THT Tightening Act On Penalty Corners Ahead Of TNB Thunderbolt Clash

KUALA TERENGGANU, Jan 11 (Bernama) -- Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) will refine their penalty corner technique before facing TNB Thunderbolt in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) at the Batu Buruk Stadium tomorrow evening.

Head coach Mohd Harfizi Baharom admitted that the problem of blunt penalty corner shots still haunts his men, causing them to miss many goal opportunities in the previous three matches, though THT are currently ranked first in the MHL 2025 with nine points.

Thus, The Turtles squad, who have just been crowned champions of the Charity Shield this year, will work hard to improve this weakness in their mission to chase a treble of titles in the 2025 season.

“I am aware that our penalty corner ratio was not very good in the three matches. I am sure the players are also aware of it and will intensify training to refine their techniques and improve their weaknesses.

“Facing TNB Thunderbolt, with their players mostly from the national youth squad, we cannot take the challenge lightly and will study the opponent's defensive patterns,” he said when contacted today.

Meanwhile, Mohd Harfizi said that so far he was very satisfied with the performance of two imported players, Lee Nam Yong (South Korea) and Samkeli Mvimbi (South Africa) who have had a big impact on the team.

Similar praise was also given to the young players from the Malaysia Games (Sukma) squad whose display was almost on par with the senior players.

“In terms of compatibility (young and senior players), there is no problem because they have been together since the Razak Cup. It’s just that they (young players) still feel inferior when playing alongside the seniors.

“But they (young players) are very talented. Given one or two more matches, they will be able to play at a high level. It just takes a little more time for them to blend in with the senior players," he said.

-- BERNAMA