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Pic: Anderson hit TBSS 8-2 at the blue Azlan Shah Stadium pitch in Ipoh.
TENGKU Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI-Thunderbolts) hammered the daylights out of their sister Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors in Division One of the Milo-Junior Hockey League, and are now primed for their crunch match on Sunday.
SSTMI, formerly known as Bandar Penawar Sports School, whipped BJSS Juniors 9-0 and after a rest day, they will meet Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MBPJ) tomorrow.
Yesterday MBPJ showed some grit when they came back from three goals down to level the score against BJSS seniors, only to lose 4-3 off a disputed last minute goal.
“We could have scored more goals against BJSS juniors, but I felt nine were enough and I pulled the reigns on my players as that was not the match we have been preparing for this weekend.
“We have been working hard to face MBPJ, and there was no use in pushing my players to the limit today (yesterday) as they might pick up unwarranted injuries,” said SSTMI Thunderbolts coach Wan Roslan.
And MBPJ has earned the respect of Roslan after they came back from three goals down.
“Any team which can come back from being three goals down warrants respect, and that is what we will be giving them on Sunday. However, I am confident we will claim the three points and continue our quest to land the double this season,” said Roslan whose side hold the Overall title.
And in Ipoh, MBI-Anderson gave Tunku Besar Secondary School Tampin (TBSS) the blues on the newly laid blue pitch at the Azlan Shah Stadium, winning 8-2.
Thunderbolts took a 2-0 lead in the opening ten minutes as Shahril Saabah struck two penalty corner goals in the fourth and sixth minutes. And at the stroke of half-time Hafiz Seleman scored to give them a 3-0 lead.
The floodgates opened in the second half as Thunderbolts went on the rampage, scoring another six goals to humiliate the youngsters from BJSS Juniors.
Goals by Shahril (40th and 47th), Sazril Irwan Nazali (49th), Azmi Deraman (56th), Afzanizam Zakaria (61st) and Sufi Ismat (66th) completed the rout.
RESULTS: Division One -- MBI-Anderson 8 TBSS 2, MBPJ 3 BJSS 4, BJSS Juniors 0 SSTMI-Thunderbolts 9.
Division Two: Group A: Kelantan HA-MSNK 0 Politeknik- KPT 2, Nur Insafi 0 Kelantan HA Juniors 0, Negri HA 0 Sapura 12, Anderson Juniors 4 MSSP-USM Juniors 0.
Group B: Yayasan Pahang 1 Kuala Lumpur SS 4.
TODAY: Division One -- USM-MSSPP v TBSS (USM Stadium, 4pm), UniKL v SSTMI (KLHA Stadium, 6pm).
Division Two: Group A: Politeknik KPT v Anderson Juniors (Alor Star, 4pm).
Group B: MP Batu Pahat v Padang Midin (Taman Daya, 4pm), Tunas Pahang vs KLSS (Kuantan, 4pm), Datuk Taha v Olak (Seremban II, 4pm).
TOMORROW: Division One -- BJSS Juniors v MBI Anderson (Education Ministry, 5pm), SSTMI Thunderbolts v MB Petal ing Jaya (Taman Daya, 4pm).
Division Two: Group A: Sapura v Kelantan HA-MSSK (KLHA, 6pm), MSSPP-USM Jr v Politeknik KPT (USM, 4pm).
Group B: Malacca HS v Padang Midin (Malacca, 5pm), MB Batu Pahat v Yayasan Pahang (Taman daya, 4pm).
THE Netherlands edged Ireland 3-1 in their third and final Test in Alicante on Tuesday.
Netherlands were also taken the extra mile before they won the first Test 4-1 and the second Test 2-1.
Ireland will now travel to Great Britain for a double header against GB at Bisham Abbey on 26th & 27th January (times TBC).
Malaysia will be playing in the Dublin Olympics where the Irish and South Korea will be the toughest hurdles to claim the single ticket to the London Olympics.
The Malaysian players will also play Netherlands in two Tests in Australia at the end of the month.
Ireland Starting XI: John Jackson; Ronan Gormley (c); Paul Gleghorne; Conor Harte; David Harte; Eugene Magee; David Ames; Michael Watt; Chris Cargo; Mitch Darling; Geoff McCabe.
Reserves (all used): Stuart Loughrey; David Cole; Shane O'Donoghue; Andy McConnell; Peter Caruth; Timmy Cockram; David Fitzgerald (GK).
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – USA Field Hockey announced today to withdraw the USA Men’s National Team from the Olympic Qualification Tournament to be held in New Delhi, India, February 18-26. The decision to withdraw was primarily due to player unavailability and player retirements and injuries.
