Title is Thunderbolt’s to lose

SSTMI-Thunderbolt players celebrate after Muhammad Firdaus Omar (second from left) scored the third goal in their 4-0 win against UniKL in Bukit Jalil on Saturday. - IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/ The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: It’s as good as game over!

The Division One League title is virtually SSTMI-Thunderbolt’s after a comfortable 4-1 win over Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Thunderbolt can wrap up their fifth title in a row in the MHC-Milo-NSC Malaysia Junior Hockey League (MJHL) when they take on KLSS-KLHC next Friday.

Thunderbolt are unbeaten after five matches and have 15 points. UniKL and MBPJ have nine points each but with a game in hand.

In Saturday’s game against UniKL, Thunderbolt skipper Mohd Aminuddin Mohd Zain bagged a brace in the 31st and 40th minutes while Mohd Firdaus Omar (52nd) and Mohd Ammar Zahari (67th) scored one apiece. UniKL replied through Mohd Ikhwan Ishak in the 56th minute.

Despite the seemingly big scoreline, Thunderbolt coach Wan Mohd Roslan admitted that it was the toughest match for them, thus far.

“Now, we are confident of winning the league title. This match could have derailed us. But the players rose to the occasion and played well to get the goals,” he said.

“We still have one more match to go ... we won’t take it easy and will go all out to win the title by staying unbeaten.”

At the Bukit Serendit Hockey Stadium in Malacca, Malacca High School ended their Division One campaign by notching their first win – defeating SSTMI Juniors 1-0, courtesy of Mohd Ashraff Zuhry’s 69th-minute strike.

The win puts Malacca High School, who have two draws and one win, in fourth place with five points.

But their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage is slim as the two teams below them – KLSS-KLHC and Anderson – can still overhaul them.