UniKL fumble before edging Ipoh Juniors

FAVOURITES UniKL acted to a Bollywood movie script when they took a punch before beating a gritty Ipoh Juniors 3-2 in the curtain raiser of the MHF-NSC-Milo Junior Hockey League at the Azlan Shah Stadium yesterday.
Virtually parading their Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) side, UniKL were shocked in the ninth minute when Rasyid Hazar scored off a penalty corner attempt..
However, the early setback was overcome with efforts from Zulhairi Hashim (19th, 31st) and Nor Aqmal Ghaffer (43rd). The other Ipoh goal was scored by Azrul Fazrin in the 62nd minute.
“We expected Ipoh to defend in the early stages, but they shocked my players by playing an attacking game and scoring the first goal instead.
“I salute their grit, and the match turned difficult after that as my players struggled to settle down, but the end result was in favour of us,” said UniKL manager Amir Azhar.
Bukit Jalil Sports School, whose players also just com pleted the MHL fixtures, were also a disappointing lot when they let in a goal, before edging Petaling Jaya City Council 2- 1 at the Ministry of Education pitch.
PJCC took the lead off Syamil Zulkifli off a ninth minute penalty corner, but BJSS sealed the three points with goals from Faridzul Afiq (12th) and Haziq Samsul (20th).
“I am shocked with the level of play today (yesterday) as we missed many sitters and were in the receiving end for no reason.
“We had practiced many set-pieces but my players just failed to execute them, so instead of winning comfortably, we started our campaign on a shaky note,” said BJSS coach S. Prakash whose players will next meet Ipoh Juniors tomorrow (Sunday).
In Division Two, Old Las Sallians Association of Klang (Olak-PKT) also took the lead off Hakim Azarha’s field attempt in the 27th minute, but shared points on a 1-1 score when Luqman Hakim scored for Padang Midin in the 43rd minute.
RESULTS: Division One -- Bandar Penawar SS 4 Bukit Jalil SS Juniors 0, Bukit Jalil SS 2 Petaling Jaya CC 1, Ipoh City Hall Juniors 2 UniKL 3.
Division Two: Group A -- Kedah 4 Matri Perlis 1; Group B: OLAK-PKT 1 Padang Midin 1, Johor 3 Perlis 1.
TODAY: Division One -- Pahang v Anderson (Kuantan, 4.30pm), Kelantan v BPSS Juniors (Terengganu, 4.30pm).
Division Two: Group A -- Malacca High v BPSS-WHPC (Malacca, 4.30pm); Group B: MSSWP-KLHC v Padang Midin (KLHA, 4.30pm).
TOMORROW: Division One -- BPSS v Petaling Jaya CC (Tamapn Daya, 4.30pm), BJSS V Ipoh Juniors (Ministry of Education, 5.30pm), UniKL v BJSS juniors (Ministry of Education, 6.30pm), Kelantan v Anderson (Terengganu, 4.30pm), Pahang v BPSS Juniors (Kuantan, 4.30pm).
Division Two: Group A -- Matri v Datuk Taha (Alor star, 4.30pm); Group B: Olak-PKT v Perlis (Tun Razak Stadium, 4.30pm).

DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
BPSS 1 1 0 0 4 0 3
UniKL 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
BJSS 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
BJSS Juniors 1 0 0 1 0 4 0
PJCC 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Ipoh Juniors 1 0 0 1 2 3 0
BPSS Juniors 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kelantan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Anderson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pahang 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

DIVISION TWO
Group A
P W D L F A Pts
Politeknik KPT 1 1 0 0 4 1 3
Matri 1 0 0 1 1 4 0
Penang 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sheikh Ahmad 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BPSS-MWHA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Malacca High 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Datuk Taha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Group B
P W D L F A Pts
Johor 1 1 0 0 3 1 3
Perlis 1 0 0 1 1 3 0
OLAK-PKT 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Padang Midin 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
TBSS Tampin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Penang Frees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MSSWP-KLHC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0