Wake-up call for Thunder champions

THREE-TIME consecutive double winners Thunderbolts received an early wake-up call when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Petaling Jaya City Council (PJCC) in Division One of the MHC-MILO-NSC Junior Hockey League at the Bukit Jalil Stadium yesterday.
   Thunderbolts took a 2-0 lead, but after that, they started missing sitters and two penalty corner goals from PJCC saw them sharing the spoils.
   The Thunderbolts goals were scored by zulharmizan awang (12th) and husaini husin (40th) while the hero for PJCC was  Husaini Abu Bakar who nailed his brace in the 60th and 69th minutes.
   "You can call it an early wake up call for us as we failed to score sitters and the penalty corners did not work as well today (yesterday). And I believe if there was more playing time, PJCC could have even won the match because they were all over us in the last five minutes of the match," said Thunderbolts coach Wan Roslan Wan Rahman.
   However, Wan Roslan said their title quest is still on sight: "The draw is a small set-back but I believe we are still good enough to defend out League title."
   PJCC manager Zainal Abidin was all smiles, as he expected a hammering from the champions.
   "After two strong matches by Thunderboolts we were ready for the worse, but after a second half-shelling the boys finally started to take control of the match and we are very proud of them," said Zainal.
  In another Divison One match, UniKL hammered BJSS seniors 6-1.
  "We still have many more matches to go and some of the teams like UniKL will be hard to crack, so this draw should motivate my players to play much better in the remaining matches," said Zainal.
  RESULTS: Division One: Thunderbolts Jnrs 2 Olak PKDT Tigers 1; PJCC 2 Thunderbolts 2; UniKL 6 BJSS 1.
  Division Two: Group A: 1MAS Perak 2 KLSS 2, SM Sains Raja Tun Azlan Shah x MSNT-PHT x.
  Group B: 1MAS Perlis 2 ISMO PHA 2; MSSD Larut Matang 0 MSS Kedah 10.
  Group C: 1MAS Malacca 2 1MAS TBSS Tampin 2, SMK Tun Hussein 1 SMKDBL PHJ 9.
  TODAY: Division One -- KLHC v Thunderbolts (KLHA, 4.45pm),  SSP Thunderbolts v SSTMI Jnrs (Temerloh, 4.45pm), UniKL v Politeknik (NHS II, 6.45pm).
   Division Two: Group A --    Tunku Abdul Rahman v MSN-PHT (Azlan Shah, 4.45pm); Group B: SM Agama Matri v ISMO PHA (Kangar, 4.45pm), 1MAS Penang v MSS Kedah (Sg Petani, 4.45pm); Group C: SMSJ Knight v SMK Datuk Taha (Batu Pahat, 4.45pm).

JHL: Thunderbolts-PJCC thriller..

JUNIOR Hockey League (JHL) table toppers Thunderbolts and Petaling Jaya City Council (PJCC) face-off in a thriller to claim the early Division One favourites tag at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil Friday.
  Thunderbolts, the three-time consecutive double champions from Johor, have been knocking goals past their opponents with ease but coach Wan Roslan Wan Rahman did not want to take matters lightly, as he has yet to watch PJCC in action.
   "It is difficult to judge your opponents without watching them play. If we do that, they could surprise us, so we must be cautious," he said.
  "Both teams have the early momentum so I believe it will be a tight affair as they have a few good players on their side. As for my team, everyone is fit and ready for more action," said Wan Roslan.
  Thunderbolts thumped their juniors 5-0 in the JHL curtain-raiser before hammering promoted side Politeknik Malaysia 7-2 last Sunday.
  PJCC have beaten Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) 3-0 and Thunderbolts Juniors 4-1.
   Firdaus Omar is the toast of Thunderbolts as he converted three penalty corners in each match to take his tally to six, leaving Wan Roslan rooting for more from him.
  "Yes, we are banking on him to score again as he is among the core players in the squad and is also in the Project 2016. He is doing well now and I hope to see him continue his run," said Wan Roslan.
   In other Division One matches, UniKL, who have also won their opening two matches, take on BJSS while Thunderbolts Juniors play Olak PKT Tigers in Temerloh.
  FRIDAY: Division One: Thunderbolts v Olak PKDT Tigers (Temerloh, 4.45pm); PJCC v Thunderbolts (NHS I, 4.45pm); UniKL v BJSS (NHS II, 4.45pm).
  Division Two: Group A: 1MAS Perak v KLSS (Azlan Shah, 4.45pm)
SM Sains Raja Tun Azlan Shah v MSNT-PHT - (Azlan Shah, 6.45pm).
  Group B: 1MAS Perlis v ISMO PHA (Kuala Perlis, 4.45pm); MSSD Larut Matang v MSS Kedah (Kuala Kangsar, 4.45pm).
  Group C: 1MAS Malacca v 1MAS TBSS Tampin (Malacca, 4.45pm), SMK Tun Hussein v SMKDBL PHJ (Batu Pahat, 4.45pm)

Beware the pitfalls in Belgium..

