Matador Hockey Club celebrated an 8-1 victory over Nurinsafi Sporting with a dazzling performance in their TNB-Malaysian Hockey League 2025 opening match at the Bertam Hockey Stadium on Wednesday (January 15).
The Green Shirts Matador team grabbed much of the limelight as they entertained an estimated 400 fans by taking a 5-0 lead at the interval under a light drizzle, and then added three more goals in the second half.
It was the highest margin of victory in the league.
Captained by former international Baljit Singh, and led upfront by several Pakistan national team players and a hard-working crew of Malaysian youngsters, Matador looked dangerous in the first two quarters as they disturbed the hosts with an aggressive press that saw them earn six penalty corners while Nurinsafi earned one.
Sufyan Khan, recipient of the FIH 2024 Rising Star of the Year award, pumped in four penalty corner goals (3rd, 25th, 45th and 58th minutes), Abdul Hannan Shahid scored a brace (20th and 21st) via a penalty corner and a field goal, while Amanraj Singh (24) and Pakistani Abdul Manan sealed the game with a goal each.
Nurinsafi, who had several Indian nationals in the side, came back strongly in the third quarter and kept goalkeeper Adrian Andy Albert busy. They were eventually rewarded in the 39th minute with a penalty corner and Pavvan Fakkirappa converted to reduce the deficit.
Matador manager Sarwan Singh said: “It was a good first victory for us. The boys played well and let’s see how we perform in the next two matches which are equally tough. The combination between the Pakistanis and Malaysian players was intact as there was good understanding between them in this match.”
Meanwhile, an elated Sufyan said he is excited to play in the Malaysian league for the first time and is happy to have contributed four goals in their first match.
“It was a good match between both sides and being my first time playing in the league I am happy with my performance. It was a team effort and we played an attacking game till the end,” said Sufyan. “By the grace of God, I will continue to play my best in this tournament.”
The 20-year-old Sufyan made his debut for Pakistan at the 2022 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and has been a regular since having featured in the Asian Games, 2023 FIH Junior World Cup in Kuala Lumpur and the Paris Olympic qualifier.
Matador will next go up against Maybank on January 17, and Tenaga Nasional Berhad on January 19. Both matches will be played at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Meanwhile, underdogs Universiti Teknologi MARA Hockey Team (UiTM) gave a sensational performance to register the biggest upset in the early stages of the TNBMHL following a 3-1 victory over Maybank at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
It was UiTM’s first win in the tournament following earlier defeats against Terengganu Hockey Team (1-3) and TNB Thunderbolts (0-1) respectively.
There was a lot between the two teams for much of the first quarter with clear cut scoring chances. UiTM, however, went ahead 1-0 in the 20th minute through drag-flick specialist Perabu Tangaraja’s penalty corner conversion.
The 20-year-old Perabu, who started his journey in the game as a ball picker at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium, extended the lead to 2-0 in the 48th minute in similar style while Muhammad Hafizuddin further added misery to Maybank’s misfortune with a field goal in the 50th minute.
Maybank’s consolation goal came through Shahmie Irfan Suhaimi with one minute remaining to the end of regulation time.
Meanwhile, prolific goal scorer Faizal Saari pounded four goals and Akhimullah Anuar Esook contributed a brace as Terengganu Hockey Team continued their bullish run with a 6-1 demolition of Armed Forces at the Batu Buruk Hockey Stadium in Kuala Terengganu.
The 33-year-old Faizal started the goal rush two minutes into the match, and followed up with three more field goals in the 34th, 46th and 48th minutes to take his goal scoring tally to eight in the tournament.
Akhimullah scored in the seventh and 35th minutes in similar fashion, taking his personal tally to five goals.
Armed Forces’ consolation goal came through Muhammad Nazrey Din in the 38th minute via a field goal.
Charity Shield 2025 champions THT extended their dominance in the 10-team league to 15 points from five consecutive wins.
