Div 2 champs MSS Kelantan ready to make waves

Division Two champions MSS Kelantan are ready to take on the big boys from Division One in the knockout stage of the MHF-Milo-NSC Junior Hockey League, which begins on Friday.

The Kelantan side were making their debut in the league but they had prepared for competition since 2006 and coach Hamzi Shaari is not surprised that his team found success in their first season.

But he added that he was unsure if the team would be regular participants in the league.

“Our hope is to be a regular member of the league. But our biggest problem is finance and if there are sponsors, we will surely want to stay on. Winning the Division Two title may help us attract sponsors,” said Hamzi yesterday.

The team in competition this time are under the co-sponsorship of the MSS Kelantan and Kelantan Hockey Association. It is part of Kelatan's build-up to Sukma (Malaysia Games).

Hamzi added that eight of the players in the team would feature in Sukma while four others will come from the two Sports Schools – Bukit Jalil and Bandar Penawar.

“We started preparing this team in late 2006 and fielded this set of players in the Razak Cup in Johor Baru. Last year, we exposed them in different tournaments,” he said.

“The players from SMK Machang went on to win the MHF Champion Schools title last year. We are happy that the efforts are paying off.

“We plan to continue with our development programmes even if we do not have a team in the Junior League. There are many talented players but the lack of competitions is a big problem.”

Not having an artificial turf in Kelantan is another setback and for this reason, the team have to play all their matches away.

“For the quarter-finals, we hope the pitch in Kuala Terengganu is available for us,” said Hamzi.

The coach is hoping that the recent success of Kelantan teams in national tournaments will see the authorities laying an artificial turf in Kelantan.

MSS Kelantan boast of a good scoring record of 49 goals in 11 matches against 16 in Division Two. Skipper Shahrul Anuar Ibrahim is their top scorer with 15 goals and Hamzi is confident that he would keep up his scoring form.

In the draw for the knockout stage yesterday, MSS Kelantan were pitted against Division One runners-up Tenaga Nasional in the quarter-finals.

The other match-ups have Division One champions Bukit Jali Sports School (BJSS) against Old La Sallians of Klang (Olak); MSJ-Batu Pahat against Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ); and Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS) against Anderson.