JOURNALIST CAUGHT WORKING: Aftar Singh from the Star (left), Jugjet Singh from the New Straits Times and UniKL coach I. Vickneswaran at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium after UniKL beat Anderson 6-1 in the Junior Hockey League. Photo from UniKL Facebook.THE MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League Division One title race is fast turning into a three-horse affair, and very little separates the early sprinters at this early stage.
Debutantes UniKL have been impressive but hot on their heels are Bandar Penawar Sports School-Thunderbolt and double champions Bukit Jalil Sports School.
UniKL beat Anderson and Petaling Jaya City Council by six goals each but there were moments of madness in the team which should be of concern to their coach I. Vikneswaran.
“Winning matches is one thing, but consistency is required to win the title in a close tournament like this,” said Vikneswaran.
The missing link for the new-comers is a bungling strike- force as they should have won by double digit margins instead of scoring only six.
“Against the two sports schools, chances will be few in between, so I will have to polish the strikers finishing before the weekend.”
Among the three, Thunderbolt looks like the team to beat in Division One this year.
Powered by national player, Faisal Saari, Thunderbolt are keeping pace with UniKL by winning all three matches convincingly.
The Thunderbolts have scored a total of 17 goals and conceded only three, and will increase their tally when they square off against Anderson on Friday.
FRIDAY: Division One -- Bukit Jalil Sports School v Petaling Jaya City Council (Tun Razak, 7pm), BPSS-Thunderbolt v Anderson (Bandar Penawar, 5pm), Kelantan v Bukit Jalil Sports School (Terengganu, 5pm).
Division Two: Tunku Besar Secondary School v Pahang (Tampin, 5pm), Kuala Selangor v Johor (Pandamaran, 5pm), Matri v Datuk Taha (Alor Star, 5pm).
SUNDAY: Division One -- Petaling Jaya City Council v Bandar Penawar Juniors (Tun Razak, 8pm), Kelantan v Anderson (Terengganu, 5pm), UniKL v Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors (KLHA Stadium, 5pm).
Division Two: Matri v Sabah (Alor Star, 5pm), Kuala Selangor v Ipoh City Council (Pandamaran, 5pm), Johor v Pahang (Johor Baru, 5pm).
