Thunderbolt-UniKL final

LEAGUE champions Bandar Penawar Sports School Thunderbolt came back from the dead before they beat Petaling Jaya City Council 5-3 in a highly charged MHF-Milo-NSC Junor Hockey League semi-final yesterday.
In the other semi-finals, UniKL beat Bukit Jalil Sports School 2-1 and will play Thunderbolt for the Overall title tomorrow.
Thunderbolt were leading 3-1 by the 48th minute, but lost their composure when PJCC scored two quick goals to equalise.
However, the comeback was marred when PJCC goalkeeper Ahmad Syahir ran towards umpire Rosdi Pilus and manhandled him in the 65th minute, prompting the umpire to flash the red card.
Ahmad had to be restrained by his own players and was escorted out of the pitch, and PJCC lost their scipt and then the match.
PJCC took the lead in the 13th minute through a Hafiz Nawi, but Thunderbolt equalised through Noor Faeez Ibrahim six minutes later through a penalty corner attempt.
Faeez gave his team the lead on the stroke of halftime via another
penalty corner.
Firhan Ashari then made it 3-1 for Thunderbolt in the 48th minute and the sports school thought they had the match in grips.
But PJCC fought back strongly after Rifan Azhar scored twice in as
many minutes, in the 50th and 52nd, to make in 3-3.
But after the red card, PJCC collapsed and, Faeez gave Thunderbolt the lead once again in the 61st minute before Fitri Saari made sure his team plays in the final by scoring the fifth in the 67th minute.
"It was the most difficult match for us since the JHL started and I congratulate PJCC players who were highly charged and committed. However, the red card marred the match and after that, I had to restrain some of my players and also PJCC players who wanted to have a go near the dresing room.
"But no untoward incident happened because cool heads prevailed, and now we are looking forward to winning the double on Sunday," said Thunderbolt coach Wan Roslan Rahman.
In the other semis, UniKL took the lead of Syamim Yusof in the 10th minute, only to see BJSS equalise through Faridzul Afiq in the 20th minute and the score remained till the breather.
However, a strike from Zulhairi Hashim in the 44th minute was enough to take UniKL into the final, and they could even afford to miss a penalty stroke in the 56th minute.
RESULTS: Semi-finals -- Bandar Penawar Sports School Thunderbolt 5 Petaling Jaya City Council 3; Bukit Jalil Sports School 1 UniKL 2.
TOMORROW: Final -- Bandar Penawar Sports School Thunderbolt v UniKL (Tun Razak Stadium, 5.30pm); Third-Fourth: Petaling Jaya City Council v Bukit Jalil Sports School (Tun Razak Stadium, 3.30pm).

PJCC advance on sudden-death goal

Petaling Jaya City Council’s Mohd Fahmi Faiz Mad Isa scores a goal past the BPSS goalkeeper in the quarter-final of the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior League at the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday. — Picture by Mohd Yusni Ariffin

PETALING Jaya City Council nailed a sudden-death goal, after being tied 2 -2, against Bandar Penawar Sports School Juniors to book their spot in the semi-finals of the MHF-Milo-NSC Junor Hockey League.
PJCC had the match in hand when they took a 2-0 lead, but crumbled in the second half by allowing BPSS Juniors to score the equaliser three seconds from time at the Tun Razak Stadium.
PJCC will meet Bandar Penawar Sports School Thunderbolt, while Bukit Jalil Sports School will play UniKL in the semi-finals today at the Tun Razak Stadium.
"My forwards have been consistently bungling sitters since the JHL started and today (yesterday) was no different. However, I saw a slight change in my players as they were more determined to win this match and advance to the last four, and now we can only hope for an upset against BPSS," said PJCC assistant team manager Zanal Abidin.
In the League BPSS easily beat PJCC 4-1, and the sports school should have the upper hand today.
Yesterday PJCC took a healthy lead through Fahmi Faiz in the 40th and Hafiz Nawi in the 41st minute.
However, the allowed the schoolboys to get back into the match when Firhan Ashaari scored from a penalty corner attempt in the 57th minute.
BPSS Juniors won a penalty corner with a minute left in the match, and just as Firhan's flick went crashing into the net, the full-time hooter blew and the match went into sudden-death.
PJCC won three consecutive penalty corner before nailing the winner when Fahmi delivered yet again in the 82nd minute.
Thunderbolt coach Wan Roslan Rahman said since there is no return leg, nothing can be taken for granted until the final whistle.
"The fact that we beat PJCC in the league is no longer relevant as this is a one-off match where my players will have to make the least mistakes to make sure we play in the final and have a chance to land the double this season," said Roslan.
RESULTS: Quarter-finals: Bandar Penawar Sports School Juniors 2 Petaling Jaya City Council 3 (PJCC win on sudden-death goal).
TODAY: Semi-finals: BPSS Thunderbolt v PJCC (Tun Razak 4pm); UniKL v BJSS (Tun Razak, 6pm).

