KLHC clinches 2nd overall Malaysian Hockey League title
At last the struggle of ninety-two days bore fruits for Kula Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC), as it overpowered Sapura and earned the second victory in the finals of the TNB Cup Malaysian Hockey League (MHL). The one-sided contest was played at the arena of the
Tun Razak Hockey Stadium in Kula Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.
The legendary squad of KLHC received their second overall victory in the MHL, as they won last time in 2008 under the banner of Ernst and Young. It was one of the best performances from KLHC in the short history of the league where it only lost one game
out of total twenty-two competitions.
The two legendary squads in the crowd-packed hockey stadium contested the crucial finals of the tournament.
The KLHC triumph over Sapura was a sigh of relief for the fans and hockey lovers who were looking this moment from last 117 days.
Right from the game-opening, the players of KLHC started up the contest in quite a strategic way. They played offensively throughout the game and could not let the opponents to take over them.
One minute into the match – Nabil Fiqri – the fabled striker of KLHC picked up the cross passing from Azlan Misron, converted it into a successful goal through a powerful drive from top of the circle, and put his squad ahead on the scoreboard.
After conceding a goal, the players of Sapura geared up their offence and carried out numerous attacks against KLHC. However, they failed to make a tie-up in the first half of play. Sapura though earned four penalty corners but his all time favourite S.
Kuhan could not convert a single shot and trailed by a narrow one-goal, 1-0 at the end of the first half.
The players of KLHC adopted defensive approaches after the go-ahead goal in the opening period. Although they speeded up their strikes in the last minutes of the first half, it could not double the tally. Razie Rahim – the in-form player of KLHC was also
off the colours and missed three shorts corners in the period.
After a brief intermission – the two teams sprang up their offences and entered into the more offensive phase of the contest. Ismail Abu of KLHC missed a golden chance in the very first minute of the second half and failed to double the tally.
At last the strikers of Sapura succeeded to do so what they were trying from the very first minute of the game. Lim Woo Geun of Sapura converted a striking short corner in the 46th minute of the match and had it all even at one-all.
But the tie-up could not last for long and KLHC punched another goal to regain the lead in the game. KLHC earned a penalty corner in the 48th minute through a foul committed by Amerullah Aziz. Razie Rahim – the highest scorer of the league scored
off the penalty corner through a powerful drag flick which moved perfectly into the posts.
Another ho-hum player of KLHC, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin notched a field goal in the 58th minute of the game and expanded the KLHC lead to two goals, 3-1. An end to end play was observed in the remaining period and KLHC rode away the field with a
gold medal victory in the TNB Cup. With the win – it also succeeded to win the overall title of the league for the second time.