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14-03 TNB zapped by Rehan Butt at semis in Malaysia

2011-03-14 14:03:00

SAPURA'S Pakistan import Rehan Butt delivered a brace to destroy Tenaga Nasional 2-0 and power his team into the final of the TNB Cup on Saturday on 4-2 aggregate.

In the other semi-final, Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) produced deft touches to outclass Yayasan Negri Sembilan (YNS) 4-2 for a 6-3 aggregate win, and keep their hope of a double alive.

Sapura had the upper hand for 30 minutes, but were in deep trouble in the last five minutes as Tenaga Nasional won four consecutive penalty corners.

However, there was a slight commotion after Tenaga were awarded the third penalty corner in the 33rd minute.

Sapura's S. Kuhan called for a walk-out, as he was unhappy with the call as he felt that Tenaga's Faizal Saari took a dive.

Sapura players were coaxed to return to the match after a few minutes, and they defended both the ensuing penalty corners and the score remained 0-0 into the breather.

But the tempo completely changed in the second half, as Sapura again went on the offensive and Rehan nailed the lead off a swift field attempt in the 36th minute.

Tenaga made a concerted effort to score the equaliser and came within a whisker when they were awarded a penalty stroke in the 58th minute after a botched penalty corner attempt.

Faizal Saari stepped up to the spot, but flicked straignt towards Sapura goalkeeper David James and they lost a golden opportunity.

And with eight minutes remaining, Rehan again delivered with a deft touch to take Sapura into the final.

"My players were warriors, as they came back from two goals down to hold Tenaga 2-2 in the first leg. And then, they played their hearts out to win the second leg.

"I feel really proud of them, as they raised their game and avoided a disaster by keeping their heads cool. Now, we are looking forward to win the Overall title which we last did in 2006," said Sapura coach I. Vickneswaran.

In the second semi-finals, YNS gave away too much possession in the first half and were punished dearly.

Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin scored in the second minute, and Kelvinder Singh made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute.

Tengku was again on target in the 32nd minute to make it 3-0, before Redza Maadun pulled one back for YNS.

However, Ahmad Anuar Sham delivered another blow to YNS in the 45th minute off a deflection, and the match was all over, even though Shakeel Abbasi scored YNS' second goal in the 67th minute.

Source NST