KUALA LUMPUR: Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI)-Thunderbolt defender Mohd Aminudin Zain is far from pleased with his performance despite having scored four penalty corners goals in three matches in the MHC-Milo-NSC Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL).
The defender, who is from Rantau Panjang, Kelantan, scored two goals each in the first two matches against SSTMI Juniors (6-1) and Anderson (7-0).
But he failed to get on the score sheet in his team’s 6-0 win over Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).
Aminudin, who will turn 19 on May 23, has very high expectations of himself, having set a personal target of scoring 15 goals in the Under-19 league.
“To achieve that I need to score in every match ... but I failed to do so against MBPJ. I took three penalty corners in that match and yet failed to find the target.
“I need to improve on the technique and accuracy of my drag flicks. My team-mates are banking on me to deliver the penalty corner goals and I don’t want to let them down,” said Aminudin, who is an employee of Tenaga Nasional.
Thunderbolt lead the Division One standings with maximum points from three matches and face a crucial weekend in their bid to retain the league title.
The three-time double champions since 2011 will take on Malacca High School on Friday in Malacca before facing former champions and arch rivals Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) on Saturday at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium.
UniKL, who have two wins from two matches, will meet SSTMI Juniors on Friday in KL before they the clash against Thunderbolt.
Aminudin, who was dropped from the last year’s Junior World Cup squad, admitted that the pressure would be on them to retain the league title.
“It won’t be easy playing two away matches in two days. We won’t take Malacca High School lightly as they will surely give their best against us to keep their hopes of a place in the knockout stage alive.
“We need to conserve energy for the crucial match against UniKL, who will be seeking to end our domination in the league,” said Aminudin, who hopes to get back to his scoring ways in the next two matches.
Thunderbolt’s sixth and final match is against minnows KLHC-KLSS next weekend.
But Aminudin knows that if they win both this weekend’s matches, then the title is virtually theirs again.
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