It’s victory for varsity
UniKL edge Maybank in penultimate match to clinch first MHL title
BANGI: Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) clinched their first-ever Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division title in style with one match in hand.
A. Arulselvaraj’s men came back from a goal down to edge Maybank 2-1 at the Tengku Abdullah Hockey Stadium in Bangi yesterday to register their 10th win.
With the win, UniKL have an unassilable 31 points from 10 wins and a draw. They wrap up their fixtures against TNB Thunderbolt in Bangi tomorrow.
Tenaga are in second spot with 27 points with one match remaining – against Terengganu tomorrow.
Even if Tenaga win the match, they will still finish second in the league.
UniKL, who made their debut in the MHL in 2011, took home RM100,000 for winning the league title.
Maybank, who lost 1-5 to UniKL in the first round, surprised the university side by taking the lead after only four minutes through Muhd Zulhamizan Awang Abas.
Defending overall champions UniKL then pushed forward in search for goals and managed to equalise through Rafizul Ezry Mustafa in the 26th minute.
Valentin Verga of Holland scored off an acute angle two minutes later to give UniKL the lead.
UniKL then kept up the pressure on the Tigers but failed to convert any of the six penalty corners they earned.
Arulselvaraj was overjoyed with his team for staying unbeaten to win their first league title.
“We finally won the league title after competing in the league for eight years.
“We dedicate the victory to UniKL chief executive officer Prof Datuk Mazliham Mohd Su’ud and club president Datuk Amir Azahar Ibrahim, who worked hard to form the club,” said Arul.
“Maybank went all out against us from the start to take the lead. We fought back to score two goals but I’m disappointed that we failed to capitalise on the penalty corners we earned.”
The top four teams will feature in the TNB Cup (overall) next week. Newly crowned league champions UniKL will face fourthplaced Maybank in the first leg semi-final on Feb 26.
Second-placed Tenaga take on third-placed Terengganu in the other semi-final. The return legs will be played on Feb 28 while the final is slated for March 2.