”
The rivals started the match with very high intensity as only Sapura is known to truly challenge KLHC’s winning streak.
However, the players from the latter side contested the competition very tactfully without making mistakes throughout the seventy-minutes of play.
Although the results of the match were not going to affect the positions of the two teams, the duo battled in a dazzling way for triumph.
Both, KLHC and Sapura, displayed an end-to-end play in the first quarter of the match and exchanged plenty of attacks.
Finally, KLHC succeeded to make domination at the hands of Fitri Saari who scored a goal from the field in the 27th minute of the mark.
The first half concluded at 1-0 with KLHC scoring the only goal throughout the thirty-five minutes of play.
With six minutes into the second half, Mohamed Razie Rahim marked a goal from the field and doubled the tally.
In a matter of four minutes, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin notched another goal and increased the lead to three.
Although Sapura earned a goal in the 57th minute at the hands of S. Kuhan, it did not create much impact on KLHC’s remarkable game.
Ismail Abu and Amerullah Aziz scored one goal each in the 61st and 65th minutes respectively to seal the victory for KLHC in the crucial competition.
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