HOCKEY: Sapura-Anderson take centre stage

Spot in the semi-finals is at stake

UniKL players keep a close eye on USM Juniors’ Anwar Abdul Rahman in their quarter-final first leg on Friday. UniKL won 6-1.

WITH three foregone conclusions, the spotlight on the return leg of the Milo Cup Junior Hockey League quarter-finals will be on the Sapura and MBI Anderson match at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium today.

Sapura, highly expected to seal a comfortable win in the first leg after an impressive show in Division One, could only hold MBI Anderson to a 1-1 draw.

They were a pale shadow of the unbeaten team who lifted the Division Two title by scoring 42 goals and letting in only two in Group A.

In comparison, MBI Anderson struggled in Division One, finishing fourth after scoring 28 goals and letting in a massive 27.

League champions SSTMI Thunderbolts are cruising on the road to the semi-finals after they hammered Petaling Jaya Municipal Council 7-1, while UniKL Young Guns' run is also unstoppable after they beat USM Juniors 6-1.

Bukit Jalil Sports School have also firmly planted themselves in the semi-finals after a 6-1 show against Malacca High School.

"It was simply amazing how my players muffed four sitters to make the return leg an uphill battle. I can't even call the misses unlucky, because even novice players would have scored off those situations," lamented Sapura coach I. Vickneswaran.

Sapura's job is made tougher by the suspensions of Fadzli Zulkifli and Farid Zuki today.

"The situation does not look favourable, but I have plans on how to make amends, and hopefully, the players stick to the gameplan," said Vickneswaran.

Another unhappy official was UniKL Young Guns's manager Amir Azhar.

"The win (6-1) looked comfortable enough, but I am not satisfied with the way my team played in the first leg. They were floating in and out of the match, and all the departments were not at their best.

"We can't afford this kind of attitude if we want to lay our hands on the Milo Cup," said Amir.

UniKL will be missing the services of Haniff Saidin, while BJSS' Norshafiq Sumantri and PJCC's Faiz Haiqal will not see action in the return leg due to suspensions.



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