HOCKEY: BJSS Captain Apologises For Rash Action

BUKIT Jalil Sports School (BJSS) have been improving with every match, but their skipper shot himself in the foot on Sunday, and they will now find their Milo Cup first leg semi-final against UniKL a harrowing experience tomorrow.

They will be playing without their skipper Ahmad Ashraf Alias, who picked up a yellow card in the second leg quarter-finals for deliberately stopping the ball with his foot to break a Malacca High School (MHS) counter attack.

"As captain, I should not have done that, and I apologise to my teammates for not being able to help them in a crucial match" said Ahmad, who started playing with the BJSS Juniors outfit in 2006 and graduated to the senior ranks as skipper this season.

"We narrowly lost to UniKL (3-2) in the league and my absence will further weaken our defence. It will also affect our penalty corner battery as I am the main stopper," said said Ahmad

BJSS qualified for the semi-finals when they trounced MHS 9-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals while UniKL, who won the overall title in 2010, also reached the semis by a 9-2 aggregate against USM Juniors.

BJSS team manager Jusvinder Pal Singh said they warned Ahmad before the match to stay away from cards, and regretted fielding him in the return leg as they already had a 6-1 advantage after the first encounter.

"It was a silly thing to do, as he should not have kicked the ball deliberately. However, we have capable replacements to cover Ahmad's absence," said Jusvinder.

Division One champions Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI)-Thunderbolts will face MBI Anderson in the other semi-final.

Tomorrow -- S-finals, 1st leg: SSTMI-Thunderbolts v MBI-Anderson (5pm), Bukit Jalil SS v UniKL (7pm) -- matches at the National Hockey Stadium. By Jugjet Singh

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