Defending champion Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) set up a mouth-watering TNB Cup final after demolishing their respective opponents in contrasting styles when the second leg semifinals ended Sunday.
KLHC routed Sapura 8-0 in their second leg semifinal encounter today to advance on a 11-1 aggregate (first leg 3-1) while TNB who had beaten Maybank 6-2 in the first leg, booked their berth after a 2-2 draw at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, to qualify on a 8-4 aggregate. The final is scheduled for May 19, at the same venue.
"Winning the second leg despite a two goal advantage was very important for us and the players lived up to expectations. I hope the players will maintain the momentum in the final," said KLHC coach Muhammad Dharmaraj Abdullah.
KLHC spearheaded by a number of internationals started the match on an aggressive note and held Sapura by the throat as early as the 8th minute when Akhtar Ali gave them a flying start.
Chua Boon Huat added the second before Muhammad Umar Bhutta (20th min) and Kevinder Singh (26th minute) made it 4-0 by half-time.
KLHC started off from where they had left when the second half started with Muhammad Imran adding a brace in quick succession (40th, 45th minute) before Kevinder scored his second of the night in the 56th minute while Nabil Fiqri Mohd Noor completed the rout in the 66th minute.
TNB with five Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) titles under their belt, the latest in the 2009/2010 edition, seemed to be in a more relaxed mode today after the 6-2 whipping in the first leg, struck first in the 17th minute through Faizal Saari's penalty corner strike before Faiz Helmi Jali added the second in the 58th minute.
Maybank's goals came through their Pakistani import Shakeel Abbasi and Mohd Zulhairi Hashim in the 51st and 67th minutes respectively.
"I am happy that we advanced despite the 2-2 draw. We have six days to prepare for the final and I hope to rectify the mistakes and weaknesses before planning our strategy for the final," said TNB coach Nor Azlan Bakar.
Bernama
Sun May 12 2013
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