18 September - UniKL Hockey (0-1-0) were held to a 1-1 draw by UiTM (0-1-0) in a match that was billed as the "Battle of the Universities" in the TNB Malaysian Hockey League 2011 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil this evening.
Though UniKL had the lion share of the game, the failure to score from the numerous chances they created as well as territorial advantage they had, meant that the team had to be satisfied with a single point, when in reality they should have wrapped up all three points.
UiTM fielded five Qatar players in the likes of Muhammad Rizwan, Sheraz Ali Rafaqat Ali, Tariq Nazir Ahmad, Sami Ullah Saleem Mohammad and Muhammad Sohail Muhammad Mustafa. In contrast, UniKL, who had five foreigners last season, were an all Malaysian outfit and relying basically on youngsters with an average age of 20. UniKL youngest player is 16 years old goalkeeper, Muhd Fitri Jasni.
UniKL dominated from start and were awarded a penalty corner in the 9th minute but UniKL captain Muhammad Noor Faeez Ibrahim's shot hit a defender's foot. The ensuing penalty corner was wasted as the pushout was bad. That handed UiTM the initiative as they launched a quick counter attack and were awarded a penalty corner. Though the initial attempt was saved by UniKL keeper Abdul Hakim Adnan, the rebound fell to Qatari Sherza Ali Rafaqat Ali who had the presence of mind to flick it into goal to give UiTM a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.
Try as they did, UniKL just failed to get past UiTM who defended in numbers and at halftime trailed 0-1. It was off their fifth penalty corner in the 59th minute that Noor Faeez finally found the back of the net to draw level. UniKL pushed for the winning goal and created few goal scoring chances while UiTM decided to camp in their own half. UniKL were awarded the 8th penalty corner in the 69th minute and reminisced the 70th minute winning goal last season in a 3-2 win against UiTM. It was not meant to be though this year as Noor Faeez's low flick to the left was well saved by UiTM goalkeeper.
With only 1 point gained, UniKL must win their next encounter against Yayasan Negeri Sembilan (YNS) next Wednesday (21 Sept) to keep alive their target of finishing in the top half of the league. The match will be played at Nasional Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil at 8pm.
For latest news, updates and info, UniKL Hockey team can be followed on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com; search “UniKL-IBIL Hockey Team”), Twitter (http://twitter.com/UniKLHockey), UniKL Hockey Official Website (http://unikl.edu.my/ unikl-hockey) and on MHL Official Website (http://www.tnbmhl.com.my).
AMIR AZHAR IBRAHIM
UITM UNI KL
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