KUALA LUMPUR: Debutants Terengganu started their Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) campaign in the Premier Division on a high – holding heavyweights Tenaga Nasional to a 4-4 draw at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

Despite the high-scoring draw, neither team really played their best hockey as a large number of the players had just returned from national duty in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Ipoh last Sunday.

Terengganu scored four field goals through M. Sufi Ismat M. Rohul Amin (30th), Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Jalil (40th), Fitri Saari (41st) and Sobirin Ilias (64th).

Tenaga had earlier raced ahead when Terengganu’s skipper Mohd Shahrun Nabil scored an own goal in the 13th minute. Their other goals came through Faizal Saari’s converted penalty corner in the 23rd and 45th minutes and Mohd Ramadhan Rosli (66th).

Terengganu coach Nik Rozemi Nik Mohd was happy with his team’s efforts.

“We’re a new team ... so this is a good result,” he said. “I opted for more men in midfield in the second half to bolster our attack and we managed to take the lead.

“But we let in goals towards the end of the match and that’s something we need to work on.”

Tenaga coach Nor Azlan Bakar, meanwhile, said he didn’t mind dropping points “as the league still has a long way to go”.

In another match, last year’s double winners Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) lived up to their pedigree by thrashing UniKL 5-0 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

The empathic win is just the perfect tonic for KLHC as they prepare to take on favourites Tenaga in the Charity Shield match tomorrow.

KLHC’s Pakistani signing Akhtar Ali hit a brace of field goals in the third and fourth minutes while skipper Mohd Razie Abdul Rahim converted a penalty corner in the 20th minute.

Strikers Chua Boon Huat and Harvinder Singh then scored a field goal each in the 37th and 61st minutes respectively.

The other Premier Division match between Nur Insafi and Sapura ended 1-1. Imran Muhammad’s field goal in the 28th minute put Sapura ahead but it was cancelled out by Azreen Rizal Nasir’s 35th minute field goal.

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