New Class Of Talent

KUALA LUMPUR: It did not come as a surprise when Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) won the double in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Under-19 category on Sunday.

That they managed to do it with players who are below the age of 17 demonstrate the efficiency of their development programmes as they have dominated the junior scene since winning the junior league title in 2003.

They have won the league title six times and the overall title five times.

Bright future: Bandar Penawar's Mohd Noor Faeez Ibrahim (left) is among the new talent who came through the U-19 competition.

This year they had greater opposition in terms of numbers. Usually it is Tenaga Nasional that push them in the title run-ups but this year teams like Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS), Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Anderson and MSN Malacca offered tough matches.

BPSS would be the team to watch in future. They were unbeaten and only lost out in the overall final on penalties to BJSS.

Their coach Wan Mohamed Roslan said that the experience gained this year will push them to work harder next year.

“We came close on both fronts this year. Only BJSS were better than us. Even then we had beaten them 4-0 in the preliminary rounds. We are disappointed at not winning at least one title this year.

“The way I see it the difference was the experience BJSS had in playing at this stage. This is the first final for us but it should see a start of better things to come,” he added.

Overall there are many talented players coming through the ranks, like BPSS striker Mohd Noor Faeez Ibrahim, the best player and top scorer of the tournament.

It is good that members of the National Juniors did not play as this allowed the others to shine. Many teams used players under the age of 16 and this augurs well for the future.

But the biggest lesson that the other contenders can learn from the sports schools is that they need a longer and more sustained development programme to make an impact. Short term training may yield limited results, hence the inconsistency of teams like Anderson, Tenaga, MBPJ and MSN Malacca.

The Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF), on their part, should review their stand to merge the junior league with the senior edition.

It does not make sense to scrap the Malaysia Junior Hockey league when the current Division Two and Three are basically that in another name.

“The glamour of being the MJHL champions is taken away. Nobody bothers about Division Two league winners. I seriously believe that the MJHL should be reinstated,” said BJSS coach S. Prakash.

BJSS Clinch The Overall Title Of The Malaysia Hockey League

KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) completed their fifth double when they beat Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS) 5-4 in sudden-death penalty shoot-out to clinch the overall title of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Under-19 category at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

The teams were tied at 3-3 in regulation time and extra-time failed to break the deadlock.

On a high: Bukit Jalil Sports School players celebrate with the trophies and mock cheques after beating Bandar Penawar Sports School 5-4 on penalties to win the overall title yesterday. — KEVIN TAN / The Star

BPSS went ahead through Amir Farid in the sixth minute but Faridzul Afiq equalised seven minutes later.

In the 27th minute, Mohd Noor Faeez Ibrahim put BPSS in front again only for Mohd Khairul Naim to level the scores in the 43rd minute.

On a high: Bukit Jalil Sports School players celebrate with the trophies and mock cheques after beating Bandar Penawar Sports School 5-4 on penalties to win the overall title yesterday. — KEVIN TAN / The Star

BJSS’ top gun Dangerous Lee then made it 3-2 in the 62nd minute but Mohd Noor Faeez came to BPSS’ rescue in the 67th minute to force the game into extra-time.

In the shoot-out, the first five mandatory penalty strokes ended 4-4 when Mohd Azri Hassan missed for BJSS and Mohd Hilmi Hafidz for BPSS.

Dangerous, Shazril Irwan, Mohd Fahmi Faiz and Mohd Arif scored for BJSS while Mohd Noor Faeez, Mohd Zahirul, Mohd Firhan Ashari and Mohd Fitri Saari netted for BPSS.

In the sudden-death shoot-out, Dangerous made no mistake with his low flick for BJSS. The pressure was now on tournament top scorer Mohd Noor Faeez and he buckled, sending his flick wide to spark off wild scenes of celebration among the BJSS players and officials.

BJSS coach S. Prakash praised his players for having the presence of mind to stay cool when they trailed their opponents twice.

“The first-half was scrappy for us and we could not play our normal game.

“We have come back from a goal down before and I was confident that we could do it again,” he said.

“The players did it and we even had the lead with just three minutes to go. I am not sure why we gave away a penalty corner but it proved fatal. Still, we are happy to have got it right in the shoot-out.”

This was BJSS’ 12th title at the junior level, having also won the double in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008. BJSS also won the League titles in 2003 and 2006.

The double make them the most dominant junior team in the country.

For BPSS, this was their first-ever final for the overall title. Earlier, they had also finished run­­ners-up to BJSS in the Division Two of the League.

In third placed play-off, last year’s finalists Tenaga Nasional whipped Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) 4-0 at the same venue.