Division One leaders feeling the heat as Thunderbolt teams close in
TODAY’S FIXTURES DIVISION ONE SSTMI THUNDERBOLT vs BJSS JUNIORS 4pm
KUALA LUMPUR: The two Division One pace-setters – MBPJ and SMKDBL Johor Juniors – will be hard-pressed to maintain their positions in the Malaysian Junior Hockey League this weekend with two Thunderbolt teams breathing down their necks.
MBPJ have won all their four matches and lead the 10-team Division One standings with 12 points.
The Johor Juniors are second with 11 points, but have played a game more.
Defending league champions SSTMI Thunderbolt are third with 10 points while defending overall champions BJSS Thundertbolt are fourth with nine points.
As such, it is an important weekend for all four teams.
MBPJ will play Olak Nurinsafi today while Johor Juniors will meet Anderson Thunderbolt.
MBPJ will then meet Johor Juniors on Sunday.
“None of the games are going to be easy ... especially when playing the Thunderbolt outfits,” said Johor Juniors team manager Shahbuddin Royani.
“But we have come this far with our determination and the players are committed and focused on the task at hand.
“We’ll just take it one match at a time and move forward.
“Anderson are aiming for a top-four finish but they have not had a good outing thus far. They have one win, one draw and two losses. “They need the points as well.
“We have an advantage and we can build on it. The players need to take their chances and make their chances count.”
As for table-toppers MBPJ, coach Mohd Harfizi Baharom admitted that it would be tough to stay at the top as “the chasing pask have tremendous experience”.
“I feel that the results have not gone the way the Thunderbolt teams expected,” he said.
“They will definitely want to get it right. So, we have to plug away and grind out result any which way we can.”