Tenaga on a high

KUALA LUMPUR: Former champions Tenaga Nasional turned on the power in the second half to defeat defending overall champions Sapura 3-1 in the first-leg semi-finals of the TNB-Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium yesterday.

In the other semi-final, league champions Ernst and Young outplayed Division Two outfit Batu Pahat 4-1 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil. For Tenaga, it was their first win over Sapura. They played four times in the league and drew thrice (1-1, 0-0, 2-2) and lost once (0-1). Tenaga, who won the overall title in 2004, started off well by earning two penalty corners in the first 12 minutes but failed to convert.

However, they took the lead off their third penalty corner in the 22nd minute with Mohd Amin Rahim scoring with a low flick. Sapura, the league runners-up, fought back to earn two penalty corners but on both occasions national midfielder Jiwa Mohan, who is the top scorer in the league with 23 goals, saw both attempts stopped by the Tenaga defenders.

Sapura, however, managed to equalise through Jiwa’s younger brother Jivan off a penalty corner set-piece in the 42nd minute. But Tenaga stormed back and scored two goals in a five-minute spell. Former international M. Kaliswaran scored with a brilliant reverse stick that had Sapura goalkeeper Mohd Nasihin Nubli well beaten in the 57th minute. And five minutes later Tajol Rosli beat a defender on the right before squaring the ball to national forward S. Selvaraju who blasted it into the top net.

Tenaga, however, will not have Selvaraju’s services in the return leg after he collected a yellow card in the 47th minute. He has collected 12 demerit points and is suspended for one match. Tenaga coach K. Rajan said that the 3-1 win was a very good result. “My boys played well and they defended well in numbers. And our counter-attacks worked well in the second half as we scored two excellent goals.” Sapura assistant coach Stephen van Huizen said that Tenaga took their chances well while while his team missed a few sitters.

“Our defence gave Tenaga the space to create chances after defender S. Shankar injured his knee in the second half. And they made use of the chances to score two goals. “The 1-3 deficit has made our task harder in the return leg,” said Stephen. Ernst and Young, who took a step closer to the final, scored their goals through Ismail Abu (3rd), Mohd Shahrun Nabil (23rd), Mohd Amerullah Abdul Aziz (30th) and Mohd Faizal Daud (42nd). Razlan Mohd Radzi scored for Batu Pahat in the 10th minute. The return leg will be played on Wednesday.