“The decision has been made strategically with the very best outcome for our program in mind,” said Terry Walsh, Technical Director of High Performance. “Unavailability of many of the senior players has left the Men’s program in a position where our best assembled team has a performance potential well below that required to be competitive in a tournament of this caliber. I have had significant discussions with our Men’s National Team Coach, Chris Clements, and we are in agreement that this course of action will be in the best interest of the long term progress of our National Program.”
The USA Men’s Team was selected to attend the first of three Olympic Qualifiers after finishing fifth at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. However, employment conflicts has resulted in player unavailability. In addition, the inability to commit full-time to a training and competition schedule has resulted in player retirements and multiple injuries following the Pan American Games has caused many of the core senior players to be incapable of selection and competition.
Although USA Field Hockey has a well-established Junior Men’s program, these athletes do not have extended international experience required to compete at the top level. With quality preparations and maturation, these athletes will advance on to the Men’s National Team and be in a better position for participation and qualification of future tournaments in 2012 and onwards.
“In finding that we have experienced serious erosion within the Men’s program due to various team member circumstances, we reluctantly made the difficult decision to withdraw the team from the Olympic qualifier,” said Steve Locke, Executive Director. “Much work and effort has taken place in recent years to develop a quality junior program. I believe that in attending the tournament that will feature the world’s top ranked teams will only hinder the confidence and development of our junior men. In another 12 months, will see these players begin to flourish and I look forward to seeing the team prepared and engaged with upcoming FIH events in 2012 and 2013."
The focus of the Senior Men’s program has now shifted to the FIH World League, set to make its debut in late 2012. Participation in the World League is essential for future qualification prospects. From 2014 and onward, the rankings from the World League tournament and the Continental Tournament Champions will determine the qualification spots for the World Cup and Olympic Games.
The Junior Men’s program will focus on the Junior Pan American Championship to be held in September, with the vision of qualifying for the Junior World Cup early next year. This will provide the younger members of the Men’s National team with exposure at the highest level heading into the Pan American Cup in 2013.
“The future is exciting,” says Walsh. “We have moved a long way forwards in recent years. A significant challenge lies ahead and is one which I believe our new schedule will create fantastic opportunities for.”
“The Board of Directors is in full support of the decision made to withdraw the team from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament,” said Pam Stuper, Chair, USA Field Hockey Board. “The decision was made with the best interest in mind of the athletes and long-term development of the Men’s National Team program.” USFHA media releaseFollowing the FIH guidelines of offering the replacement place to the next highest non qualified nation, Ukraine, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Belarus, Sweden, Oman and Ghana are the seven nations who could be offered the place.
FORMER champions Old La Sallians Association of Klang (OLAK-PKT) have seen better times, and in a bid to get back into the top flight, they are dangling a holiday package for their players early in the season.
Olak won the Division One title in 1997 and they were double champions in 1998 and 1999, and are now bent on clawing their way out of Division Two of the Milo-Junior Hockey League.
“After winning our opening two matches, our sponsors PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd, have said that if we win the Division Two title this season, they will sponsor the boys to a holiday overseas,” said Olak team manager Joseph de Silva,
Olak have not been impressive, but they did just enough to beat Malacca High School 3-1 and Kuala Lumpur Sports School 3-2 in their opening Group B matches, and will play Datuk Taha on Saturday.
In Group A of Division Two, JHL newcomers Sapura have been the most impressive with a 5-0 win against USM Juniors and a 5-1 score-line against Anderson Juniors.
In Division One, the early hold by SSTMI Thunderbolts should be further strengthened when they play Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors today.
The JHL is only a weekend old, but Division One has almost turned into a two-horse race with Overall champions Thunderbolts and League champions UniKL stamping their class.
TODAY: Division One -- MBI-Anderson v TBSS (Azlan Shah Stadium, 5pm), MBPJ v BJSS (National Stadium, 5pm), BJSS Juniors v SSTMI-Thunderbolts (Education Ministry, 5pm).
Division Two: Group A: Kelantan HA-MSNK v Politeknik-KPT (Alor Star, 4pm), Nur Insafi v Kelantan HA Juniors (Sungai Petani, 4pm), Negri HA v Sapura (Seremban Stadium, 4pm), Anderson Juniors v MSSP-USM Juniors (Azlan Shah Stadium, 7pm).
Group B: Yayasan Pahang v Kuala Lumpur SS (Kuantan Stadium).
