Uniten’s Surizan wants birthday gift in form of trophy

KUALA LUMPUR: National midfielder Surizan Awang Noh wants her 24th birthday to be extra special.

The Sabahan has vowed to help PKS Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten)-KPT win their first silverware in the National Women’s Hockey League today – on the eve of her birthday. They face Penang Juniors at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Surizan is back to lead Uniten after serving a one-match suspension against MSN Kedah on Saturday for collecting two yellow cards in previous matches.

After featuring in the women’s league for the last four years, she is excited about the prospect of holding the league trophy for the first time.

“We’re just one match away from lifting our title tomorrow (today) and we’re optimistic that nothing is going to stop us from achieving it,” said Surizan, who has scored three goals so far.

“We outplayed Penang Juniors (7-1) in the first round and we’re confident of another big win over them.

“It’ll be nice to lift the trophy one day before my 24th birthday. It also feels good that we don’t need the services of foreign players to come this far.

“Winning the league title will be a good boost for Uniten as we’re eyeing the overall Cup next week,” said the Kota Belud lass, who is the fourth child among 10 siblings.

Uniten and Blue Warriors are tied on 27 points from 11 matches but the university team lead the standings with a better goal difference.

Blue Warriors face a tough match against last year’s double champions Terengganu Ladies at Batu Buruk Hockey Stadium in Kuala Terengganu.

The top four teams – Uniten, Blue Warriors, Terengganu Ladies and KL Wipers – will feature in the overall Cup.

The semi-finals will be played on Wednesday and the final is slated for Friday.