Sapura edge past Maybank in Malaysian Hockey League: 3-2 – Hockey Update
Sapura put in a tremendous performance as they beat Maybank 3-2 in the Premier Division of the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) on September 21 at the National Hockey Stadium.
Sapura, which opened the tournament on a great 4-0 victory over Armed Forces Airod, started the game quite impressively and ruined the defensive line of Maybank in the first quarter of the match. Sapura came out looking to dominate early with some aggressive
play.
Maybank Coach Wallace Tan spoke with the media after the match and was not satisfied with game opening. He commented that the game was unimpressive and he felt that his team gave up too many goals in the beginning of the match. He said, “Considering the
fact that it was our first match, I am happy with the fight back after being 3-0 down but it is a position we should never have been in. Though we had several chances late in the match, our failure to convert them cost us the game.” The defeat taught them
a lot and they will have to start winning games if they want to finish on the podium among top teams.
Though, the team Sapura won the match, they failed to impress their coach I. Vickneswaran. He expressed dissatisfaction in the way the team missed the opportunity to hold back the lead of three goals. He added, “We are guilty of letting our guard down.”
The Sapura fighters were quite lucky, as they won the match despite an impressive comeback from Maybank in the second half of play. Holding a whitewash victory in their hands, Sapura wasted little time to establish their dominance on the field and scored
the first goal of the day in the very starting seconds. Azreen Rizal Nasir managed to take the ball at the top of the circle and sent the reverse drag flick into the goalposts. With spending few minutes in the easy game, they earned a short corner and tested
S. Kuhan in the 13th minute of the mark. He did not disappoint the hopes of Sapura players and doubled the tally through a brilliant hit.
In a matter of eight minutes, Azreen notched another score and helped expand the lead up to three. However, the opponents came alive and reduced the lead in the 26th minute at the hands of Mohd Zulhairi Hashim.
Zulhairi converted another in the 44th minute but to no avail. The Sapura defenders showed an impressive game in the later part and won the match 3-2. It will be interesting to see how Sapura carry their winning momentum forward in their next
match-up.
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