The most exciting show after almost 10 days of action in the TNB-Malaysian Hockey League 2025 moves up north this week with the much-anticipated clash between debutants Matador Hockey Club and host Nurinsafi Sporting in Bertam on Wednesday (January 15).
Matador is bustling with an abundance of experience and talent in the side comprises seven Pakistan national team players that includes Sufyan Khan – the FIH Rising Star of the Year 2024, Abdul Hannan Shahid – AHF Rising Star of the Year 2023, the Green Shirts senior team captain Ammad Shakeel Butt, and five others, India’s Ankush, and a plethora of Malaysian youngsters determined to take off with the right thrust.
Matador, as head coach K. Yogeswaran says, is here to set a dream beginning with their first of nine league matches against Dr. Thaitchana Muruthi’s Nurinsafi Sporting.
“The youngsters are here to learn from the seniors and are determined to make an impact. It is their moment and together we will travel on a journey to set a dream. This is our first year competing in the TNBMHL and we are equally excited,” said Yogeswaran during the team’s training session at the Bertam Hockey Stadium on Tuesday.
“It is our first and very important match. We need three points to move forward. The team must take this match seriously and do what needs to be done. That is our first target. I have confidence in the players. After this match, we will analyze our playing structure game by game,” he added.
“We have a strong set of players in the team but that does not translate to mean that we are above all. We must prove our capabilities. We have all respect for Nurinsafi. They are a respectable team with a number of good players. After two defeats, they are also aiming to change their fortunes,” said Yogeswaran.
Just as American singer Loren Alred made her Billboard Hot 100 debut with the platinum-selling ‘Never Enough’ from the Greatest Showman musical, Matador will need to win big with a never enough number of goals in the wake of high scores registered by Terengganu Hockey Team (THT), Maybank and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) against their opponents.
While Matador opens their campaign against Nurinsafi, a stern test awaits the Penang outfit as they will be vying to improve on their performance.
Following a 1-2 loss to Armed Forces in their season opening match, Nurinsafi were locked out 1-5 by Maybank in their second game. However, backed by good preparation, they are calmly approaching the encounter against Matador with the intention of improving improve on their points.
“In our last match against Maybank it took our imported player from India sometime before they could settle down. We lost to a better team. Maybank have more players and it is difficult for us to sustain playing against top teams as we don’t have enough players. But we tried our best,” said Thaitchana.
He believes his team will progress as the league moves into the next phase.
“We still have a lot of games to play. In a league whichever team has the best players wins the game. The TNBMHL is new to many foreign players. The tempo of our matches is fast and it is not as easy for foreign players who may think otherwise. That is one reason my foreign players need to acclimate to the situation quickly.
“That is what I tell my players from India. The MHL is a very tough league. There are players with brilliant skills. They may not be on the national team but we have to keep up with their pace. There are probably around 20 good players who may not be on the national team yet but we need to be wary of them,” he added.
As for the match against Matador, he added that the team will aim to improve match by match and get the momentum going.
Over on the east coast, host THT will go into a showdown against Armed Forces at the Batu Buruk Hockey Stadium while Maybank takes on UITM HA-KPT on Pitch 1 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
“We are determined to get back on track following our 1-3 defeat to Maybank and a 2-1 victory over Nurinsafi. We did not do well against Maybank but the team showed progress against Nurinsafi. We want this momentum to continue in every match,” said Armed Forces manager Capt Muhamad Firdaus Mat Hayin.
The Armed Forces hockey team celebrated its golden days in the 1980s and 1990s when it was then known as Regiment Askar Melayu diRaja (RMR).
“We have been consistently competing in the TNBMHL over the years. This year there are stronger foreign teams and players which I believe is good for the tournament. On these points, we always take our matches seriously,” he added.
“THT is always a tough team to beat but we will play to our best, in the hope of creating an upset,” he said.
