KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall edged Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) Juniors 2-1 to capture the Junior Hockey League Division Two title today.
Even though the match was played under a drizzle and intermittent rain, the National Stadium hockey pitch passed the "water-log test" as the ball kept on rolling.
The players from both teams gave a good account of themselves, showing good skill and fitness even though it was a Division Two final.
BJSS Juniors were the sharper team and scored from a fourth minute penalty corner with Ahmad Ariff Daniel on target to nail his 19th goal of the season.
KL City Hall took the fight to BJSS in the third quarter with Syafiq Abdullah scoring the equaliser via a penalty corner in the 34th minute for his 13th goal of the tournament.
KL City Hall had the final say when Shahmie Irfan Suhaimi notched his 19th goal of the tournament in the 57th minute.
"It was a splendid performance from my players who gave their best when it mattered most. Even though the match was played under wet conditions, the fire in my players kept on burning.
"From what I saw this season, there are many promising players in Division Two and some of them are good enough to play in the higher division next year," said KL City Hall coach Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin who was a former national player.
In the fight for bronze, Penang HA edged Terengganu Thunderbolts 2-1 even though two of their players were watching from the sin-bin in the final five minutes.
Playing under pouring rain and a soggy pitch, Azril Haziq Zafarul (fifth minute) and Kalvinderjit Singh (40th) scored for Penang while Khusyairi Zulkepli (51st) replied for Terengganu.
RESULTS:
Division Two final:
KL City Hall 2 Bukit Jalil Sports School Juniors 1
Third-Fourth:
Penang HA 2 Terengganu Thunderbolts 1