Thunderbolts in early break..

THE NSC-Milo-MHC Junior Hockey League is only one  weekend old, but champions Tengku Mahkota Ismail Sports  School (SSTMI) have almost claimed the Division One title.
    The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) drawn fix tures made SSTMI, also known as Thunderbolts, play three  matches in a row but the champions showed that they are  ready to defend their titles.
   “We have overcome one tough hurdle in BJSS (Bukit Jalil  Sports School) and now we need to beat UniKL (Young Guns)  and Petaling Jaya (City Council) to cement the league title,”  said Thunderbolts coach Wan Roslan.
   However, their sister Sports School, Bukit Jalil, have had a  nightmarish start, as they lost both their opening matches by  1-0 margins.
    “This is a long-term development side and that is why we  are fielding 16 and 17 years old this season. And also, we  can’t hold the players once they leave the school and study at  the pre-university level because we do not bind them by  contracts like other teams.
   “But still, we lost narrowly to champions Thunderbolts and  also a strong Petaling Jaya (City Council) side,” said BJSS  coach S. Prakash.
   PJCC are fielding six former BJSS boys, and according to  Prakash, they need to buck up in certain areas if they want to  pull off upsets against early favourites UniKL and Thun derbolts.
    “PJCC were unsettled in certain areas when we played  them, and if they can quickly patch the chinks, I believe they  will give the other title aspirants a good fight,” said  Prakash.
    In Division Two, Group A, 1Mas Penang have shown  consistency and fitness by winning three matches in-a-row to  top the table, while in Group B, SMK Datuk Taha are the early  leaders with two wins and a draw.
    On another note, MHC held a meeting to amend the fixtures  after Sabah withdrew three days before the JHL started, but  have yet to provide the new fixtures for next weekend’s  matches as of yesterday.

DIVISION ONE

                                  P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
SSTMI                        3  3  0  0  16  0  9
PJCC                           2  2  0  0  4  2  6
Anderson                    2  1  1  0  5  3  4
UniKL                        1  1  0  0  6  2  3
Malacca HS                2  0  1  1  3  12  1
BJSS                           2  0  0  2  0  2  0
USM-MSSSPP             1  0  0  1  0  2  0
SSTMI Jnrs                3  0  0  3  4  15  0

DIVISION TWO

GROUP A
                                 P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts
1Mas Penang            3  3  0  0  12  1  9
Kelantan KEL           2  2  0  0  8 3  6
Kedah HA Jnrs         3  1  1  1  4  3  4
STAR Ipoh                1  1  0  0  2  0  3
Anderson Jnrs         1  1  0  0  2  1  3
Perlis                      2  0  1  1  3  7  1
Matri                      2  0  0  2  1  6  0
SERATAS                2  0  0  2  0  5 0
Nur Insafi                2  0  0  2  1  7  0

GROUP B
                                 P  W  D  L  F  A  Pts

Datuk Taha             3  2  1  0  13  1   7
KLSS                      2  2  0  0  10  2  6
OLAK                     3  2  0  1  6  3  6
K Langat               3  2  0  1  4  11  6
TM Pahang           3  1  1  1  6  6  4
Poli KPT               2  1  0  1  6  3  3
TBSS                    2  1  0  1  2  2  3
SMKPM                2  0  0  2  5  9  0
Johor HA             2  0  0  2  3  8  0
BJSS Jnrs           2  0  0  2  1  11   0