Tnb Maul Kl City, Tht Take 5-2 Lead Over Lmht In Tnb Cup Q-finals First Leg

KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 (Bernama) -- The Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) squad started the TNB Cup competition on the right footing when they beat Kuala Lumpur City (KL City) 7-0 in the first leg quarter-final match at Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium (SNBJ) today.

The victory saw TNB, who are the champions of the 2024 Malaysia Hockey League (MHL), on a sound track to win the second leg quarter-finals and advance to the semi-finals in their quest for a treble of titles for this year.

Tenaga started fiercely dominating the match from the first whistle when Muhammad Azrai Aizad Abu Kamal opened the scoring in the 10th minute before Wan Haziq Hishamuddin Wan Azmeer Ruzman doubled the lead in the 25th minute.

TNB under the tutelage of Nor Saiful Zaini Nasiruddin, continued to pressure the KL fortress and yielded results after Muhammad Azrai Aizad scored his second personal goal in the 26th minute before South Korean import Jang Jong-hyun scored TNB's fourth goal in the 31st minute of the second half.

TNB defender Norsyafiq Sumantri then ensured his squad's position was strong when he scored two goals in the 36th and 37th minutes before Wan Haziq scored the seventh goal in the 39th minute and the result remained at 7-0 until the final whistle.

For the record, TNB this year created a sensation when it lifted the Charity Shield in early February, before ending a 21-year drought to clinch the 2024 MHL championship last Tuesday.

Meanwhile, defending champions Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) did not face any problems in recording an easy 5-2 victory over Liaoning Men's Hockey Team (LMHT) in their first-leg quarter-final match at another pitch at SNBJ.

If TNB and THT can maintain their winning streaks in the second-leg quarter-final matches on Sunday, the two teams are expected to meet a second time after their previous clash in Charity Shield action on Feb 7.

The other two first-leg quarter-final matches saw Maybank defeat TNB Thunderbolts 7-1 at SNBJ while UiTM HA-KPT (UiTM) beat Nurinsafi Sporting (NI) 2-1 at Penang's Bertam Hockey Stadium tonight.

- BERNAMA