A BRIGHT DEVELOPMENT

After a journey that took almost 27 hours including transfers, the national hockey team arrived safely at Buenos Aries Argentina to participate in the Champions Challenge I that commences this Saturday with Malaysia opening their campaign against Poland.

With a time difference of 11 hours ( Argentina is behind us ) the players settled down right away and were on the pitch hours later.

And they defeated Ireland 3-2 in what can be described as a postive development for the Paul Revington coached side.

Faisal Saari scored a goal while Ismail Abu made a splendid comeback by smashing in two goals.

" The players are in high spirits and even though it was a long journey, it did not dampened their enthusiasm and are looking forward to the start of the tournament," said team manager when contacted.

"It was a smooth flight and no luggage what so ever was missing and thats a good omen.

"Though tired, the players did not show any effects in the match against Ireland."

Koshy added that every thing was in order and players were well focussed on the task at hand.

DAY 4 - MHC-MILO-NSC-MOE NATIONAL UNDER 14

Negri Sembilan scrapped past Penang 5-4 in the MHC-Milo-NSC-MOE National Under 14 Tournament at the Seremban Two Hockey Stadium.

And defending champions Kuala Lumpur had to come from a goal down to hold Johor to a 1-1 draw in a Group A match.

The hosts were lucky to have registered a win as Penang came from a 5-1 deficit to close the gap to 5-4 but ran out of time.

The win was Negri’s third in four matches thus far and puts them second in Group B with Perak on top with a 100 per cent record.

“My players became complacent and nearly paid the price for it. This is a good lesson not take any opponent or lead for granted. Their lackadisical atitude almost cost us three points,” said Negri coach Balbir Singh.

“Now we have to get full points from our remaining two matches against Sabah and Terengganu. And we just cannot afford to drop points as Terengganu and Penang are in with a chance as well should we falter.”

It was Penang who took the lead in the 5^th minute through Muhd Aiman Asyraff Mansor. However Negri were on level terms three minutes later through Muhd Hilmi Hairuddin.

Goals by Mohd Yusry Shamsol (27^th minute), Hilmi (30^th minute) and Muhd Hameran (35^th minute) gave Negri a comfortable 4-1 lead at halftime.

A penalty stroke converted by Abdul Syafiq Abdul Razak in the 38^th minute further extended the lead.

But Penang hit a purple patch, scoring three goals in a nine minute spell through Muhd Azim Ilias (60^th minute), Mohd Farhan Rozi (61^st minute) and Muhd Safirul Sazali (69^th minute) brought the islanders within a goal of forcing a draw.

However they ran out of time and Negri could consider themselves as lucky.

In another Group B clash, last year’s runner up Terengganu dropped points when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Malacca.

The east coast side took the lead in the 44^th minute through Muhd Amirul Mirza Rozi only for Malacca to draw level in the 52^nd minute with Adam Aiman Mamat scoring off a penalty corner.

And seven minutes later Malacca surged ahead through the efforts of Amir Wafiq Aizat Kamruddin. Muhd Shakir Izuddin Shamsuri saved the blushes for Terengganu by scoring in the 64^th minute.

Kuala Lumpur had registered two wins before lining up against Johor. But they found themselves a goal down in the 38^th minute as Johor’s Mohd Amirul Hanis Abdul Aziz converted a penalty corner.

Despite dominating play, the city side failed to make use of their chances and only got their equaliser in the 51^st minute when Fallah Hassan Shahrom Jamil scored off a penalty corner.

In another Group A match, Pahang and Perlis played to a 2-2 draw. Pahang led through Muhd Ikmal Hafiz in the 18^th minute only for Perlis to equalise in the 55^th minute via Muhd Nur Hakim Bakri who converted a penalty corner.

Two minutes later Pahang took the lead for the second time in a match through Muhd Ilman Nazmi. But a goal in the final minute by Perlis by Izzwan Arif Nazaruddin made sure the points were shared.

Results:

Group A

Perlis 2 Pahang 2

Johor 1 Kuala Lumpur 1

Group B

Negri Sembilan 5 Penang 4

Perak  5 Sabah 0

Terengganu 2 Malacca 2

Fixtures: Wednesday, November 21

Group A

0800H – Selangor v Kelantan

1630 – Kuala Lumpur v Pahang

Group B

0800H – Kedah v Terengganu

1600H – Sabah v Terengganu

1800H – Malacca v Penang

GROUP A

                                P        W       D        L        F        A        PTS

K. Lumpur               3        2        1         0        8        3            7

Kelantan                  2        1        1         0        1        0            4

Johor                       3         1        1        1         8        4           4

Selangor                  2         1        0        1         4       6            3

Pahang                    3          0        2        1         1       7            2

Perlis                       3         0        1        2         2       4            1

GROUP B

                                 P        W       D        L        F      A        PTS

Perak                       4         4        0         0        13      2           12

N. Sembilan            4         3        0         1        13      8            9

Penang                    3         2        0         1        13      8            6

Terengganu             3         1        1         1          5       5           4

Malacca                  3          1       1         1          5       6            4

Sabah                      4         0        0         4          4      15          0

Kedah                     3         0        0        3          1       10          0

WHAT A CHARACTER

There is a senior official within Malaysian Hockey Confederation that has scant respect for the President of MHC.

