THT DEFEAT THUNDERBOLTS TO REACH ALAGENDRA CUP FINAL

Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) reached their second successive Alagendra Cup final after brushing aside TNB Thunderbolts challenge in their semi-final match today.

Sarjit Singh’s men will face Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) in tomorrow’s final as they look to defend the title they won last season against Maybank.

Against The Thunderbolts, THT took the lead inside the first minute when their Argentine guest player, Gonzalo Peillat converted a penalty corner.

However, a strong performance by The Thunderbolts defence saw the score being kept at 1-0 until the end of the first quarter.

Then in the first minute of the second quarter, they sprung a surprise by equalising through Azril Misron's field goal. However, the situation did not last long as another guest player for THT, Joaqin Menini restored his side lead two minutes later.

Peillat then made the holders’ place in the final safe when he converted another penalty corner nine minutes from time to make the final score 3-1 in favour of THT.

In another semi-final, KLHC knocked out Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) to enter their first Alagendra Cup final, also with a 3-1 scoreline.

It will be a good opportunity for KLHC to avenge their 7-2 trashing at the hands of THT in last season’s semi-final especially with former THT topscorer, Jang Jong-Hyun playing for the city side.

The Korean scored twice in the fourth quarter, helping his new side to the win against UniKL after Joshua Pollard had already opened the scoring in the first.

UniKL cancelled out Pollard’s goal through Faridzul Afiq’s field goal in the second quarter.

FAIZAL HITS FIVE AS THT CRUISE PAST UiTM

Holders Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) opened their title defence of the Alagendra Cup with a 9-0 trashing of UiTM in their quarter-final match held at the National Hockey Stadium.

National player, Faizal Saari who led the team out today helped himself to five goals today with Argentine duo, Lopez Barreiros and Gonzalo Peilat shared three strikes between them. Another goal for THT was scored by Sufi Ismat.

It took only six minutes for Sarjit Singh’s men to break the deadlock with Barreiros sounding the board with a field goal before Sufi made it 2-0 a minute before the end of the first quarter.

Faizal then opened his account for the new season with another field goal in the 24th minute before making it 4-0 for THT  in the third quarter.

Argentine Olympic gold medalist, Peilat then opened his goal account in Malaysia with his trade-mark penalty corner goal making it 5-0 for THT at the end of the quarter.

Faizal completed his hattrick with a strike from a penalty corner in the 49th minute before adding a couple more goals in a space of two minutes each before Peilat completed UiTM’s misery with another penalty corner goal in the last minute.

THT which received a bye in the round of sixteen will take on TNB Thunderbolts in the last four while Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) face Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL). 

Both matches will be played at the National Hockey Stadium on Saturday.


Photo: Malaysian Hockey Confederation

AZREEN NABILA REWRITES 100 METRES RECORD

Terengganu sprinter, Azreen Nabila Alias broke the Girls Under 18, 100 metres record last night when she crossed the finishing line in a time of 12.02s, rewriting the old record of 12.07s registered by Johor, Chiew Hui Lian in 2010 at the 58th Malaysian Schools Sports Council Track & Field Championship held at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Nerus.

The Terengganu Sports School student said she was expecting to win but did not expect to break the games record but was glad in doing so to repay the faith that was put in her by her coach Mohamad Nizam Yusop.

Elice Grenggori@Gregory of Sabah finished as the runners-up with a time of 12.58s while Selangor, Hee Xio Yee bagged the bronze medal with a time of 12.70s.

Negeri Sembilan Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi bagged the Boys Under 18 100 metres sprint gold when he pipped home favourite, Muhammad Zulfiqar Ismail to the finishing line. Haiqal clocked 10.66s just 0.11s faster than Zulfiqar's time of 10.77s.

There was also another heartbreak for the home fans when Muhammad Shahriey Haazwanie Mohamad Shukri was pipped to the gold medal by Sarawak Audray MacShaquille Henry Jugah by 0.01s in the Boys Under 12 100 metres category.

Audray clocked a time of 12.37s with Shahriey recording 12.38s. Mohamad Idham Aqasha Mohamad Sabri of Pahang took the bronze with a time of 12.40s.

However Terengganu collected their second gold medal from the tracks in the 400 metres Girls Under 15 category when Noor Faizatul Nathasha Mohamad Bakri finished first with a time of 61.91s. Sabah Erlyn Yoong collected the silver with a time of 62.40s with Nur Ezrina Sofia Emylin Rosmizam took the bronze with a time of 63.57s.