UniKL v BJSS on level field

LAST season's double champions Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) will get
a second chance to salvage some pride when thy square off against UniKL
in the semi-finals of the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League on Friday.
The other semi-final will be between Bandar Penawar Sports School
Thunderbolt and the winners of the delayed quarter-finals between Bandar Penawar Sports School Juniors and Petaling Jaya City Council today.
The fixtures were re-drawn to acommodate BPSS Juniors as six of their
players only returned last night from a German Under-16 Four-Nation
where Malaysia finished second.
BJSS, who beat Sabah 4-0 even without four Under-16 boys who were in
Germany, will start on level terms against UniKL as in the League
encounter, the score was 1-1.
"Four of my under-16 boys played in Germany and only returned today
(yesterday) and it would strenghten the team when we play UniKL in the
semis.
"In the last eight against Sabah, I had to use some of my reserve
defenders as forwards, and were lucky as Kavin (Kartik) scored a penalty
corner hat-trick," said BJSS coach S. Prakash.
UniKL hold a slight psychological edge, as they finished second in the
league, while BJSS were third.
UniKL coach I. Vickneswaran, whose boys struggled against Division
Two outfit Pahang before winning 4-2 in the quarters, feels they will be in
for a bumpy ride in their quest to lay in the final.
"We had to come from a goal down to force a draw in the League, and I
expect another tough battle on Friday as BJSS players have been training
together for a long time and have a better understanding than my players
who only had one months training before they played in their first JHL
match," said Vickneswaran.
TODAY: Quarter-finals: Bandar Penawar Sports School Juniors v
Petaling Jaya City Council (Tun Razak, 4pm).
FRIDAY: Semi-finals: BPSS Thunderbolt v BPSS Juniors or PJCC (Tun
Razak 4pm); UniKL v BJSS (Tun Razak, 6pm).

Thunderbolt hammer 9 past Ipoh

BANDAR Penawar Sports School Thunderbolt, as expected, steamrolled Ipoh City Council 9-1 in the quarter-finals of the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League at the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday.
Thunderbolt will have to wait until Thursday to find out their opponents in the semi-finals, because the quarter-finals between Petaling Jaya City Council and Bandar Penawar Sports School Juniors had to be delayed to wait for six BPSS boys who went to Germany for a Four-Nation.
In the other Quarter-finals yesterday, Bukit Jalil Sports School beat Sabah 4-0, while UniKL beat Pahang 4-2.
Bukit Jali will meet UniKL in the semi-finals on Friday.
The Bukit Jalil hero was Kavin Kartik who scored a hat-rick in the 16th, 32nd and 51st. The other goal was scored by Dangerous Lee in the 43rd minute.
Thunderbolt, the newly crowned League champions, took 15 minutes to settle down before routing Ipoh CC, who finished third in Division Two.
Thunderbolt got their goals off Faizal Saari (19th, 31st, 57th), Firhan Ashaari (15th, 68th), Fitri Saari (16th), Faiz Helmi Jali (24th), Shaiful Nizam Aswan (46th) and Fahmi Zainal Abidin (52nd).
The Ipoh consolation was scored by Azrul Fazri in the 50th minute.
As for UniKL, their goal-getters were Nor Hizat Sumantri (58th, 65th), Sabri Mohamed (second) and Manraj Singh (19th).
Fahmi Abdullah (10th) and Zulhannan Mazlan (67th) scored for Pahang.
Thunderbolt coach Wan Roslan Rahman was surprised with the big win, as he expected a tough fight.
"I had planned for a tougher encounter, but surprisingly, Ipoh collapsed like dominoes after we scored the first goal in the 15th minute.
"It was a good show, and also a good warm-up for my players and now we will have to wait until Thursday to know our opponents."
However, the coach prefers to meet BPSS Juniors, who are also his boys.
"I hope the six BPSS Junior players overcome their jet-lag fast, as they will return tomorrow (today) and only have one rest day before playing PJCC. It would be great if BPSS Juniors advance to the semi-finals," said Roslan.
RESULTS: Quarter-finals: Bukit Jalil Sports School 4 Sabah 0; Bandar Penawar Sports School Thunderbolt 9 Ipoh City Council 1; UniKL 4 Pahang 2.
THURSDAY: Quarter-finals: Bandar Penawar Sports School Juniors v Petaling Jaya City Council (Tun Razak, 4pm).
FRIDAY: Semi-finals: BPSS Thunderbolt v BPSS Juniors or PJCC (Tun Razak 4pm); UniKL v BJSS (Tun Razak, 6pm).