For this personality, known to be power crazy and habours hopes of taking over the administration of MHC is now going around making baseless allegations and undermining the ability of the President.

For this person, who does not deserve a mention on this blog, no thanks to the kniving approach adopted has gone about claiming that this blogger was the one who prepared the presentation of Tengku Abdullah.

The fact that it is people like this official and some other henchmen have said same very nasty things about me so much so my path to even have an audience with the President has been blocked.

But I could not careless as hockey is in my blood and this personality was a mere kid when I was involved in hockey administration. 

Ironically Tengku Abdullah had merely hours before that called for all involved in hockey to close ranks. But guess it fell on deaf ears.

This person had during a group conversation labeled me as the enemy of hockey but failed to realise that the dictatorial approach initiated by this individual had turned the sport into a debacle and more is to be revealed here soon.

Guess this person/s were hurt that they were not consulted about the content. And in additional the remark that the seminar was a waste of time is uncalled for.

And what about the grammer mistakes in the appreciation letter sent by the President, who wrote that?

Let the war begin.....

STOP HIBERNATING

"Jangan cakap banyak, buat kerja”.

Those were the words of Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the President of the Malaysian Hockey Confederation in his closing remarks at a special seminar for a ffiliates and office bearers in Johor Baru yesterday.

And in addition Tengku Abdullah also censured those who utilise “Titah Tuanku” (royal decree) randomly as he remarked that any such instruction would come from him directly from now on. 

In proposing sweeping changes within MHC, Tengku Abdullah also said that he wanted the constitution of MHC reviewed as it was not lean as it should be. 

“We have just too many positions and the issue of reserving certain positions for a particular gender needs to be looked at,” said Tengku Abdullah. 

“I wish to propose that a free elections and only for the top two will there be a case of gender equality. 

“And the time has come for all in the hockey fraternity, be it from MHC, the states and even the media to close ranks and work towards improving hockey in the country.” 

Tengku Abdullah paid particular attention to what he termed as jealousy, back biting and character assination as the traits that hockey could well do without. 

“Stop the politicking and get down to work. There is much to do and everyone needs to play their part in ensuring we qualify for the 2016 Olympics,” said Tengku Abdullah. 

And in his presentation at the seminar, Tengku Abdullah outlined the structure that MHC will adopt from January 2013. 

Four departments are to be created, namely Administration, Competitions, Coaching & Development and the International Department. 

To be helmed by full time Directors, these departments have been given specific tasks. In addition Tengku Abdullah also wants the 1MAS program to be reviewed, as he wants specific attention to be paid towards training of penalty corner specialists from a young age. 

“In order to ensure that hockey reaches the masses, I want the 1MAS program to be expanded and from now on it will be a 1 pitch 1 centre ratio and not one state one centre,” clarified Tengku Abdullah. 

“We need to pay special attention towards development and I want all states to ensure that they have a development program and not depend on ad-hoc way towards developing hockey. 

“And it is a requirement for states to have a league and I will consider a grant for states that hold their leagues.” 

The President also allowed the states to present their views and was receptive of the ideas put forward. 

A Task Force will be formed to implement the changes. 

But the big question is wil these changes be implemented or will it just collect dust in the corridors of Bukit Jalil, the nerve centre of Malaysian Hockey. 

MHF-MILO-NSC-MOE DAY THREE

Negri Sembilan registered their second win on consecutive days when they defeated Kedah 4-0 in the MHC-Milo-NSC-MOE National Under 14 tournament at the Seremban 2 Hockey Stadium.

Two goals each from Mahathir Rathuwan (10^th and 24^th minutes) and Muhammad Hilmi Hairuddin ( 26^th and 35^th minutes ) gave the hosts a resounding win although they really should have added to their tally in the second half.

Penang registered a 6-2 win over Sabah who had done well in earlier matches restricting their opponents to just one goal margin of defeat.

Muhd Aiman Asyraff Mansor put Penang ahead in the 11^th minute, converting a penalty corner. But Shello Silverus made it all square in the 15^th minute, only for Penang to regain the lead in the 19^th minute via Afif Haikal Mohamad Azhar.

Silverus scored his second to pull his team level in the 22^nd minute via a penalty corner.