Kedah Mohamad Anaqi Fitri Sobri registered a jump of 14.58m to win the gold in the Boys Under 18 triple jump while Ng Yu Jie of Pahang excelled in the Girls Under 18 category with a distance of 11.78m.

LimHow Sieng broke the championship record in the Boys Under 15 Discus event with a throw of 54.49m to win the gold for Sarawak with team-mate, Yong Shie Liang collecting the silver with a throw of 52.69m.

Another Sarawakian athlete, Grace Wong Xiu Mei also rewrote the record in the Girls hammer throw with a distance of 52.70m, bettering her own record of 50.74m registered last year.

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TERENGGANU OPEN CAMPAIGN WITH A WIN OVER PENANG

Terengganu opened their 2016 Super League campaign with a hard fought win over Penang at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak last night.

Despite a fifth minute penalty miss by their Canadian international, Issey Nakajima Terengganu managed to breach the Penang defence in the 25th minute when a low shot by playmaker, Gustavo Lopez managed to beat goalkeeper, Sani Anuar.

The visitors adopted an aggressive approach in containing Terengganu players which saw a number of fouls committed by them, especially on Joseph Kalang Tie, Lopez and Nakajima.

However, match referee Naffez Abdul Wahab did not see any of them warranted any caution and only brandished the yellow card on the hour mark to Azrul Ahmad who still tried to plead his innocence despite fouling Lopez for the umpteenth time.

In the 34th minute, a long shot from midfield saw Penang coming closest to equalise but the ball hit the bar with Sharbinee Allawee completely beaten. The rebound hit the goalkeeper's back but luckily for Terengganu, Sharbinee managed to grab it before any further damage could be inflicted.

Lopez was denied a second goal when his freekick two minutes before the interval was on it's way in before Sani managed to claw it back out. The loose ball then fell to Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and he unleashed a stiff shot but once again Sani managed to palm it away.

Sharbinee had to be alert again in added time when Penang skipper, Mohamad Rafiuddin managed to break free on the left before unleashing a stiff shot, which much to the delight of the home supporters, the goalkeeper palmed away for a harmless corner.

The second half saw the post denying Terengganu from increasing their lead when Norshahrul who managed to find space on the left fired in a low shot which had Sani completely beaten but much to the forward's dismay, hit the post and rebounded to safety.

Terengganu fourth foreign player, Juan Morales was introduced in the 74th minute but he did not bring much impact to the attack.

Penang pressed hard to level the score but the tiring Terengganu players managed to hold on to their lead until the final whistle to ensure their season started with a win.

ALL WHITE FOR TERENGGANU IN 2016

Terengganu will sport an all white look for the 2016 season when they play their matches at home.

The 2016 kits were revealed last night at a ceremony attended by Menteri Besar, Dato' Seri Mohamad Razif at the Batu Burok Square witnessed by their fans and supporters who packed the place to the hilt.

Despite the drizzling rain they remained in their place and were presented with a video presentation of the new kits, followed by the introduction of Terengganu squad.

In the end, they were introduced to The Turtles fourth foreign player, 34 years old Argentine, Jose Morales who will be part of the frontline.

Local brand, Kobert is the kits sponsor for the next two season and the design of all white with black trimmings were well received by the fans who commended on the simplicity of the design.

The away kits which are all black with gold trimmings were also well received by the fans. This is proven by the fact that almost all shirts that were put on sale for the first time last night were snapped up by them.

During the ceremony Terengganu players also spent some time signing autographs and posing for photos with the fans.

T-Team FC which are also sponsored by Kobert also revealed their kits last night. The Titans will be sporting a white shirt with black sleeves, black shorts and white socks.

Their away kit will be red top, white shorts and black socks. Meanwhile their third kit are all black.

THT COMPLETE 'DOUBLE DOUBLE'

Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) did the double for the second season running after winning the TNB Cup by defeating Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) 5-4 via penalty shootouts during the final played at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium last night.

Both teams were deadlocked at the end of regulation time after Faizal Saari had scored from a penalty corner for THT but two minutes later Razie Rahim levelled things up, also from a penalty corner routine.

KLHC goalkeeper, Roslan Jamaluddin played a blinder to deny more goals for THT and during the shootouts he continued to be a pivotal figure as he denied the Terengganu side from scoring easily.