They don't make teachers like Cikgu Siva anymore

COMMENT
By Jugjet Singh

THE don’t make teachers like V. Sivapathasundram any more.
Cikgu Siva, as he was fondly called, died on Sunday at the age of 68, leaving behind a hockey legacy which will be hard to match by others in Tunku Besar Secondary School (TBSS) in Tampin, Negri Sembilan.
I know it for a fact, as I played for him in the Under-15 and Under-18 squads in TBSS, where I studied from 1981 to 1987.
Siva joined TBSS in 1963, after graduating from Brinsford in the United Kingdom, and stayed put for the next 32 years until his retirement, making the store-room next to the school field as his second home.
His ‘room’ only had a squeaky fan, an old type-writer and a can full of cigarettes which he chain-smoked behind the closed door, and plotted the downfall of two Seremban hockey powerhouses.
St Paul’s Institution, who had hockey Gurus Lawrence Van Huizen and William Fidelis, and the late Datuk Ho Koh Chye in King George the Fifth (KGV) was just the right tonic that Negri Sembilan needed in those days to spur the growth of hockey.
The rivalry among the three schools was so intense, that the Seremban Town Field used to be packed to the brim, with even the sidelines encroached, when there was a match between TBSS and either KGV or SPI.
His first success in hockey was N. Palanisamy, who played in the 1971 and 1975 World Cups, and also the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
There were many others after that who were coached to become the best in the country, with the likes of brothers Lee Sien Lam and Lee Sien Hock, his son Dr Brian Jayhan Siva, Nishel Kumar; and 1982 Junior World Cup goalkeepers Azhar Epi and Mohamed Fadzil so name some.
His last product is current national No 1, and among the best in the world, goalkeeper S. Kumar.
Siva has also worked his magic as assistant secretary to S. Satgunam in the Malaysian Hockey Federation, the MHF Umpires Board Chairman, Secretary of the Negri Sembilan HA, and various positions in the Tampin District HA with the last being its deputy president.
He was also the hockey team manager for the 1995 Chiangmai Sea Games team, which was skippered by current national coach tai Beng Hai.
The list of umpires an hockey officials produced under his administration in Negri Sembilan is also impressive, and many were touched by his demise.
Siva made it a culture for hockey players in TBSS to have a stick with them at all limes, as the sport was played during Physical Education periods, and in the evenings from 4pm to 6pm.
He was also a visionary who saw the need to build a miniature cement hockey pitch in TBSS in the early 80s, so that his boys could train in an artificial pitch like atmosphere, and not be left out when they headed to Kuala Lumpur to play in tournaments.
After his retirement, TBSS took a beating from schools which they used to hammer earlier, and Datuk Taha of Gemencheh, rose to become the best school in the State after they received half an artificial pitch from the National Sports Council.
However, TBSS crawled back in the last few years, when a full artificial pitch was laid in the school and Siva’s former students returned to their alma matter to coach.
Siva was actively involved in developing youth in Tampin as recent as two months ago, but stopped when his health took a turn for the worse. A true coach until the end.
Hockey lost a great man, who worked in the shadows to elevate its standard without expecting to be rewarded, and he was never rewarded when he was alive, but received brickbats for being a disciplinarian.
He is also the reason why the MHF started Yayasan Hoki to help players who wanted to further their studies.
It came about when his son Brian scored straight As and wanted to pursue his ambition to become a doctor but scholarships were scarce.
Siva approached the then MHF Deputy President Tan Sri P. Alagendra for a solution, and in Alagendra’s own words: “If not for Siva, we would not have started Yayasan Hoki with Brian as its first recipient.”
After that, Yayasan Hoki came to the aid of many players who now hold degrees in numerous fields.
They don’t make teachers like Siva anymore, as he gave more than he took from everyone that he knew.