THERE was never a moment of doubt when Malaysia hammered Poland 8-0 to claim the World League Round Two gold medal at the Sengkang Stadium in Singapore on Sunday.

   It was a totally different Malaysia, one which made very few mistakes at the back-line, but even in such a magical win, there were some grey areas which need urgent attention before the June WL Semi-finals in Belgium.

   For, awaiting Malaysia in Belgium is a chance to play in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, a feat last achieved in Sydney 2000.

   Not wanting to silence the thunder or pull the rug from under the jubilant players and officials' feet, the truth is that Malaysia were well below par, physically, and also mentally which almost cost them the semi-finals match against Japan.

   That match, which went into shoot-out after a 1-1 draw in regulation time, showed plenty of chinks in the Malaysian team.

   The Japanese were much fitter, more motivated, and even though had only three chances, nailed the equaliser while Malaysia wasted more than 10 attempts after taking the early lead.

   Missing sitters was a big problem in Singapore, as coach Tai Beng Hai's forward-line missed at least three sitters before scoring in almost all matches.

    Even against Poaland at least four open chances were wasted, especially by tournament top-scorer and  Player-of-the-Tournament Faizal Saari.

    Faizal scored a total of 12 goals in six matches, but he also missed at least 12 open chances and his biggest problem is ballooning the ball over the bar even though the goalkeeper has been beaten.

   The other forwards, Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Firhan Ashaari and Izwan Firdaus were also equally guilty of missing sitters, which they can't afford in the WL Semi-finals in Belgium.

   At the back, Malaysia have the best defenders in Baljit Singh, Razie Rahim and goalkeepers S. Kumar and Roslan Jamaluddin -- all four played above par in every match, with Razie also delivering in the penalty corners.

   The next move, according to team manager Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad is to call 15 more players for joint training and then select the best for the Azlan Shah Cup in April  2-12 in Ipoh.

   But it looks like the same 18 in Singapore would be the best bet to play against world champions Australia, Asian champions India; New Zealand, South Korea and Canada. South Africa are the other invited team, but have yet to confirm.

   "The Azlan Shah Cup would be the best avenue to sharpen our strike-force, as it would be the last tournament before we head to Belgium," said Nur Azmi.

   Beng Hai was moon-walking after the 8-0 hammering of Poland, but with consultant Neil Hawgood hanging around his neck like a noose.

   When asked is he believed a local coach would be good enough to handle the team at the WL Semi-finals: "I have completed my task, and now it is up to the MHC (Malaysian Hockey Confederation) to decide on the next course of action regarding the coaching structure," said Beng Hai.

   The MHC are in the midst of hiring Hawgood, and if the deal materializes, Beng Hai could find himself as team manager in Belgium.

Final standings

1 Malaysia – Qualified for Semi-Finals of Hockey World League

2 Poland – Qualified for Semi-Finals of Hockey World League

3 Japan – Qualified for Semi-Finals of Hockey World League

4 Oman

5 Ukraine

6 Bangladesh

7 Singapore

8 Mexico

Awards

Player of the Tournament: Faizal Saari (MAS)

Top Scorer: Faizal Saari (MAS) - 12 goals

Young Player of the Tournament: Shunya Miyazaki (JPN)

Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Takashi Yoshikawa (JPN)