But that was as far as Sabah could last as Penang added another four goals in the second half through Muhd Azim Ilias (42^nd minute), Tengku Ariff Haikal Tengku Nor Kamarul Haizan (57^th minute), Muhd Safirul Sazali ( 66^th minute) and Mohammad Farhan Rozi ( 69^th minute) to take all three points.

Meanwhile Selangor defeated Johor 3-1 with the goals for Selangor coming from Muhd Asyraff Nazri ( 47^th minute), Fariq Razin Idris ( 50^th minute) and Muhammad Faisol Rohizan ( 67^th minute). Johor’s solitary goal was scored by Mohd Amirul Hanis Abdul Aziz in the 27^th minute.

Perak continued their winning ways by defeating last year’s runner up Terengganu 3-1 to consolidate their lead in Group B.

And the battle of the east coast states , between Kelantan and Pahang ended scoreless.

MHC-MILO-NSC-MOE UNDER 14 DAY TWO

Negri Sembilan registered their first win in the MHC-Milo-NSC-MOE National Under 14 tournament when they defeated Malacca 3-1 at the Seremban Two Hockey Stadium this evening.

In their opening match against Perak the previous day, the hosts lost by a similar scoreline.

And defending champions Kuala Lumpur edged Perlis 2-1 to continue their winning start in the tournament.

It was Malacca that took the lead the 3^rd minute through Muhammad Irsyad Amir.

Negri equalised in the 27^th minute through Abduul Syafiq Abdul Razak. Muhammad Hilmi Hairuddin put Negri ahead in the 54^th minute before Mahathir Rathuwan converted a penalty stroke two minutes before time to seal the win.

Defending champions Kuala Lumpur had to depend on the two strikes from Muhammad Fitri Khairul Ariffin in the 13^th and 47^th minutes for the win. Perlis scored in the stoppage time trough Kamaruddin Kodir Beraheng but it was too late.

Meanwhile last year’s losing finalists Terengganu too had to struggle to subdue Sabah.

Muhammad Amirul Mirza Rozi opened scoring in the 14^th minute before Ahmad Taufik Md Jamil doubled the advantage in the 49^th minute. But Sabah scored a consolation through Calvianus Sikta a minute before the end of regulation time.

In other matches Johor trashed Pahang 6-0 while Perak defeated Kedah 3-0.

Results:

Group A

Johor 6 Pahang 0

Kuala Lumpur 2 Perlis 1

Group B

Terengganu 2 Sabah 1

Perak 3 Kedah 0

Malacca 1 Negri Sembilan 3

KL START OFF WITH A WIN AS NS LOSE TO PERAK

Defending champions Kuala Lumpur got off to a fantastic start by trashing Selangor 5-1 in the MHC-Milo-NSC-MOE National Under 14 Tournament in Seremban.

But it was a sad opening day for hosts Negeri Sembilan who succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Perak.

Kavinash Panicker scored in the 15^th and 27^th minutes to give the city side a 2-1 lead going into halftime after Muhd Faisol Rozihan had reduced the deficit for Selangor two minutes before halftime.

Mohd Hazim Ariffin scored the third in the 44^th minute before a brace by Wan Haziq Hisyamuddin Wan Ameer Ruzman in the 47^th and 52^nd minutes sealed a comprehensive win for Kuala Lumpur.

“It is always good to start a tournament with a win and I am happy with the result and performance. There was no jitters and the players played to instructions,” said KL coach Mohd Madzli Ikmar.

“Our finishing could have been better though as we created many chances but things ought to pick up as the tournament progresses.

In another Group A match, Kelantan edged Perlis 1-0, courtesy of a goal from Mohammad Norshahrezan Mat Jusoh who converted a penalty corner in the 31^st minute.

Meanwhile in Group B, Penang defeated Kedah 3-1 while Malacca edged Sabah 2-1.

Penang opened scoring in the 14^th minute through Mohd Farhan Rozi. And the islanders doubled their advantage through the efforts of Afif Haikal Mohd Azhar three minutes later.

Mohd Ismady Alis reduced the deficit for Kedah in the 20^th minute but Farhan scored his second and Penang’s third in the 46^th minutes.

Malacca led Sabah with goals from Muhd Imran Ibrahim (34^th minute) and Amirul Syukri Nazaruddin (44^th minute). Though Sabah managed to score through a penalty corner converted by Mohd Aswat Merit in the 47^th minute, they just coukld not find the equalizer.

Results

Group A

Kuala Lumpur 5 Selangor 1

Kelantan 1 Perlis 0

Group B

Malacca 2 Sabah 1

Penang 3 Kedah 1

Perak 3 Negri Sembilan 1

Fixtures – Saturday, November 17

Group A

0800H – Johor v Pahang

1600H – Kuala Lumpur v Perlis

Group B

0800H – Terengganu v Sabah

1630H – Perak v Kedah

1800H – Malacca v Negri Sembilan