TOMORROW: Division One -- USM-MSSPP v TBSS (USM Stadium, 4pm), UniKL v SSTMI (KLHA Stadium, 6pm).
Division Two: Group A: Setar Politeknik KPT v Anderson Juniors (Alor Star, 4pm).
Group B: MP Batu Pahat v Padang Midin (Taman Daya, 4pm), Tunas Pahang vs KLSS (Kuantan, 4pm), Datuk Taha v Olak (Seremban II, 4pm).
SUNDAY: Division One -- BJSS Juniors v MBI Anderson (Education Ministry, 5pm), SSTMI Thunderbolts v MB Petaling Jaya (Taman Daya, 4pm).
Division Two: Group A: Sapura v Kelantan HA-MSSK (KLHA, 6pm), MSSPP-USM Jr v Politeknik KPT (USM, 4pm).
Group B: Malacca HS v Padang Midin (Malacca, 5pm), MB Batu Pahat v Yayasan Pahang (Taman daya, 4pm).
DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
THUNDERBOLTS 2 2 0 0 12 2 6
UNIKL 2 2 0 0 6 1 6
BJSS 2 1 0 1 7 5 3
SSTMI 2 1 0 1 6 8 3
Anderson 1 0 1 0 3 3 1
USM Jnrs 1 0 1 0 3 3 1
MBPJ 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
TBSS 1 0 0 1 0 4 0
BJSS Jnrs 2 0 0 2 1 11 0
DIVISION TWO
GROUP A
P W D L F A Pts
SAPURA 2 2 0 0 10 1 6
KHA Jnrs 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
Poli KPT 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
MSS Kel 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
MSSPP Jnrs 2 1 0 1 5 5 3
NUR INSAFI 2 1 0 1 4 4 3
KHA-MSNK 2 0 1 1 3 4 1
ANDSON Jnrs 2 0 0 2 3 8 0
PHNS 1 0 0 1 0 5 0
GROUP B
P W D L F A Pts
OLAK 2 2 0 0 6 3 6
MHS 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
SMKPM 1 1 0 0 4 2 3
PAHANG 1 1 0 0 3 2 3
MPBP 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
TUNAS PAHANG 1 0 0 1 2 3 0
KLSS 2 0 0 2 3 5 0
DATUK TAHA 1 1 0 0 1 2 4 0
TUNKU Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI) rattled Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) to the bone, when both their senior and juniors teams won by 5-1 margins in the first weekend of the Milo-Junior Hockey League.
SSTMI, formerly known as Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS), proved that they are steadily improving while their counter-parts in the City have had their backs against the wall for the last three years.
BJSS have the distinction of winning seven consecutive League titles from 2003 to 2009, after which BPSS Thun derbolts and UniKL took over for the last two seasons.
They also have six Overall titles under the belt, but that too slipped out of their fingers and went to UniKL in 2010, and Thunderbolts last year.
A coach, who declined to be named, said hockey should be taken out of both the sports schools as clubs and dedicated teachers in schools have started to produce more quality players.
“I see a trend where the best players are now in premier hockey playing schools or with clubs bent on doing de velopment work.
“That is why parents have started to shun from sending their children to BJSS and prefer to have them closer to home in their own states,” said the coach.
However, longtime BJSS coach S. Prakash disagrees when asked if the school is being shunned by parents, leaving only third-grade players in their charge.
“I totally disagree with talk that parents are reluctant to send their children to play hockey in BJSS and that is why the best in the country is not with us.
“We have over 50 hockey players in BJSS, but the oldest are only in Form Five while our pre-university boys have been pinched by other clubs who have the money to pay them handsomely.
“And that is why our young players are finding it hard to compete against older boys in clubs and other schools,” said Prakash.
Prakash has seen better days when his side won con secutive doubles in the JHL, but is now assigned to the BJSS Juniors while Lokman Yahaya coaches the BJSS Seniors.
SSTMI are fielding Thunderbolts and Juniors, and ba sically the sports school, based down at the tip of Johor, has a better crop of players than the current BJSS enrolment.
At the moment, after the dust settled in the first weekend, it is evident that Thunderbolts and UniKL will again be the two teams tipped to fight for the League and Overall titles.
Meanwhile, the time for matches at Alor Star, Sungai Petani, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Taman Daya, Seremban and USM has been changed to 4pm due to adverse weather conditions of late.
These venues do not have floodlight facilities or have the facilities but are too expensive for the home teams to bear the cost.
Pic: Anderson hit TBSS 8-2 at the blue Azlan Shah Stadium pitch in Ipoh.