Malaysia hammer Poland 8-0 for WL gold,,,

MALAYSIA went for an early kill and it worked wonders as they snatched the World League Round Two gold medal by outclassing Poland 8-0 at the Sengkang Stadium in Singapore yesterday.
   Coach Tai Beng Hai's players had already claimed a ticket to the World League Semi-finals in Belgium in June, when they beat Japan in the semi-finals, but they went a step further to win Malaysia's only second gold medal in an International Hockey Federation (FIH) tournament.
   This gold was much more precious as the earlier one was won at a Five-Nation in Paris in 2010.
   There was never a moment, in the first two quarters, that Poland looked like they recovered from the third minute penalty corner drive by Faizal Saari to claim the lead.
   Malaysia took command of the match after that and two more penalty corner goals by Razie Rahim in the seventh and 21st minutes eased the pressure on the backline.
   Faizal Saari, after missing three one-on-one with the goalkeeper, finally sounded the board in the 33rd minute to make it 4-0.
   Poland were totally outclassed in the 42nd minute, when Nabil Fiqri shot home a reverse stick, and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin made it 6-0 with another reverse stick attempt in the 48th minute.
    For good measure, Haziq Shamsul nailed the seventh in the 54th minute, and Razie nailed his hat-trick with a last minute penalty corner drive.
    There was overall drive and determination, as Beng Hai started with an attacking forwardline of Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, Firhan Ashaari and Faizal Saari -- and they threw caution to the wind with wave after waves of attacks to the delight of a capacity crowd of 2,000-odd fans.
   The other delight of this tournament is that Malaysia won all their matches convincingly, except for the 1-1 draw with Japan in the semi-finals which had to be decided in a shoot-out.
    "This is the kind of performance that we have been looking for from the players, and they were simply magical against Poland.
    "The MHC (Malaysian Hockey Confederation) had targeted for them to play in the final, but we are very proud of them because they went one step further and claimed a crucial gold medal, which has eluded Malaysia for a very long time," said team manager Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad, who is also the MHC vice-president.
   Malaysia entered the tournament as the highest ranked team, num 12, and lived up to their billing.
   "We need to work on certain areas in the run-up to the WL Semi-finals (which offers tickets to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics)  like fitness, so that we can be back in the Olympic fold, which we last played in Sydney 2000," said Nur Azmi.
   In the third-fourth placing match, Japan were made to sweat by Oman befor beating them 4-0 to claim the bronze medal which also came with the last ticket to the World League Semi-finals, and Japan are expected to play in the Argentina qualifier.
   RESULTS: Final: Malaysia 8 Poland 0; Third-Fourth: Japan 4 Oman 0; Fifth-Sixth: Bangladesh 1 Ukraine 3; Seventh-Eighth: Singapore 4 Mexico 3.

Malaysia qualify for WL Semifinals in Belgium

MALAYSIA were a pathetic side but were saved the blushes by goalkeeper S. Kumar, who took them into the final of the World League Round Two by making super saves in the penalty shoot-out at the Sengkang Stadium in Singapore yesterday.
   The score stood at 1-1 after the final whistle, and in the shoot-out Malaysia won 3-2 thanks to Kumar, who made three super saves.
   The Tampin-born Kumar's heroics also saw Malaysia qualify for the World League Semi-final in Belgium in June, as three tickets are on offer in Singapore.
    Marhan Jalil scored an early field goal, by a solo effort in the fifth minute, and the crowd were baying for more Japan blood, but it never came.
   Instead, the Japanese grew in confidence and were unlucky not to have won the match in regulation time. Kenta Tanaka equalised in the 15th minute to take the match to a shoot-out.
    Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Missed, Izwan Firdaus missed, but Malaysia were kept in the hunt as Kumar brought out three saves.
    Faizal Saari, Firhan Ashaari and Fitri Saari delivered for Malaysia in the shoot-out and now they will play Poland for the gold medal today.
   In the other semi-finals, Poland beat Oman 7-1.
   "We have achieved the target set by MHC (Malaysian Hockey Confederation) which was to play in the final, and now, we will be after my as well as my players target which is to win gold in this tournament," said Malaysian coach Tai Beng Hai.
   Beng Hai rued four attempts which hit the post: "Three penalty corners and a field attempt hit the post and bar, and that made our task much harder. However, we had four easy matches before this and we were brought down to earth in the semi-finals.
   "I see this as a blessing before be take on Poland for the gold. We did play Poland in a few friendlies in Bukit Jalil before coming to Singapore, but that was with a different structure, and now the team is playing differently and we will go for the gold," said Beng Hai.
   In Kuala Lumpur, Poland drew 4-4 and then won 4-3 in the friendlies, but as the tag applies, it were just friendlies.
   Malaysia have played Poland 25 times, won 15 , drew 5 and lost 5. We have scored 61 and conceeded 37 goals. The last encounter was at the 2012 Champions Challenge in Argentina where Malaysia won 4-0. 
   Japan coach Kang Keon-Wook summed up the match: "Malaysia were unlucky in the four quarters as they hit the post and bar four times, but were lucky that they have a very good goalkeeper in the shoot-out (Kumar).
  RESULTS: Semi-finals -- Malaysia 1 Japan 1 (Malaysia win 3-2 in penalty shoot-out); Poland 7 Oman 1.
   Sunday...Final: Malaysia v Poland (8pm); Third-Fourth: Japan v Oman (5.30pm); Fifth-Sixth: Bangladesh v Ukraine (3pm); Seventh-Eighth: Singapore v Mexico (9am)