However it was his counterpart, Mohamad Hafizuddin who became the hero after he denied Mohamad Syamim from scoring in the sudden death phase and THT added the cup to the Premier League title they won earlier, repeating the feat they did last year.

Apart from the RM70 thousand prize money, THT also won the Fairplay award and Faizal emerged as the tournament topscorer while his brother, Fitri was named as Player of the Tournament.

Roslan was named as the Goalkeeper of the Tournament for his displays throughout the 2015 TNB-MHL season.

TURTLES HELD IN MALAYSIA CUP OPENER

Terengganu did not get the good start they were wishing for last night when they were held to a goalless draw by JDT II at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Shah Stadium.

Missing the suspended Issey Nakajima the home side struggled to get past JDT II defence marshalled by Baihakki Kaizan and well supported by Mohamad Afiq.

Norshahrul Idlan Talaha was given the responsibility to lead the Terengganu attack with support coming from Ashari Samsuddin and Ismail Faruqi.

As usual, Gustavo Lopez was the centre of most Terengganu attacking moves but the packed away defence saw most of his passes failed to really open up the JDT II rearguard.

Fakhrurazi Musa, Norshahrul, Ashari and Lopez all saw their efforts on JDT II goal missing the target. In fact, the home side did not win a single corner kick in the first half while Nenad Bacina's boys managed to squeeze a few from their counter-attacks.

The second half saw the introductions of Sharin Sapien and Hafizal Mohamad for Fakhrurazi and Helmi Remeli respectively.

However it did not change the complexion of the match with Terengganu continue failing to really trouble the visitors' defence with their wayward shooting.

Sharbinee Allawee had to be on his best to deny two good shots by JDT II players from going past him and then had the fortune smiling on him when Shahril Ishak shot went past the wrong side of the post.

In stoppage time, the home fans thought they would be seeing the goal they have been waiting for when referee, Zulkifli Ahmad awarded Terengganu a penalty after Ahmad Nordin Alias was brought down in the penalty area.

It was The Turtles first penalty since May when Paolo Rangel won and converted a penalty during their FA Cup semi final, second leg match against the Lions XII.

With Rangel missing from the line-up due to his suspension when his aggressive behaviour against the match officials during that match, Lopez stepped up to the plate.

The Argentine chose precision over power. His effort was going in until JDT II goalkeeper, Zulfadhli managed to get his hand on it, pushing the ball against the post.

It then rolled agonisingly on the line before it was eventually cleared by a JDT II defender and the final whistle was blown immediately leaving more than 13 thousand home fans with a dejected feeling.

However Group A is still very much open as Fandi Ahmad also failed to get his Lions XII to win all three points at the Jalan Besar Stadium against Premier League champions, Kedah.

The Canaries took the lead with a screamer from Sandro Mendonca in the 15th minute but the home side levelled the score two minutes later through Shahdan Sulaiman.

Group B action had begun on Friday with JDT defeating Perak 2-0 at the Hassan Yunos Stadium with goals from Safee Sali and Chanturu Suppiah in the first half sealing the points for the Southern Tigers.

Last night a stoppage time goal by Joseph Kalang Tie gave Sarawak all three points against the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) at the State Stadium in Kuching.

In Group C, Felda United brushed aside T-Team 3-0 at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium with Ndumba Makeche's brace sandwiching Indra Putra Mahyuddin penalty.

However the form book was reversed at the Shah Alam Stadium when Kelantan registered a 3-0 win over Selangor.

Gilmar headed The Stags in front in the 26th minute. Four minutes into the second half, Augustine Iwuji increased the lead before Gilmar helping himself to his second after a scramble in front of the Selangor goal.

Meanwhile in Kuantan, Dickson Nwakaeme was the toast of the town when he came off the bench to score the winner for the defending champions against the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM).

A hattrick by Azammuddin Akil gave The Elephants a healthy 3-1 lead at the interval with Dramane Trade replying for the visitors.

However The Cops scored twice through brilliant freekicks by Ali Ashfaq and Jamie Braganca to level the score.

It looked like to have spoil the home side plan until Pahang head coach, Zainal Abidin Hassan decided to unleash Nwakaeme for the last ten minutes and it paid off handsomely.

At the Bandaraya Stadium, home side Penang never recovered from two quick goals by PKNS FC. Nazrin Syamsulbahri broke the deadlock in the 17th minute and a minute later Gabriel Guerra made it 2-0.

Nizam Abu Bakar scored the visitor's third nine minutes into the second half to leave The Panthers in tatters.