Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School Thunderbolt celebrated a 6-1 victory over Anderson Thunderbolt but it has been another day of agony for Bukit Jalil Sports School Thunderbolt in the TNB-Malaysian Junior Hockey League Division One matches today.
Defending League champions SSTMI pulverised Ipoh-based Anderson with double strikes from Amirul Firdaus Shamsudin (9th and 37th minutes) and a goal each via Muhammad Ariff Syafie Ishak (2nd minute), Muhammad Amirul Hamizan Azhar (10th), Mohamad Akhimullah Anuar Esook (27th) and Muhammad Shahrin Izzudin Shamsuri (33rd) while Anderson got its goal through Mohammad Najme Ahmad Hayazi in the 31st minute.
The win catapulted SSTMI to third in the table standings with 10 points – two behind leaders Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya Tigers whilst SMK Dato Bentara Luar Johor Juniors moved to second in the standings with 11 points following a 3-1 win over Politeknik Malaysia-KPT in Batu Pahat.
SSTMI head coach, Wan Mohd Roslan, observed: “We played a much better game today than against MBPJ on Sunday which we lost 3-2. The three points are vital and it’s good to be back on track and move to third in the table standings.
“Our next game is against BJSS Juniors and we aim to take full points at home. The boys cannot afford to put unnecessary pressure on themselves like we did against MBPJ. We need to go out and score early,” he added.
BJSS Thunderbolts, who won the overall title last season, lost 3-2 in penalty shootout against Pahang Hockey Academy Thunderbolt at the KLHA Stadium. Both teams were tied 2-2 in regulation time. It was BJSS second defeat in the tournament after going down against Anderson five days ago.
Muhammad Izham Azhar fired the Pahang side ahead with a penalty stroke in the fifth minute but Faiq Razin Zariq Idris equalised for BJSS against the run of play in the 21st minute. The visitors upped the ante in the second half to go 2-1 ahead in the 37th minute through Muhammad Hafiz Zauri.
However, a brilliant effort from Muhamad Fahmi Zaharman five minutes before the end of play saw BJSS crawl back into the game to draw level 2-2 and force a shootout which was celebrated by Pahang Hockey Academy.
In Batu Pahat, Johor Juniors bounced back from an Umar Hakim Ahmad Robang 29th minute field goal to win 3-1 against Politeknik Malaysia-KPT. The SMK Dato Bentara players netted goals through Muhammad Haikal Khairul Azmi (34th), Muhammad Haikal Khairul Azmi (44th minute) and Muhammad Adib Azim Abd Shukor (53rd minute) to post their third win in five matches.
RESULTS:
Boys Division One: SMK Dato Bentara Johor Juniors 3 Politeknik Malaysia-KPT 1; SSTMI Thunderbolt 6 Anderson Thunderbolt 1; BJSS Thunderbolt 2 AHP-MSP Thunderbolt 2 (AHP MSP Thunderbolt win 3-2 in penalty shootout).
Wednesday (26 April) – Boys Division 2 Group A: MSSPP-PHA USM v MSSPP-PHA USM Juniors (USM, 5pm); Group B: Sabah Sports School Malaysia v Terengganu Junior Team (Likas Stadium, 4 pm).
Friday (28 April) – Boys Division 1: SSTMI Thunderbolt v BJSS Juniors (SSTMI, 4pm); SMK Dato Bentara Luar Johor Juniors v Anderson Thunderbolt (Batu Pahat, 5pm); UniKL Young Guns v AHP-MSP Thunderbolt (KLHA, 4pm); BJSS Thunderbolt v Politeknik Malaysia-KPT (KLHA, 6pm); Olak Nurinsafi v MBPJ Tigers (Pandamaran Stadium, 5pm).
