Police continued their fine run in the TNB 53rd Tun Abdul Razak Cup Division Two tournament with a 6-2 demolition of Perlis at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
The Cops, who defeated Kelantan 5-3 on Friday, remained unbeaten after two matches to lead the Division Two table standings with six points.
Baljit Singh scripted Perlis downfall with four penalty corner goals (20th, 9th, 45th, 46th) while Kevinder Singh (27th, FG) and Azreen Rizal (57th, FG) gave Police this well deserved win over the tiny northern state.
Perlis replied with goals from Azroy Azeman (31st, FG) and national junior Muhammad Najmi Jazlan penalty stroke 10 minutes later.
Kelantan and Armed Forces also bounced back from Friday’s opening day defeats to register big wins over their opponents.
The east coast state fielded nine players’ Under-21 years of age and triumphed 6-0 over Sarawak led by former national junior trainee Dangerous Lee in one-sided affair match.
Mohd Aminuddin Zin helped himself with two penalty corner strikes (8th, 53rd) while goals from Azmi Deraman (47th, PC), Mahathir Rathuwan (49th, FG), Mohammad Syabrie Shamsuddin (55th, FG) and Nur Badruzzaman Mohamad (58th, FG) added to Sarawak’s misery.
Kelantan captain, Mohd Faizal Md Daud, said: “We played much better today as a unit. There is far better coordination among the players and this is what I am looking from my team.”
“Our next game will be against Perlis on Tuesday and we must continue this momentum. All we need is play hard as we did against Police and Sarawak,” added Faizal.
Armed Forces also clawed back from a 3-6 thrashing by Selangor on Friday to nail Kedah 4-2. Razali Mohd Hazemi opened accounts for the soldiers with a fifth minute penalty corner strike and Tuan Abdul Walid made it 2-0 four minutes later via a field goal.
Kedah, beaten 4-1 by Perlis on Friday, struck back with field goals from Mohd Fahmi Nasir (13th) and M.Saravanan (38th). However, Armed Forces marched on with a 43rd minute field goal from Tuan Abdul Walid, his second in the tournament, and a Mohamad Faizul Shafiq 54th minute penalty stroke.
Armed Forces coach, Sharun Nizam Rashid, said he is confident his players will rise to the occasion against Police on Sunday after a hard-fought match against Kedah.
“We only found our momentum late in the game today and I am satisfied with our first three points. It will be tough against Police but we will certainly be in better condition to take them on,” said Sharun.
Results – Division 2: Police 6 Perlis 2; Armed Forces 4 Kedah 2; Kelantan 6 Sarawak 0; Sunday (29, Nov, 2015): Selangor v Kedah (6pm, Pitch 1); Perlis v Sarawak (Pitch 2, 6pm); Police v Armed Forces (Pitch 1, 8pm).