Tunku Mahkota Sports School Thunderbolts (SSTMI) from Johor delivered a stunning blow to defending champions Armed Forces Pernama by carving a 4-1 win in the semi-finals of the TNBMHL 2015 Women’s League at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
A brace from Liyana Aquilah Mohd Sepawi (20th and 45th), Khairunnajwa Khairuddin (42nd) and Nur Adriana Mohd Nawawi (48th) sealed STTMI a spot in Saturday’s final against Ministry of Education Centre for Sports Excellence (PKS-KPM).
ATM Pernama, who sorely missed the services of national captain Siti Noor Amarina Ruhaini who is recuperating from an appendicitis surgery, replied through Izzuin Ismail in the 32nd minute from a field goal.
“Congratulations to my players for giving 100 per cent commitment against ATM. They played with the right attitude for this victory,” said SSTMI Thunderbolts coach, Azlizam Abdul Shukor.
“PKS-KPM is a very talented side and I hope my players will learn from this experience and do their best in the final,” he added.
Group B champions PKS-KPM, who had amassed 30 points from eight matches going into the last four stages, demolished Penang Juniors 8-0 in the other semi-final.
Goals from Mawaddah Abu Bakar (7th, PC, 44th PC), Fatin Naimah Zaki (17th, FG, 51st, PC), Rabiatul Adawiyah Mohamed (8th, FG), Nor Aini Tajuddin (14th, FG), Noor Hasliza Mohd Ali (30th, FG) and Nuraini Abdul Rashid (33rd, FG) closed a painful chapter for Penang Juniors in the league.
PKS-KPM head coach, Izzwan Mohamed, said: “We played to our game plan as we did in the group matches and I must congratulate the players for this big victory.”
“I was quite surprised to learn that ATM lost as they have five to six national players. This tells us that we have to play our best game against STTMI in the final and take our chances well,” he added.
Results – Semi-finals: SSTMI 4 ATM Pernama 1; PKS-KPM 8 Penang Juniors 0.
Fixtures – Saturday (3 Oct, 2015): Third-fourth playoff – ATM Pernama v Penang Juniors (4.opm); Final: SSTMI v PKS-KPM (6.0pm). Both matches will be played at the National Hockey Stadium.