KL beat Perak to get back in the race for semis spot

Defending champions Kuala Lumpur beat table-toppers Perak 3-1 to bounce back into the race for a semi-final berth in the National Under-16 hockey championship at the Seremban Two Hockey Stadium here yesterday.

KL’s win has thrown the semi-final race in Group A wide open, with for teams now in the hunt.

Selangor, who lost 0-2 to Perak on Monday, are also back in the mix after a 3-1 win over Kelantan in the evening.

All four teams have six points after two wins and a defeat each.

The Perak-KL game was played at breakneck speed, with all the goals coming in the frenetic first-half.

Perak took the lead in the 17th minute when Mohd Dzahiruddin Ilas scored from a penalty corner set piece and were seemingly in control of the match.

But KL turned the game around when Mohd Taufik Abdul Hamid scored a field goal after a mistake by the Perak defenders in the 21st minute.

Two minutes later he scored another field goal to put KL in control.

With the Perak team in disarray, KL sealed victory with Mohd Mohd Nor’s penalty corner goal in the 35th minute.

KL coach I. Vicknesweran was thankful to have been given a second lease of life after their opening day defeat to Selangor (0-1).

“This was a match we needed to win. The players started off slowly but we managed to get the goals when it mattered,” he said.

In Group B, Terengganu took a step closer to the semi-finals with a 7-0 thrashing of Kedah.

Terengganu have maximum points after three matches and another win today will be enough for them to qualify for the last four.

Mohd Firhan Ashari scored a hat-trick in the second, seventh and 18th minutes. Terengganu’s other scorers were Nursyafiq Farhain (27th), Mohd Zulhairi (52nd), Mohd Rasul Yusof (62nd) and Mohd Firdaus (64th).

Penang, Negri Sembilan and Singapore are still in race for the other berth from Group B.

Penang kept alive their hopes with a 3-2 win over Johor while Negri laboured to a 1-0 win over Singapore.